| Business and Significant Accounting Policies | Business and Significant Accounting Policies Nature of Operations National Vision Holdings, Inc. (“NVHI,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) is a holding company whose operating subsidiaries include its indirect wholly owned subsidiary, National Vision, Inc. (“NVI”) and NVI’s wholly owned subsidiaries. We are a leading value retailer of eyeglasses and contact lenses in the United States. We operated 1,205 and 1,151 retail optical locations in the United States and its territories as of the fiscal years ended January 2, 2021 and December 28, 2019, respectively, through our five store brands, including America’s Best Contacts and Eyeglasses (“America’s Best”), Eyeglass World, Vista Optical locations on select U.S. Army/Air Force military bases (“Military”) and within select Fred Meyer (“Fred Meyer”) stores, and our management & services arrangement with Walmart (“Legacy”). We sell contact lenses and optical accessory products to retail customers through proprietary retail web sites and web sites on behalf of certain independent retailers and insurance companies. We also distribute contact lenses to Walmart and Sam’s Club store locations. We also operate a specialized health maintenance organization (“HMO”) that is licensed as a single-service health plan under California law. The HMO issues individual vision plans in connection with our America’s Best operations in California, and provides, or arranges for the provision of, optometric services at the offices next to certain Walmart stores throughout California. Fiscal Year We operate on a retail fiscal calendar that results in a given fiscal year consisting of a 52- or 53-week period ending on the Saturday closest to December 31. In a 52-week fiscal year, each quarter contains 13 weeks of operations; in a 53-week fiscal year, each of the first, second and third quarters include 13 weeks of operations and the fourth quarter includes 14 weeks of operations. References herein to “fiscal year 2020,” relate to the 53 weeks ended January 2, 2021, and references to “fiscal year 2019,” and “fiscal year 2018,” relate to the 52 weeks ended December 28, 2019 and December 29, 2018, respectively. Unless otherwise stated, references to years in this report relate to fiscal years rather than calendar years. Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). The consolidated financial statements include our accounts and those of our subsidiaries, all of which are wholly-owned. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Secondary Public Offerings During fiscal year 2018, we completed three underwritten public offerings in which KKR, Berkshire and certain management stockholders (“selling stockholders”) sold an aggregate of 42,914,852 shares of the Company’s common stock. The Company did not receive any proceeds from the offerings. However, the second and third offerings resulted in certain incentive compensation expenses relating to vesting of performance-based stock options and a payout under a non-executive long-term incentive plan. On August 7, 2019, the Company entered into an Underwriting Agreement by and among the Company, KKR Vision Aggregator L.P. (the “Selling Stockholder”), and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, as underwriter (the “Underwriter”), relating to an underwritten offering of 9,149,908 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share. The offering was completed on August 12, 2019. In connection with the offering, our Board of Directors authorized, and the Company completed, a repurchase of 819,134 shares out of the 9,149,908 shares of common stock subject to the offering from the Underwriter at $30.52 per share, which was the price the Underwriter purchased the shares from the Selling Stockholder in the offering. The Company did not receive any proceeds from the offering. As a result of this underwritten offering and concurrent share repurchase, the Selling Stockholder no longer owned any shares of our common stock. The secondary offering constituted a vesting event whereby a final portion of the performance-based options vested and the remaining portion of unvested performance options awarded under the 2014 Stock Incentive Plan was forfeited. As a result of the offering, we incurred $4.2 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense and additionally recorded $2.8 million in long-term cash incentive compensation expense and $0.4 million in offering related SG&A expenses for fiscal year end 2019. CARES Act On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act, among other things, accelerates a company’s ability to recover Alternative Minimum Tax (“AMT”) refundable credits that otherwise could have been claimed in 2020 and 2021, to 2018 and 2019, with an option to elect recovery of the full credit amount for 2018. The Company has elected to apply the AMT refundable credit provision of the CARES Act and has reclassified $1.3 million of AMT credits from Deferred income taxes, net as of December 28, 2019 to Prepaid expenses and other assets as of January 2, 2021. The CARES Act also includes a technical correction wherein qualified improvement property placed in service in 2018 and after is eligible for 100% bonus depreciation. This provision of the CARES Act resulted in an increase in our NOL carry-forwards with an offsetting increase in our gross deferred tax liability relating to property and equipment of approximately $25.0 million ($6.4 million tax impact) as of January 2, 2021. In addition, as a result of the employee retention credits made available under the CARES Act for U.S. associates the Company recognized $0.4 million as a reduction to costs of products, $6.2 million as a reduction to costs of services and plans, and $4.4 million as a reduction to SG&A during fiscal year 2020. The Company recognizes government grants for which there is a reasonable assurance of compliance with grant conditions and receipt of credits. We believe there is a reasonable assurance that the Company will comply with the relevant conditions of the employee retention credit provision of the CARES Act, and that we will receive the credits for which we have applied. We elected to offset credits recognized under the CARES against payroll taxes that would otherwise be payable. We will continue to assess our treatment of the CARES Act to the extent additional guidance and regulations are issued, the further applicability of the CARES Act to the Company, and the potential impacts on our business. In addition to the CARES Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, H.R. 133 was signed into law on December 27, 2020 and, among other things, allows for 100% deductibility of meals and entertainment expenses for the tax years ending in 2021 and 2022. Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash consists of currency and demand deposits with financial institutions and money market funds. We consider all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. We also review cash balances on a bank by bank basis to identify book overdrafts. Book overdrafts occur when the amount of outstanding checks exceed the cash deposited at a bank. We reclassify book overdrafts, if any, to accounts payable in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Accounts Receivable, Net Accounts receivable associated with revenues consist primarily of trade receivables and credit card receivables. Trade receivables consist primarily of receivables from managed care payors and receivables from major retailers. While we have relationships with almost all vision care insurers in the United States and with all of the major carriers, currently, a relatively small number of payors comprise the majority of our managed care revenues, subjecting us to concentration risk. Accounts receivable are reduced by allowances for credit losses. Estimates of our allowance for credit losses are based on our historical and current operating, billing, and collection trends, as well as current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts about the future. Accounts receivable are written off after all collection attempts have been exhausted. Credit loss expense recognized on our receivables, which is presented in SG&A expenses in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations, were approximately $0.7 million, $8.2 million and $7.1 million for the fiscal years 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. See Note 7 “Revenues from Contracts with Customers” for further details on the allowance for expected credit losses. Inventories The cost of inventory is determined using the weighted average cost method. Inventories at retail stores consist of finished goods and are valued at the lower of cost or estimated net realizable value (“NRV”). Manufactured inventories are valued using absorption accounting which includes material, labor, other variable costs and other applicable manufacturing overhead. Inventory values are adjusted for estimated obsolescence and written down to NRV based on estimates of current and anticipated demand, customer preference, merchandise age, planned promotional activities, contact lens vendor return acceptance activity, and estimates of future retail sales prices. Shrinkage is estimated and recorded throughout the period as a percentage of cost of sales based on historical results and current inventory levels. Actual shrinkage is recorded throughout the year based upon periodic physical counts. See Note 2. “Details of Certain Balance Sheet Accounts” for further details. The Company’s inventory consists primarily of contact lenses, eyeglass frames and unprocessed eyeglass lenses. A significant portion of our inventory is supplied by a small number of key vendors. During fiscal year 2020, 93% of contact lens expenditures were with three vendors and 89% of lens expenditures were with one vendor. This exposes us to vendor concentration risk. We are less exposed to a supplier risk for our eyeglass frames as only 52% of frame expenditures were with two vendors. Property and Equipment Property and equipment (“P&E”) is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation associated with P&E is included in depreciation and amortization in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. When we retire or otherwise dispose of P&E, we remove the cost and related accumulated depreciation from our accounts and recognize any gain or loss on the sale of such assets in SG&A in the consolidated statements of operations. We capitalize major replacements and remodeling, and recognize expenditures for maintenance and repairs in SG&A. We depreciate P&E for financial accounting purposes using the straight-line method over the following estimated useful lives: Buildings 34 years Equipment 3 - 7 years Information technology hardware and software (a) 2 - 5 years Furniture and fixtures 6 years Leasehold improvements (b) 5 - 10 years P&E under capital leases (b) 10 years ____________ (a) Costs of developing or obtaining software for internal use, such as direct costs of materials or services and internal payroll costs related to the software development projects, are capitalized to information technology hardware and software. (b) Depreciation of leasehold improvements is recognized over the shorter of the estimated useful life of the asset or the term of the lease. The term of the lease includes renewal options for additional periods if the exercise of the renewal is considered to be reasonably assured. Goodwill and Intangible Assets Indefinite-lived intangible assets include goodwill and our trademarks and tradenames; we evaluate these assets annually for impairment, or more frequently if events and circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not that goodwill is impaired. Our annual testing date for impairment of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets is the first day of the fourth fiscal quarter, which for fiscal years 2020 and 2019 was September 27, 2020, and September 29, 2019, respectively. Finite-lived, amortizing intangible assets primarily consist of our contracts and relationships with certain retailers and our customer database tool. We amortize finite-lived intangible assets on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, ranging from four Goodwill is impaired if a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying value of goodwill. We consider each of our operating segments to be reporting units. We estimate the fair value of our reporting units using the income approach, which is based on a discounted cash flow analysis and calculate the fair value of reporting units by estimating after-tax cash flows discounted using a weighted average cost of capital. The cash flows used in the analysis are based on financial forecasts developed internally by management and require significant judgment. The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the reporting units are revenue growth rate, cost of sales, payroll expense growth rate and other store expenses growth rate. These assumptions are sensitive to future changes in the business profitability, changes in our business strategy and external market conditions, among other factors. A decrease to the long term revenue growth rate assumption or an increase to the expense growth rate assumptions could require us to record goodwill impairment charges. If impairment indicators related to amortizing intangible assets are present, we estimate cash flows expected to be generated over the remaining useful lives of the related assets based on current projections. If the projected net undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying value of the related assets, we then measure impairment based on a discounted cash flow model and record an impairment charge as the excess of carrying value and estimated fair value. We use the relief-from-royalty method to estimate fair value of our trademarks and tradenames, which involves estimating a royalty rate based on comparable licensing arrangements, applying that rate to the revenue projections for the subject asset, and then estimating fair value using a discounted cash flow analysis. We record an impairment charge as the excess of carrying value over estimated fair value. See Note 3. “Goodwill and Intangible Assets” for further detail on impairment of goodwill and intangible assets. Equity Method Investment The Company has an investment in a private start-up company whose principal business is licensing software to eyeglass retailers. The carrying value of our equity method investment is $0 as of the end of the fiscal year 2020. See Note 10. “Equity in Net Assets of Non-Consolidated Investee,” for further discussion relating to this investment. Fair Value Measurement of Assets and Liabilities (Non-Recurring Basis) Non-financial assets such as P&E, ROU assets and intangible assets are subject to nonrecurring fair value measurements if impairment indicators are present. Factors we consider important that could trigger an impairment review include a significant under-performance compared to expected operating results, a significant or adverse change in customer business climate, and a significant negative industry or economic trend. Deferred Financing Costs and Loan Discounts Costs incurred in connection with long-term debt which are paid directly to the Company’s lenders and to third parties are presented as reductions to our long-term debt balance, except for the costs related to our revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) which are presented as assets. These costs are amortized over the term of the related financing agreement and included in interest expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. Self-Insurance Liabilities We are primarily self-insured for workers’ compensation, associate health benefits and general liability claims. We record self-insurance liabilities based on claims filed, including the development of those claims and an estimate of claims incurred but not yet reported. Should a different amount of claims occur compared to what was estimated, or costs of the claims increase or decrease beyond what was anticipated, liabilities may need to be adjusted accordingly. We periodically update our estimates and record such adjustments in the period in which such determination is made. Self-insurance liabilities are recorded in Other payables and accrued expenses (current portion) and Other liabilities (non-current portion) on an undiscounted basis in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. We reinsure worker’s compensation and medical claims above our retention levels with a highly rated financial institution that can be expected to fully perform under the terms of the arrangement. Estimated recoveries from reinsurance in the amount of $1.1 million (current portion) are included in Prepaid expenses and other current assets for both fiscal year end 2020 and fiscal year end 2019, and Other assets in the amounts of $2.3 million and $2.4 million (non-current portion) as of fiscal year end 2020 and fiscal year end 2019, respectively, in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The accrued obligation for self-insurance programs was $8.7 million and $8.4 million (current portion) and $7.0 million and $7.3 million (non-current portion) as of fiscal year end 2020 and fiscal year end 2019, respectively. Derivative Financial Instruments The Company uses interest rate derivatives to manage the exposure of its LIBOR-based debt to fluctuations in interest rates. We designate certain of our interest rate derivatives as cash flow hedges and formally document our hedge relationships, including identification of the hedging instruments and the hedged items, as well as our risk management objectives and strategies for undertaking the hedge transactions. We record all interest rate derivatives in our consolidated balance sheets on a gross basis at fair value. Fair value represents estimated amounts we would receive or pay upon a termination of interest rate derivatives prior to their scheduled expiration dates. The fair value was based on information that is model-driven and whose inputs were observable (Level 2 inputs). We do not hold or enter into financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. The gain or loss res ulting from fair value adjustments for highly effective cash flow hedges is recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive loss (“AOCL”) in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets until the hedged item is recognized as interest expense in the consolidated statements of operations. The gain or loss resulting from fair value adjustments of derivatives not deemed to be highly effective cash flow hedges is recognized in interest expense immediately. We perform periodic assessments of the effectiveness of our derivative contracts designated as hedges, including the possibility of counterparty default. To manage credit risk associated with our interest rate hedging program, we select as counterparties major financial institutions with investment grade credit ratings. The impact of credit risk, as well as the ability of each party to fulfill its obligations under our derivative financial instruments, is considered in determining the fair value of the contracts. We do not have any credit risk-related contingent features or collateral requirements associated with our derivative contracts. See Note 14. “Interest Rate Derivatives” for further details. Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss AOCL is defined as the change in equity of a business enterprise during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources. Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of income tax, is entirely composed of the cumulative unrealized loss on our hedging instruments. See Note 18. “Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss” for details of reclassifications out of AOCL. Revenue Recognition Product revenues include sales of prescription and non-prescription eyewear, contact lenses, related accessories to retail customers (including those covered by managed care) and sales of inventory in which our customer is another retail entity. Revenues from services and plans include eye exams, eyecare club membership fees, product protection plans (i.e. warranties) and HMO vision plan fees. Service revenue also includes fees we earn for managing certain Vision Centers and performing laboratory processing services for our legacy partner. At our America’s Best brand, our signature offer is two pairs of eyeglasses and a free eye exam for one low price (“two-pair offer”). Since an eye exam is a key component in the ability for acceptable prescription eyewear to be delivered to a customer, we concluded that the eye exam service, while capable of being distinct from the eyeglass product delivery, was not distinct in the context of the two-pair offer. As a result, we do not allocate revenue to the eye exam associated with the two-pair offer, and we record all revenue associated with the offer in Owned & Host net product sales when the customer has received and accepted the merchandise. Our retail customers generally make payments for prescription eyewear products at the time they place an order. Amounts we collect in advance for undelivered merchandise are reported as unearned revenue in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Unearned revenue at the end of a reporting period is estimated based on processing and delivery times throughout the current month which generally range from approximately seven Revenue is recognized net of sales taxes and returns and include amounts billed to customers related to shipping and handling costs. The returns allowance is based on historical return patterns. Provisions for estimated returns are established and the expected costs continue to be recognized as reductions to revenue when the products are sold. Shipping and handling costs are accounted for as fulfillment costs and are included in costs applicable to revenue. We record reductions in revenue for estimated price concessions granted to managed care providers. The Company considers its revenue from managed care customers to include variable consideration and estimates such amounts associated with managed care customer revenues using the history of concessions provided and cash receipts from managed care providers; we reduced our net revenue for variable considerations of $7.5 million during the fiscal year 2020. Refer to Note 7. “Revenue from Contracts With Customers” for further details of our revenues. Costs Applicable To Revenue Costs applicable to revenue consist primarily of cost of products sold and costs of administering services and plans. Costs of products sold include (i) costs to procure non-prescription eyewear, contacts and accessories which we purchase and sell in their finished form, (ii) costs to manufacture finished prescription eyeglasses, including direct materials, labor and overhead and (iii) remake costs, warehousing and distribution expenses and internal transfer costs. Costs of services and plans include costs associated with warranty programs, eyecare club memberships, HMO vision plan fees, eyecare practitioner and eye exam technician payroll, taxes and benefits and optometric and other service costs. Depreciation and amortization are excluded from costs applicable to revenue and are presented separately on the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. As a component of the Company’s procurement program, the Company frequently enters into contracts with its vendors that provide for payments of rebates or other allowances. These vendor payments are reflected in the carrying value of the inventory when earned or as progress is made toward earning the rebate or allowance and as a component of cost of products as the inventory is sold. Rebates that have been earned but not yet received are recognized as an increase to Accounts receivable, net or a reduction to Accounts payable, depending on the nature of the agreement with the vendor, until the rebate has been received. Selling, General and Administrative SG&A includes store associate (including optician) payroll, taxes and benefits, occupancy and other store expenses, advertising and promotion, field services, and corporate support. Advertising and promotion costs, including online marketing arrangements, newspaper, direct mail, television and radio, are recorded in SG&A and expensed at the time the advertising first occurs. Production costs of future media advertising and related promotional campaigns are deferred until the advertising events occur. Non-capital expenditures associated with opening new stores, including rent, marketing expenses, travel and relocation costs, and training costs, are recorded in SG&A as incurred. Advertising expenses were $86.5 million, $113.3 million and $107.5 million for fiscal years 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Leases We lease our stores, laboratories, distribution centers, and corporate offices. These leases generally have noncancelable lease terms of between 5 years and 10 years, with an option to renew for additional terms of 1 year to 10 years or more. The lease term includes renewal option periods when the renewal is deemed reasonably certain after considering the value of the leasehold improvements at the end of the noncancelable lease period. Most leases for our stores provide for a minimum rent and typically include escalating rent over time with the exception of Military for which lease payments are variable and based on a percentage of sales. For Vista Optical locations in Fred Meyer stores, we pay fixed rent plus a percentage of sales after certain minimum thresholds are achieved. The Company’s leases generally require us to pay insurance, real estate taxes and common area maintenance expenses, substantially all of which are variable and not included in the measurement of the lease liability. Our lease arrangements frequently include tenant improvement allowances (TIAs), which are contractual amounts received or receivable from a lessor for improvements made to leased properties by the Company. Our lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants. With respect to lease accounting guidance, the Company’s management & services agreement with its legacy partner does not contain a lease arrangement. The lease liability is measured at the present value of future lease payments over the lease term less TIAs receivable, and the ROU asset is measured at the lease liability amount, adjusted for prepaid lease payments, TIAs received and the lessee’s initial direct costs. As the rate implicit in the Company’s leases is not easily determinable, the Company’s incremental borrowing rate is used in calculating the present value of the sum of the lease payments. Factors incorporated into the calculation of the lease incremental borrowing rate include lease term, borrowing rates on the Company’s long-term debt, fixed rates on the Company’s interest rate swaps, LIBOR margins for issuers of similar credit rating to NVI and effect of collateralization. For finance leases, a lease ROU asset is recorded as property and equipment and corresponding amounts are recorded as finance lease debt obligations at an amount equal to the lesser of the net present value of minimum lease payments to be made over the lease term or the fair value of the property for leases in existence as of fiscal year end 2018 and at the net present value of the minimum lease payments to be made over the lease term for new finance leases entered into subsequent to fiscal year end 2018. Stock-Based Compensation We measure stock-based compensation cost, which consists of grants of stock options, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance stock units (“PSUs”), performance stock options and restricted stock awards (“RSAs”) to associates and non-associate directors, based on the estimated grant date fair value of the awards. We recognize compensation expense for all awards over the requisite service period using a straight-line recognition method. Additionally, for awards that are subject to performance conditions, we recognize compensation expense once achievement of the conditions is considered to be probable. We account for forfeitures as they occur. See Note 5. “Stock Incentive Plan” for further details related to our stock-based compensation plans. Long-lived Asset Impairment We evaluate impairment of long-lived tangible and right of use (“ROU”) store assets at the store level, which is the lowest level at which independent cash flows can be identified, when events or conditions indicate the carrying values of such assets may not be recoverable. In making this evaluation, we may consider multiple factors including financial performance of the stores, regional and local business climates, future plans for the store operations and other qualitative factors. If the store’s projected undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the related assets over the life of the primary asset within the asset group are less than the carrying value of the subject assets, we determine an estimate of the fair value of the asset group using an income approach based on discounted cash flows, which require estimates and assumptions related to forecasted store revenue growth rates and store profitability. The cash flows used in estimating fair value were discounted using market rates from 6.3% to 8%. If the fair value of the asset group is less than its carrying value, the loss is allocated to the long-lived assets of the group on a pro rata basis using the relative carrying amounts of those assets, except that the loss allocated to an individual long lived asset of the group shall not reduce the carrying amount of that asset below its fair value. We consider market-based indications of prevailing rental rates for retail space, market participant discount rates, and lease incentives when estimating the fair values of ROU assets. A decrease in the estimated cash flows would lead to a lower fair value measurement, as would an increase in the discount rate. These non-recurring fair value measurements are classified as Level 3 measurements in the fair value hierarchy. We recognized impairments of $22.0 million, $8.9 million and $2.5 million in fiscal years 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. These impairment charges were primarily related to our long-lived tangible store assets classified as held and used, and were primarily driven by lower than projected customer sales volume in certain stores; we also considered the historical performance of the stores before the temporary store closures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the effect of store closures and uncertainty in store revenues over the remaining useful life of the asset group as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The estimated remaining fair value of the assets impaired during fiscal year 2020 was $30.6 million and the estimated remaining fair value of the assets impaired during fiscal year 2019 was $16.6 million; the estimated remaining fair values include amounts estimated at various dates during the related fiscal years. Substantially all of the remaining fair value of the impaired store assets in fiscal year 2020 represent the fair value of ROU assets. We assess non-store long-lived assets, including capitalized software costs in use or under development, for impairment if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of those assets may not be recoverable. The asset impairments recognized in fiscal year 2020 includes $1.1 million related to a write-off of certain capitalized software costs that were deemed to be obsolete due to a decision to cease further development. During fiscal years 2019 and 2018 there was no impairment of non-store long-lived assets or capitalized software costs. Income Taxes We account for deferred income taxes based on the asset |
