Our reliance on brand partners located in jurisdictions presenting an increased risk of bribery and corruption, exposes us to legal, reputational, and supply chain risk through the potential for violations of federal and international anti-corruption law.
We are subject to certain provisions of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (“FCPA”). The FCPA prohibits providing, offering, promising, or authorizing, directly or indirectly, anything of value to government officials, political parties, or political candidates for the purposes of obtaining or retaining business or securing any improper business advantage. We conduct business in, or may expand our business to, certain countries where there is a high risk of corruption and extortion and in some cases, where corruption and extortion are considered to be widespread and where our companies may have to obtain approvals, licenses, permits, or other regulatory approvals from public officials. Therefore, we are exposed to the risk that our employees, consultants, agents, or other third parties working on our behalf, could make, offer, promise or authorize payments or other benefits in violation of anti-corruption laws and regulations, especially in response to demands or attempts at extortion. If we or our brand partners were determined to have violated the FCPA, the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010, or any of the anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws in the countries and territories where we and our brand partners do business, we could suffer severe fines and penalties, profit disgorgement, injunctions on future conduct, securities litigation, bans on transacting certain business, and other consequences that may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the costs we may incur in defending against any anti-corruption investigations stemming from our or our brand partners’ actions could be significant. Moreover, any actual or alleged corruption in our supply chain could carry significant reputational harms, including negative publicity, loss of goodwill, and decline in share price.
Any actual or perceived violation or breach of these anti-corruption laws and regulations, including any potential governmental or internal investigations of perceived or actual misconduct, could affect our overall reputation and, depending on the case, expose us to administrative or judicial proceedings, which could result in criminal and civil judgments, including fines and monetary penalties, a possible prohibition on maintaining business relationships with brand partners or customers in certain countries, and other negative consequences which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We are subject to customs and international trade laws that could require us to modify our current business practices and incur increased costs or could result in a delay in getting products through customs and port operations, which may limit our growth and cause us to suffer reputational damage.
Our business is conducted worldwide, with goods imported from and exported to a substantial number of countries. A significant portion of the products we sell are shipped internationally. We are subject to numerous regulations, including customs and international trade laws that govern the importation and sale of luxury goods. Therefore, we are exposed to the risk that we are in non-compliance with some of these regulations and laws (the non-compliance of which could result in administrative proceedings initiated by competent authorities against us). Further, these regulations and laws may change unpredictably, and have done so recently in view of the global pandemic, economic pressures and potential trade wars.
Additionally, the ongoing crisis related to Russia’s war in Ukraine has resulted in the application of enhanced sanctions against Russia by a number of jurisdictions, including the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union, and vice versa. These measures, and any additional measures that may be imposed should Russia’s war against Ukraine continue, may have a material impact on our ability to operate in the ordinary course of business with customers in Russia. Although our sales in Russia are relatively immaterial and we do not have a significant number of personnel in the country, certain commercial relationships remain at risk of disruption as a result of these measures.
Legal requirements are frequently changed and subject to interpretation, and we are unable to predict the ultimate cost of compliance with these requirements or their effects on our operations. We may be required to make significant expenditures or modify our business practices to comply with existing or future laws and regulations, which may increase our costs and materially limit our ability to operate our business.
Our business depends on our ability to source and distribute products in a timely manner. As a result, we rely on the free flow of goods through open and operational ports worldwide. Labor disputes or other disruptions at ports create significant risks for our business, particularly if work slowdowns, lockouts, strikes or other disruptions occur. Any of these factors could result in reduced sales or canceled orders, which may limit our growth and damage our reputation and may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.