Risk Factors Dashboard

Once a year, publicly traded companies issue a comprehensive report of their business, called a 10-K. A component mandated in the 10-K is the ‘Risk Factors’ section, where companies disclose any major potential risks that they may face. This dashboard highlights all major changes and additions in new 10K reports, allowing investors to quickly identify new potential risks and opportunities.

Risk Factors - NAPA

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Item 1A. Risk Factors
Risks Related to the Proposed Merger
On October 6, 2024, we entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Marlee Buyer, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Parent”) and affiliate of Butterfly Equity LP (“Butterfly”), and Marlee Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub”, and together with Parent, the “Buyer Parties”), providing for the merger of Merger Sub with and into the Company, with the Company continuing as the surviving corporation (the “Merger”). Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, the Company’s stockholders will receive $11.10 per share in cash upon completion of the proposed transaction. See Note 19 (Subsequent Events), appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.
The Merger Agreement was unanimously approved by our Board of Directors. The description of the Merger Agreement in these Risk Factors does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Merger Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 2.1 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We may fail to consummate the Merger, and uncertainties related to the consummation of the Merger may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and negatively impact the price of our common stock.
The Merger is subject to the satisfaction of a number of conditions beyond our control, including receiving stockholder approval and other customary closing conditions. Failure to satisfy the conditions to the Merger could prevent or delay the completion of the Merger. Further, regulators may impose conditions, obligations or restrictions on the Merger that may have the effect of delaying or preventing its completion. If the Merger does not close, we may suffer other consequences that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, and stock price, and our stockholders would be exposed to additional risks, including, but not limited to:
to the extent that the current market price of our common stock reflects an assumption that the Merger will be completed, the market price of our common stock could decrease if the Merger is not completed;
investor confidence in us could decline, stockholder litigation could be brought against us, relationships with existing and prospective customers, service providers, investors, lenders and other business partners may be adversely impacted, we may be unable to retain key personnel, and our operating results may be adversely impacted due to costs incurred in connection with the Merger;
we have incurred, and will continue to incur, significant expenses for professional services in connection with the Merger for which we will have received little or no benefit if the Merger is not consummated;
any disruptions to our business resulting from the announcement and pendency of the Merger, including adverse changes in our relationships with customers, suppliers, partners and employees, may continue or intensify in the event the Merger is not consummated or is significantly delayed; and
the requirement that we pay a termination fee under certain circumstances.
In addition, Butterfly has obtained significant equity and debt financing commitments for the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, but the obligations of any lenders to provide the debt financing under the Debt Commitment Letter (as such term is defined in the Merger Agreement) are subject to a number of conditions, including the receipt of executed loan documentation, accuracy of representations and warranties, consummation of the transactions contemplated in the Merger Agreement and contribution of the equity contemplated by the Equity Commitment Letter (as such term is defined in the Merger Agreement). Parent is dependent upon its limited partners funding into Butterfly-managed investment funds to fund its equity commitment. If any of Butterfly’s limited partners fail to follow-through on its commitment to fund a Butterfly-managed fund at the closing of the proposed transaction, Butterfly may be unable to fund the required equity to consummate the transaction, and the proposed transaction may not close.
In addition, the efforts and costs to satisfy the closing conditions of the Merger may place a significant burden on management and internal resources, and the Merger and related transactions, whether or not consummated, may result in a diversion of management’s attention from day-to-day operations. Any significant diversion of management’s attention away from ongoing business and difficulties encountered in the Merger process could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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There also is no assurance that the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement will occur on the terms and timeline currently contemplated or at all.
If the proposed Merger is delayed or not completed, the price of our common stock may decline, including to the extent that the current market price of our common stock reflects an assumption that the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement will be consummated without further delays, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. If the Merger Agreement is terminated and we determine to seek another business combination, we may not be able to negotiate a transaction with another party on terms comparable to, or better than, the terms of the Merger.
If the Merger Agreement is terminated, we may, under certain circumstances, be obligated to pay a termination fee to Parent. These costs could require us to use available liquidity that would have otherwise been available for other uses.
If the Merger is not completed, in certain circumstances, we could be required to pay a termination fee of up to $53.5 million. If the Merger Agreement is terminated, the termination fee we may be required to pay, if any, under the Merger Agreement may require us to use available liquidity that would have otherwise been available for general corporate purposes or other uses. For these and other reasons, termination of the Merger Agreement could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition, which in turn would materially and adversely affect the price of our common stock. Changes to the enforcement of these rules and regulations may increase our costs or limit our ability to operate, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are subject to various uncertainties while the Merger is pending, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Uncertainty about the pendency of the Merger and the effect of the Merger on employees, customers and other third parties who deal with us may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. These uncertainties may impair our ability to attract, retain and motivate key personnel pending the consummation of the Merger, as such personnel may experience uncertainty about their future roles following the consummation of the Merger. Additionally, these uncertainties could cause customers and other third parties who deal with us to seek to change existing business relationships with us or fail to extend an existing relationship with us, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and market price of our common stock.
While the Merger Agreement is in effect, we are subject to certain interim covenants.
The Merger Agreement generally requires us to operate our business in the ordinary course, subject to certain exceptions, including as required by applicable law, pending consummation of the Merger, and subjects us to customary interim operating covenants that restrict us from taking certain specified actions until the Merger is completed or the Merger Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms. These restrictions could prevent us from pursuing certain business opportunities that may arise prior to the consummation of the Merger and may affect our ability to execute our business strategies and attain financial and other goals and may impact our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
The Merger Agreement limits our ability to pursue alternatives to the Merger and may discourage other companies from trying to acquire us for greater consideration than what Parent has agreed to pay pursuant to the Merger Agreement.
The Merger Agreement contains provisions that make it more difficult for us to sell our business to a party other than Parent. Under the Merger Agreement, beginning at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific time) on November 20, 2024 we will become subject to customary “no-shop” restrictions on our ability to solicit alternative acquisition proposals from third parties and to provide information to, and participate in discussions and engage in negotiations with, third parties regarding any alternative acquisition proposals, subject to a customary “fiduciary out” provision. These restrictions, including the added expense of the termination fees that may become payable by us in certain circumstances, might discourage a third party that has an interest in acquiring all or a significant part of the Company from considering or proposing that acquisition, even if that party were prepared to pay consideration with a higher per share value than the consideration payable in the Merger pursuant to the Merger Agreement.
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We and our directors and officers may be subject to lawsuits relating to the Merger.
Litigation is very common in connection with the sale of public companies, regardless of whether the claims have any merit. One of the conditions to consummating the Merger is that no material order preventing or materially delaying the consummation of the Merger shall have been issued by any court. Consequently, if any such lawsuit challenging the Merger is successful in obtaining an order preventing the consummation of the Merger, that order may delay or prevent the Merger from being completed. While we will evaluate and defend against any lawsuits, the time and costs of defending against litigation relating to the Merger may adversely affect our business.
We will continue to incur substantial transaction-related costs in connection with the Merger.
We have incurred significant legal, advisory and financial services fees in connection with Merger. We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, additional costs in connection with the satisfaction of the various conditions to closing of the Merger, including seeking approval from our stockholders and from applicable regulatory agencies. We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, significant advertising and promotional expenditures to enhance our winery brands and raise consumer awareness in both existing and emerging categories. If there is any delay in the consummation of the Merger, these costs could increase significantly.
Efforts to complete the Merger could disrupt our relationships with third parties and employees, divert management’s attention, or result in negative publicity or legal proceedings, any of which could negatively impact our operating results and ongoing business.
We have expended, and continue to expend, significant management time and resources in an effort to complete the Merger, which may have a negative impact on our ongoing business and operations. Uncertainty regarding the outcome of the Merger and our future could disrupt our business relationships with our existing and potential customers, suppliers, vendors and other business partners, who may attempt to negotiate changes in existing business relationships or consider entering into business relationships with parties other than us. Uncertainty regarding the outcome of the Merger could also adversely affect our ability to recruit and retain key personnel and other employees. The pendency of the Merger may also result in negative publicity and a negative impression of us in the financial markets, and may lead to litigation against us and our directors and officers. Such litigation would be distracting to management and, may, in the future, require us to incur significant costs. Such litigation could result in the Merger being delayed and/or enjoined by a court of competent jurisdiction, which could prevent the Merger from becoming effective. The occurrence of any of these events individually or in combination could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If the Merger is consummated, our stockholders will not be able to participate in any further upside to our business.
If the Merger is consummated, our stockholders will receive $11.10 in cash per common share owned by them, without interest and subject to applicable tax withholding, and will not receive any equity interests of Parent. As a result, if our business following the Merger performs well, our current stockholders will not receive any additional consideration and will therefore not receive any benefit from any such future performance of our business.
Risks related to our competitive position and winery brands
The success of our business depends heavily on the strength of our winery brands.
Maintaining and expanding our reputation as a premier producer of luxury wine among our customers and the luxury wine market generally is critical to the success of our business and our growth strategy. The luxury wine market is driven by a relatively small number of active and well-regarded wine critics within the industry who have outsized influence over the perceived quality and value of wines. We have consistently produced critically acclaimed, award-winning wines across multiple winery brands in our portfolio. However, if we are unable to maintain the actual or perceived quality of our wines, including as a result of contamination or tampering, environmental or other factors impacting the quality of our grapes or other raw materials, or if our wines otherwise do not meet the subjective expectations or tastes of one or more of a relatively small number of wine critics, the actual or perceived quality and value of one or more of our wines could be harmed, which could negatively impact not only the value of that wine, but also the value of the vintage, the particular brand or our
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broader portfolio. The winemaking process is a long and labor-intensive process that is built around yearly vintages, which means that once a vintage has been released, we are not able to make further adjustments to satisfy wine critics or consumers. As a result, we are dependent on our winemakers and tasting panels to ensure that every wine we release meets our exacting quality standards.
With the use of social media, word within the luxury wine market spreads quickly, which can accentuate both the positive and the negative reviews of our wines and of wine vintages generally. Public perception of our winery brands could be negatively affected by adverse publicity or negative commentary on social media outlets, particularly negative commentary on social media outlets that goes “viral,” or our responses relating to, among other things:
an actual or perceived failure to maintain high-quality, safety, ethical, social and environmental standards for all of our operations and activities;
an actual or perceived failure to address concerns relating to the quality, safety or integrity of our wines and the hospitality we offer to our guests at our tasting rooms;
our environmental impact, including our use of agricultural materials, packaging, water and energy use, and waste management; or
an actual or perceived failure by us to promote the responsible consumption of alcohol.
If we do not produce wines that are well-regarded by the relatively small wine critic community, the luxury wine market will quickly become aware and our reputation, winery brands, business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, if certain vintages receive negative publicity or consumer reaction, whether as a result of our wines or wines of other producers, our wines in the same vintage could be adversely affected. Unfavorable publicity, whether accurate or not, related to our industry, us, our winery brands, marketing, personnel, operations, business performance or prospects could also unfavorably affect our corporate reputation, stock price, ability to attract high-quality talent or the performance of our business.
Any contamination or other quality control issue could have an adverse effect on sales of the impacted wine or our broader portfolio of winery brands. If any of our wines become unsafe or unfit for consumption, cause injury or are otherwise improperly packaged or labeled, we may have to engage in a product recall and/or be subject to liability and incur additional costs. A widespread recall, multiple recalls or a significant product liability judgment against us could cause our wines to be unavailable for a period of time, depressing demand and our brand equity. Even if a product liability claim is unsuccessful or is not fully pursued, any resulting negative publicity could adversely affect our reputation with existing and potential customers and accounts, as well as our corporate and individual winery brand images in such a way that current and future sales could be diminished. In addition, should a competitor experience a recall or contamination event, we could face decreased consumer confidence by association as a producer of similar products. Although we carry insurance to protect against certain potential errors in the production process, such insurance is subject to deductibles and may not be sufficient to compensate for the value of losses incurred in connection with product liability claims or recalls. Although we carry insurance to protect against certain potential 22Table of Contentserrors in the production process, such insurance is subject to deductibles and may not be sufficient to compensate for the value of losses incurred in connection with product liability claims or recalls.
Additionally, third parties may sell wines or inferior brands that imitate our winery brands or that are counterfeit versions of our labels, and customers could be duped into thinking that these imitation labels are our authentic wines. For example, from time to time we have been notified of instances of potential counterfeiting related to a small amount of wine in foreign jurisdictions. Third parties, including third parties who acquire our wine and resell it on the secondary market, may also fail to properly store our wines in advance of offering them for sale, possibly resulting in a product that would not meet our high-quality standard. A negative consumer experience with such a wine could cause them to refrain from purchasing our winery brands in the future and damage our brand integrity. Any failure to maintain the actual or perceived quality of our wines could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Damage to our reputation or loss of consumer confidence in our wines for any of these or other reasons could result in decreased demand for our wines and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition, as well as require additional resources to rebuild our reputation, competitive position and winery brand strength.
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We face significant competition with an increasing number of products and market participants that could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our industry is intensely competitive and highly fragmented. Our wines compete in the luxury and ultra-luxury tiers within the wine industry and with many other domestic and foreign wines. Our wines also compete with popularly priced generic wines and with other alcoholic and, to a lesser degree, non-alcoholic beverages, for drinker acceptance and loyalty, shelf space and prominence in retail stores, presence and prominence on restaurant wine lists and for marketing focus by the Company’s independent distributors, many of which carry extensive portfolios of wines and other alcoholic beverages. This competition is driven by established companies as well as new entrants in our markets and categories. In the U.S., wine sales are relatively concentrated among a limited number of large suppliers. Our competitors may have more robust financial, technical, marketing and distribution networks and public relations resources than we have. As a result of this intense competition, combined with our growth goals, we have experienced and may continue to face upward pressure on our selling, marketing and promotional efforts and expenses. There can be no assurance that in the future we will be able to successfully compete with our competitors or that we will not face greater competition from other wineries and beverage manufacturers.
If we are unable to successfully compete with existing or new market participants, or if we do not effectively respond to competitive pressures, we could experience reductions in market share and margins that could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Consolidation of the distributors of our wines, as well as the consolidation of retailers, may increase competition in an already crowded space and may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Other than sales made directly to trade accounts in California or directly to consumers through our DTC channel, the majority of our wine sales are made through independent distributors for resale to retail outlets, restaurants, hotels and private clubs across the U.S. and in some overseas markets. Sales to distributors are expected to continue to represent a substantial portion of our future net sales. Consolidation among wine producers, distributors, wholesalers, suppliers and retailers could create a more challenging competitive landscape for our wines. Consolidation at any level could hinder the distribution and sale of our wines as a result of reduced attention and resources allocated to our winery brands both during and after transition periods, because our winery brands might represent a smaller portion of the new business portfolio. Furthermore, consolidation of distributors may lead to the erosion of margins as newly consolidated distributors take down prices or demand more margin from existing suppliers. Changes in distributors’ strategies, including a reduction in the number of brands they carry or the allocation of resources for our competitors’ brands or private label products, may adversely affect our growth, business, results of operations, financial condition and market share. Changes in distributors’ strategies, including a reduction in the number of brands they 23Table of Contentscarry or the allocation of resources for our competitors’ brands or private label products, may adversely affect our growth, business, results of operations, financial condition and market share. Distributors of our wines offer products that compete directly with our wines for inventory and retail shelf space, promotional and marketing support and consumer purchases. Expansion into new product categories by other suppliers or innovation by new entrants into the market could increase competition in our product categories.
An increasingly large percentage of our net sales is concentrated within a small number of wholesale customers. Our five largest customers represented approximately 45% of total net sales in Fiscal 2024. Additionally, a substantial portion of our wholesale channel is commanded by large retailers. The purchasing power of these companies is significant, and they have the ability to command concessions. There can be no assurance that the distributors and retailers we use will continue to purchase our wines or provide our wines with adequate levels of promotional and merchandising support. In addition, changes to any of our distribution partners in important markets could result in temporary or longer-term sales disruption, higher costs and harm to other business relationships we may have. In May 2024, we announced that we entered into distribution agreements with Republic National Distributing Company (“RNDC”) and Breakthru Beverage Group (“BBG”), with the goal of driving profitable growth of sales through an increase in focus and investment in the wholesale channel. These distributor changes could result in temporary disruption to our deliveries to retailers. Further, there can be no assurance that the distributor changes will achieve the intended benefits on the time frame we expect or at all. The loss of one or more major accounts or the need to make significant concessions to retain one or more such accounts could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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A reduction in consumer demand for wine, which may result from a variety of factors, including demographic shifts, desirable substitutes and decreases in discretionary spending, could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Consumer preferences may shift due to a variety of factors, including changes in demographic or social trends, changes in discretionary income (including as a result of inflation and the resulting economic disruption), public health policies and perceptions and changes in leisure, dining and beverage consumption patterns.Consumer preferences may shift due to a variety of factors, including changes in demographic or social trends, changes in discretionary income (including as a result of inflation of the price of consumer products and the resulting economic disruption), public health policies and perceptions and changes in leisure, dining and beverage consumption patterns. Our continued success will require us to anticipate and respond effectively to shifts in consumer behavior and drinking tastes. If consumer preferences were to move away from our luxury winery brands or labels, our results of operations would be materially and adversely affected.
A limited or general decline in consumer demand could occur in the future due to a variety of factors, including:
a general decline in economic or geopolitical conditions including, as a result of inflation, or the increase in price of consumer products;
a general decline in the consumption of alcoholic beverage products in on-premise establishments, such as those that may result from stricter laws relating to driving while under the influence of alcohol and changes in public health policies;
a generational, demographic or other shift in consumer preferences away from wines to other alcoholic beverages or other substitutes;
increased activity of anti-alcohol groups;
concern about the health consequences of consuming alcoholic beverage products;
increased federal, state, provincial, and foreign excise, or other taxes on beverage alcohol products and increased restrictions on beverage alcohol advertising and marketing; and
consumer dietary preferences favoring lower-calorie alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Our portfolio includes a range of luxury and ultra-luxury wines, and demand for these winery brands may be particularly susceptible to changing economic conditions and consumer tastes, preferences and spending habits, which may reduce our sales of these products and adversely affect our profitability. Many of these consumers are from the Generation X and Baby Boomer generations, and we have not yet seen equivalent adoption by the Millennial generation. An unanticipated decline or change in consumer demand or preference could also materially impact our ability to forecast for future production requirements, which could, in turn, impair our ability to effectively adapt to changing consumer preferences. Any reduction in the demand for our wines would materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The consumer reception of the launch and expansion of our product offerings is inherently uncertain.24Table of ContentsThe consumer reception of the launch and expansion of our product offerings is inherently uncertain. New producers may present new and unknown risks and challenges in production and marketing that we may fail to manage optimally and could have a materially adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
New product development and innovation is a key part of our marketing strategy. To continue our growth and compete with new and existing competitors, we may need to innovate and develop a robust pipeline of new wines. The launch and continued success of a new wine is inherently uncertain, particularly with respect to consumer appeal and market share capture. An unsuccessful launch may impact consumer perception of our existing winery brands and reputation, which are critical to our ongoing success and growth. Unsuccessful implementation or short-lived success of new wines may result in write-offs or other associated costs which may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, the launch of new product offerings may result in cannibalization of sales of existing products in our portfolio.
Due to the three-tier alcohol beverage distribution system in the United States, we are heavily reliant on our distributors and government agencies that resell alcoholic beverages in all states except California, where we self-distribute our wines to trade accounts. A significant reduction in distributor demand for our wines would materially and adversely affect our sales and profitability.
Due to regulatory requirements in the U.S., we sell a significant portion of our wines to wholesalers for resale to trade accounts, and in some states, directly to government agencies for resale. In California we sell directly to
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retail accounts rather than via a wholesaler, which we refer to as direct to trade. Additionally, a small percentage of our wines are sold directly to accounts outside of California, including cruise ships, airlines and duty-free shops. A change in the relationship with any of our significant distributors could harm our business and reduce our sales.
The laws and regulations of several states prohibit changes of distributors, except under certain limited circumstances, making it difficult to terminate or otherwise cease working with a distributor for poor performance without reasonable justification, as defined by applicable statutes in those states. Any difficulty or inability to replace distributors, poor performance of our major distributors or our inability to collect accounts receivable from our major distributors could harm our business. In addition, an expansion of the laws and regulations limiting the sale of our wine would materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. There can be no assurance that the distributors and accounts to which we sell our wines will continue to purchase our wines or provide our wines with adequate levels of promotional support, which could increase competitive pressure to increase sales and market spending and could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our marketing strategy involves continued expansion of our DTC channel, which may present risks and challenges that we have not yet experienced or contemplated, or for which we are not adequately prepared. These risks and challenges, including changes to the judicial, legal or regulatory framework applicable to our DTC business and failures of third-party shipping and IT partners, could negatively affect our sales in these channels and our profitability.
The marketplace in which we operate is highly competitive and in recent years has seen the entrance of new competitors and products targeting similar customer groups to our business. To stay competitive and forge new connections with customers, we are continuing to invest in the expansion of our DTC channel.
Expanding our DTC channel may require significant investment in tasting room development, e-commerce platforms, marketing, fulfillment, IT infrastructure and other known and unknown costs. The success of our DTC channel depends on our ability to maintain the efficient and uninterrupted operation of online order processing and fulfillment and delivery operations. As such, we are heavily dependent on the performance of our shipping and technology partners. Any system interruptions or delays could prevent potential customers from purchasing our wines directly or from receiving the wine they purchase in a timely manner, both of which could negatively impact our business. Any system interruptions or delays could prevent potential customers from purchasing 25Table of Contentsour wines directly or from receiving the wine they purchase in a timely manner, both of which could negatively impact our business.
Our ability to ship wines directly to our customers is the result of court rulings, including the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Granholm v. Heald, which allow, in certain circumstances, shipments to customers of wines from out-of-state wineries. Any changes to the judicial, legal or regulatory framework applicable to our DTC business that reduce our ability to sell wines in most states in the DTC channel could have a materially adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We may be unable to adequately adapt to shifts in consumer preferences for points of purchase, such as an increase in at-home delivery, and our competitors may react more rapidly or with improved customer experiences. A failure to react quickly to these and other changes in consumer preferences, or to create infrastructure to support new or expanding sales channels may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our advertising and promotional investments may affect our financial results but not be effective.
We have incurred, and expect to continue to incur, significant advertising and promotional expenditures to enhance our winery brands and raise consumer awareness in both existing and emerging categories. These expenditures may adversely affect our results of operations in a particular quarter or even a full fiscal year, and may not result in increased sales. Variations in the levels of advertising and promotional expenditures have in the past caused, and are expected in the future to continue to cause, variability in our quarterly results of operations. While we strive to invest only in effective advertising and promotional activities in both the digital and traditional segments, it is difficult to correlate such investments with sales results, and there is no guarantee that our expenditures will be effective in building brand strength or growing long-term sales.
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A decrease in wine score ratings by important rating organizations could have a negative impact on our ability to create demand for and sell our wines. Sustained negative scores could reduce the prominence of our winery brands and carry negative association across our portfolio which could materially and adversely affect our sales and profitability.
Our winery brands and individual labels are issued ratings or scores by wine rating organizations, and higher scores often drive greater demand and, in some cases, higher pricing. Many of our winery brands and labels have consistently ranked among the top U.S. luxury wine brands and have generally received positive reviews across multiple appellations, varieties, styles and price points from many of the industry’s top critics and publications. These positive third-party reviews have been important to maintaining and expanding our reputation as a luxury wine producer. However, we have no control over ratings issued by third parties or the methodology they use to evaluate our wines, which may not continue to be favorable to us in the future. If our new or existing winery brands or labels are assigned significantly lower ratings, if our winery brands or labels consistently receive lower ratings over an extended period of time or if any of our competitors’ new or existing brands are assigned comparatively higher ratings, our customers’ perception of our winery brands and our labels and demand for our wines could be negatively impacted, which could materially and adversely affect our sales and profitability.
Risks related to our production of wine and the occurrence of natural disasters
If we are unable to obtain adequate supplies of premium grapes and bulk wine from third-party grape growers and bulk wine suppliers, the quantity or quality of our annual production of wine could be adversely affected, causing a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The production of our luxury wines and the ability to fulfill the demand for our wines is restricted by the availability of premium grapes and bulk wines from third-party growers. On average, between 2022 and 2024, approximately 10% of our grape inputs per year came from our own Estate properties and the remaining amount primarily came from third parties in the form of contracted grapes and contracted bulk wine.
As we continue to grow, we anticipate that a greater percentage of our production will rely on third-party suppliers as the yield from our Estate properties is likely to remain relatively stable.26Table of ContentsAs we continue to grow, we anticipate that a greater percentage of our production will rely on third-party suppliers as the yield from our Estate properties is likely to remain relatively stable. If we are unable to source grapes and bulk wine of the requisite quality, varieties and geographies, among other factors, our ability to produce wines to the standards, quantity and quality demanded by our customers could be impaired.
Factors including climate change, agricultural risks, competition from other grape purchasers, water availability, land use, wildfires, floods, drought, disease and pests could impact the quality and quantity of grapes and bulk wine available to our Company. Furthermore, these potential disruptions in production may drive up demand for grapes and bulk wine creating higher input costs or the inability to purchase these materials. In recent years, we have observed volatility in the grape market. We may experience upward price pressure in future harvest seasons due to factors including the general volatility in the grape and bulk wine markets, widespread insured and/or uninsured losses and overall stress on the agricultural portion of the supply chain. As a result, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected both in the year of the harvest and in future periods.
Natural disasters, including fires, floods and earthquakes, some of which may be exacerbated by climate change, could destroy, damage or limit access to our wineries and vineyards, and the locations at which we store our inventory, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
In recent years, we have seen an increase in the number and severity of extreme temperature events and unusual weather patterns, as well as the increase in both the frequency and severity of natural disasters, including fires, earthquakes and floods. These natural disasters and severe weather events may cause disruptions to our supply chain, which may negatively impact our wines by causing disruption or damage to our wineries, inventory holdings, suppliers, transportation or sales channels.
A significant portion of our agricultural yield, wineries and tasting rooms, and our corporate headquarters, are located in a region of California that is prone to natural disasters such as wildfires, floods and earthquakes.
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Natural disasters may also interrupt critical infrastructure, such as electricity, which may be suspended for a prolonged period of time as a preventative or reactive measure to natural disasters. In recent years, we have experienced wildfires of varying duration and severity in California. At various times during some of these fires, operations at certain of our properties were impacted. These fires also resulted in power outages and limited our access to and productivity at certain of our facilities, which negatively impacted our production and operations. The grapes in our vineyards and the vineyards of the growers from which we are contracted to purchase grapes are susceptible to potential smoke damage as a result of wildfires in the region, which, in some cases, can impact the quality of the grapes, making them unusable or decreasing their value in the production of our wine, as occurred as a result of the fires in 2020.
A significant portion of our net sales is derived from our DTC channel, which depends in part on guest visits to our tasting rooms. Natural disasters and severe weather, and negative press coverage of such incidents, have in the past and could in the future negatively impact the number of tourists visiting Northern California, which could, in turn, decrease visits to our tasting rooms. Any decrease in visits to our tasting rooms could negatively impact our DTC channel, which could have a materially adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Some of our vineyards and wineries are located in areas susceptible to flooding. In 2019, substantial flooding in the Russian River Valley caused damage to one of our facilities and tasting rooms and caused more substantial damage to other nearby wineries and vineyards. Additionally, in 2014, a 6.0 magnitude earthquake occurred in Napa County that caused significant damage to certain wineries and businesses in the area.
While we have mitigation and avoidance strategies in place to minimize the damage to our properties, remediate smoke taint present in some wine and mitigate other losses resulting from fires, floods and other natural disasters, we cannot be certain such strategies will be sufficient in the event of future fires, earthquakes or flooding, particularly if such events increase in severity, duration or geographic scope. Failure to adequately mitigate future climate risks or more extreme and adverse conditions at any of our properties or the properties of our suppliers could result in the partial or total loss of physical inventory, production facilities, tasting rooms or event spaces, which could have a materially adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
A failure to adequately prepare for supply chain disruptions or other adverse events that could cause disruption to elements of our business, including our grape harvesting, blending, inventory aging or distribution of our wines could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Disruptions to our operations, or the operations of any of our suppliers or third-party production or storage facilities or shipping partners, caused by adverse weather, natural disasters, public health emergencies, human errors or other unforeseen circumstances may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. A consequence of any of these or supply chain disruptions, including the temporary inability to produce our wines due to the closure of our production sites or an inability to transport our wines at a reasonable cost or at all, could prevent us from meeting consumer demand in the near term or long-term for our aged wines. A consequence of any of these or supply or supply chain disruptions, including the temporary inability to produce our wines due to the closure of our production sites or an inability to transport our wines at a reasonable cost or at all, could prevent us from meeting consumer demand in the near term or long-term for our aged wines. The occurrence of any such disruptions during a peak time of demand for such processed materials could increase the magnitude of the effect on our distribution network and sales. In addition, distributors may seek to maintain larger inventories of our wine as a consequence of these disruptions. Failure to adequately prepare for and address any such disruptions could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
A catastrophic event causing physical damage, disruption or failure at any one of our major production or storage facilities, or any third-party facility where our wine is produced or stored, could adversely affect our business. As many of our wines require aging for some period of time, we maintain a substantial inventory of aged and maturing wines in warehouses at a number of different locations in California and Washington. Human error in the production process, including during wine blending, as well as human errors that lead to leaks or spillage may result in lost or damaged inventory. The loss of a substantial amount of aged inventory through fire, accident, earthquake, other natural or man-made disaster, contamination or otherwise could significantly reduce the supply of the affected wine or wines, including our aged wines, which are typically our highest priced and limited production wines.
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Any disruptions that cause forced closure or evacuation could materially harm our business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, should multiple closings occur, we may lose guest confidence that could result in a reduction in visitation to our tasting rooms and direct sales, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
If we fail to effectively expand or optimize our processing, manufacturing and production capacity as we continue to grow and scale our business, our business and operating results and our brand reputation could be harmed.
While our current supply, processing and manufacturing capabilities are sufficient to meet our present business needs, we may need to expand these capabilities in the future as we continue to grow and scale our business. There is risk in our ability to effectively scale and optimize production and processing and effectively manage our supply chain requirements. We must accurately forecast demand for our products to ensure we have sufficient processing and manufacturing capacity to effectively meet consumer demand. Conversely, if we overestimate our demand or overbuild our capacity, we may have significantly underutilized supply or other assets and may experience reduced margins. If we do not accurately align our processing and manufacturing capabilities with demand, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
We may occasionally acquire or build new wine production or tasting rooms to meet business needs. If the design, permitting, or building process do not go as planned, if acquired facilities are not brought up to full processing or use capacity, or if we are unable to hire, train and retain employees to support additional production facilities or tasting rooms, we may not be able to fully realize the potential benefits of such additional facilities and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. If the design, permitting, or building process do not go as planned, if acquired facilities are not brought up to full processing or use capacity, or if we are unable to hire, train and retain employees to support additional production facilities or 28Table of Contentstasting rooms, we may not be able to fully realize the potential benefits of such additional facilities and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
The inherent uncertainty in supply/demand forecasting could adversely affect our business, particularly with respect to our aged products.
Due to the long production cycle of our products, there is an inherent risk of forecasting imprecision in determining the quantity of aged and maturing products to produce and hold in inventory in a given year for future sale. The forecasting strategies we use to balance product supply with fluctuations in consumer demand may not be effective for particular years or products. Factors that affect our ability to forecast accurately include changes in business strategy, market demand, consumer preferences, macroeconomic conditions, introductions of competing products, and other changes in market conditions. Additionally, our supply of aged products can deviate from expectations and forecasts. Such forecasting errors could lead to our inability to meet the objectives of our business strategy, failure to meet future demand, or a future surplus of inventory. Further, we may not be successful in using certain strategies, such as pricing changes, to create the desired balance of available supply and consumer demand. As a result, we may be unable to meet consumer demand for the affected products for a period of time. Furthermore, not having our products in the market consistently may adversely affect our brand equity and future sales.
Inclement weather, drought, pests, plant diseases and other factors could reduce the amount or quality of the grapes available to produce our wines, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
A shortage in the supply of quality grapes may result from the occurrence of any number of factors that determine the quality and quantity of grape supply, including adverse weather conditions (including more frequent and intense heatwaves, frosts, drought and excessive rainfall), and various diseases, pests, fungi and viruses such as Red Blotch, Pierce’s Disease or the European Grapevine Moth. Factors that reduce the quantity of grapes we, or the growers with which we contract, grow may also reduce their quality. We cannot anticipate changes in weather patterns and conditions, and we cannot predict their impact on our operations if they were to occur. We also cannot guarantee that our efforts to prevent and control any pest and plant disease infestation will be successful, or that any such infestations will not have a material impact on the properties of any of our suppliers. Any shortage could cause an increase in the price of some or all of the grape varieties required for our wine production or a reduction in the amount of wine we are able to produce, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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If we are unable to identify and obtain adequate supplies of quality agricultural, winemaking and packaging materials, water and other supplies, or if there is an increase in the cost of the commodities, power, fuel or other products, as a result of inflation or scarcity, our profitability and production and distribution capabilities could be negatively impacted, which would materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We use a large volume of grapes and other raw materials to produce and package our wine, including barrels, glass bottles, corks, winemaking additives and water, as well as large amounts of packaging materials, including metal, cork, glass and cardboard. We purchase raw materials and packaging materials under contracts of varying maturities from domestic and international suppliers. Glass bottle costs are one of our largest packaging components of cost of goods sold. In North America, glass bottles have only a small number of producers. An inability of any of our glass bottle suppliers to satisfy our requirements could materially and adversely affect our business. In addition, costs and programs related to mandatory recycling and recyclable materials deposits have and could continue to be adopted in states or countries of manufacture, imposing additional and unknown costs to manufacture products utilizing glass bottles.
The amount of water available for use is important to the supply of our grapes and winemaking, other agricultural raw materials and our ability to operate our business. If climate patterns change and droughts become more severe, there may be a scarcity of water or poor water quality, which may affect our production costs, consistency of yields or impose capacity constraints. If climate patterns change and droughts become more 29Table of Contentssevere, there may be a scarcity of water or poor water quality, which may affect our production costs, consistency of yields or impose capacity constraints. We depend on sufficient amounts of quality water for the operation of our wineries, as well as to irrigate our vineyards and conduct our other operations. The suppliers of the grapes and other agricultural raw materials we purchase also depend upon sufficient supplies of quality water for their vineyards and fields. Prolonged or severe drought conditions in the western U.S. or restrictions imposed on our irrigation options by governmental authorities could have an adverse effect on our operations in the region. If water available to our operations or the operations of our suppliers becomes scarcer, restrictions are placed on our usage of water or the quality of that water deteriorates, we may incur increased production costs or face manufacturing constraints which could negatively affect our production. Even if quality water is widely available to us, water purification and waste treatment infrastructure limitations could increase our costs or constrain the operation of our production facilities and vineyards. Any of these factors could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our production facilities also use a significant amount of energy in their operations, including electricity, propane and natural gas. We have experienced increases in energy costs in the past, and energy costs could rise in the future, which would result in higher transportation, freight and other operating costs, such as aging and bottling expenses. Our freight cost and the timely delivery of our wines could be adversely affected by a number of factors that could reduce the profitability of our operations, including driver shortages, higher fuel costs, weather conditions, traffic congestion, increased government regulation, and other matters. In addition, increased labor costs or insufficient labor supply could materially increase our production costs.
Our supply and the price of raw materials, packaging materials and energy and the cost of freight and labor used in our productions and distribution activities could be affected by a number of factors beyond our control, including market demand, supply chain issues, global geopolitical events (especially their impact on energy prices), economic factors affecting growth decisions, exchange rate fluctuations and inflation. To the extent any of these factors, including inflation, affect the prices of ingredients or packaging, or we do not effectively or completely hedge changes in commodity price risks, or are unable to recoup costs through increases in the price of our finished wines, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.
Risks related to our business
The impact of U.S. and worldwide economic trends and financial market conditions could materially and adversely affect our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to risks associated with adverse economic conditions in the U.S. and globally, including economic slowdown or recession, pandemic risk, inflation, and the disruption, volatility and tightening of credit and capital markets. Since our operations and our customers are mainly in the U.S., we are particularly susceptible to
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consumer trends, market fluctuations, adverse regulations, the economic climate and other adverse events in the U.S. Recent events, including military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, inflationary conditions and high interest rates, have caused disruptions in the U.S. and global economy, and uncertainty regarding general economic conditions, including concerns about a potential U.S. or global recession, may lead to decreased consumer spending on discretionary items, including wine.
In general, positive conditions in the broader economy promote customer spending on wine, while economic weakness, which generally results in a reduction of customer spending, may have a more pronounced negative effect on spending on wine. Unemployment, tax increases, governmental spending cuts or a return of high levels of inflation could affect consumer spending patterns and purchases of our wines and other alcoholic beverage products. Reduced consumer discretionary spending and reduced consumer confidence could negatively affect the trend towards consuming luxury wines and could result in a reduction of wine and beverage alcohol consumption in the U.S. generally. In particular, extended periods of high unemployment, lower consumer discretionary spending and low consumer confidence could result in lower DTC sales than expected, lower wholesale sales of our ultra-luxury winery brands in favor of luxury winery brands which have a lower average sales price, and generally lower gross profit margins and lower overall sales, which could negatively impact our business and results of operations. In particular, extended periods of high unemployment, lower consumer discretionary spending and low consumer confidence could result in lower DTC sales than expected, lower wholesale sales of 30Table of Contentsour ultra-luxury winery brands in favor of luxury winery brands which have a lower average sales price, and generally lower gross profit margins and lower overall sales, which could negatively impact our business and results of operations. These conditions could also create or worsen credit issues, cash flow issues, access to credit facilities and other financial hardships for us and our suppliers, distributors, accounts and consumers. Our inability, or an inability of our suppliers, distributors and retailers, to access liquidity could impact our ability to produce and distribute our wines.
Increases in labor costs, labor shortages, and any difficulties in attracting, motivating, and retaining well-qualified employees could have an adverse effect on our ability to successfully manage our business, maintain our reputation within the industry and execute our strategic objectives, which could materially and adversely affect our operating efficiency and financial condition.
Our workforce is a significant contributor to the success of our business. If we face labor shortages, increased labor costs due to increased competition for employees and higher employee turnover rates, increases in the federal, state, or local minimum wage, or other employee benefits costs, our operating expenses could increase and our growth, results of operations, and financial condition could be negatively impacted. Wage growth, as a result of labor shortages or otherwise, may also lead to higher costs to purchase the services of third parties and reduce our results of operations.
We are highly dependent on the contributions of our senior management team, sales team, and other key employees, such as our winemakers, and certain employees at our corporate headquarters, wineries, tasting rooms and vineyards. Our ability to deliver on strategic targets is dependent on our ability to recruit, retain and motivate key employees. Attracting and retaining such employees can be competitive in the locations in which our facilities are located, and the inability to attract and retain qualified employees may impact our ability to achieve our targets. We believe that the background and experience of our management team has been a major factor in our success and growth. The loss of current key employees could result in the loss of business knowledge, negatively impact relationships with suppliers, distributors or customers or hurt Company culture and morale, and ultimately, our operating efficiency and financial condition.
Our financial performance is subject to significant seasonality and variability.
Our sales and pricing are subject to seasonal fluctuations. Our net sales are typically highest in the first half of our fiscal year due to increased consumer demand leading up to and around major holidays. Net sales seasonality differs for wholesale and DTC channels, resulting in quarterly seasonality in our net sales that depends on the channel mix for that period. We typically experience a higher concentration of sales through our wholesale channel during our first and second fiscal quarters due to increased purchasing by distributors in anticipation of higher consumer demand during the holiday season, which has the effect of lowering average selling prices as a result of the shift in sales channel mix as well as the use of distributor and retail sales discounts and promotions in our wholesale channel. We typically experience a higher concentration of sales through our DTC channel in the first and fourth fiscal quarters since wine club and allocation shipments are timed to avoid hot summer weather. In Fiscal 2024, our net sales in the first, second, third and fourth fiscal quarters represented approximately 27%,
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27%, 24% and 22%, respectively, of our total net sales for the year, excluding net sales related to Sonoma-Cutrer. Due to the relative importance of the first and second fiscal quarters, slower than anticipated demand for our wines in those quarters could have a materially adverse effect on our annual fiscal results. A failure by us to adequately prepare for periods of increased demand, or any event that disrupts our distribution channels during the first half of each fiscal year, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. A number of other factors which are difficult to predict could also affect the seasonality or variability of our financial performance. Therefore, you should not rely on the results of a single fiscal quarter as an indication of our annual results or future performance.
If we are unable to secure and protect our intellectual property in domestic and foreign markets, including trademarks for our winery brands, vineyards and wines, the value of our winery brands and intellectual property could decline, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our future success depends significantly on our ability to protect our current and future winery brands and wines and to enforce and defend our trademarks and other intellectual property rights.31Table of ContentsOur future success depends significantly on our ability to protect our current and future winery brands and wines and to enforce and defend our trademarks and other intellectual property rights. We rely on a combination of trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual restrictions, to secure and protect our intellectual property rights. We have been granted 77 trademark registrations in the U.S. and numerous trademark registrations in other countries covering many of our winery and wine brands, and we have filed, and expect to continue to file, trademark applications seeking to protect newly-developed winery and wine brands. We cannot be sure that trademark registrations will be issued to us under any of our trademark applications. Our trademark applications could be opposed by third parties, and our trademark rights, including registered trademarks, could also be challenged. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in defending our trademarks in actions brought by third parties. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in defending our trademarks in actions brought by third parties.
There is also a risk that we could fail to timely maintain or renew our trademark registrations or otherwise protect our trademark rights, which could result in the loss of those trademark rights (including in connection with failure to maintain consistent use of these trademarks). If we fail to maintain our trademarks or our trademarks are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our wineries, wines and other products, which could result in a loss of winery brand recognition and could require us to devote additional resources to the development and marketing of new winery brands.
Notwithstanding any trademark registrations held by us, a third party could bring a lawsuit or other claim alleging that we have infringed that third party’s trademark rights. Any such claims, with or without merit, could require significant resources to defend, could damage the reputation of our winery brands, could result in the payment of compensation (whether as a damages award or settlement) to such third parties, and could require us to stop using our winery brands’ trademarks or otherwise agree to an undertaking to limit that use. In addition, our actions to monitor and enforce trademark rights against third parties may not prevent counterfeit products or products bearing confusingly similar trademarks from entering the marketplace, which could divert sales from us, tarnish our reputation or reduce the demand for our products or the prices at which those products are sold. Any enforcement litigation brought by us, whether or not successful, could require significant costs and resources, and divert the attention of management, which could negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Third parties may also acquire and register domain names that are confusingly similar to or otherwise damaging to the reputation of our trademarks, and we may not be able to prevent or cancel any such domain name registrations.
We may not be fully insured against catastrophic perils, including catastrophic loss or inaccessibility of wineries, production facilities and/or distribution systems resulting from fire, wildfire, flood, wind events, earthquake and other perils, which may cause us to experience a material financial loss.
If any of our vineyards or facilities were to experience a catastrophic loss in the future, it could disrupt our operations, delay production, shipments and our recognition of revenue, and result in potentially significant expenses to repair or replace the vineyard or facility. If such a disruption were to occur, we could breach agreements, our reputation could be harmed, and our business and operating results could be materially and adversely affected. Although we carry insurance to cover property and inventory damage and business
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interruption, these coverages are subject to deductibles and self-insurance obligations, as well as caps on coverage that could be below the value of losses we could incur in certain catastrophic perils. Furthermore, claims for recovery against our insurance policies can be time-consuming, and may result in significant delays between when we incur damages and when we receive partial or full payment under our insurance policies.
Furthermore, increased incidence or severity of natural disasters has adversely impacted our ability to obtain adequate property damage, inventory and business interruption insurance at financially viable rates, if at all. For example, we have observed certain insurers ceasing to offer certain inventory protection policies, and we have supplemented our insurance coverage recently by purchasing policies at higher premiums. If these trends continue and our insurance coverage is adversely affected, and to the extent we elect to increase our self-insurance obligations, we may be at greater risk that similar future events will cause significant financial losses and materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. If these trends continue and our insurance coverage is adversely affected, and to the extent we elect to increase our self- insurance 32Table of Contentsobligations, we may be at greater risk that similar future events will cause significant financial losses and materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
From time to time, we may become subject to litigation specifically directed at the alcoholic beverage industry, as well as litigation arising in the ordinary course of business.
We and other companies operating in the alcoholic beverage industry are, from time to time, exposed to class action or other private or governmental litigation and claims relating to product liability, alcohol marketing, advertising or distribution practices, alcohol abuse problems or other health consequences arising from the excessive consumption of or other misuse of alcohol, including underage drinking. Various groups have, from time to time, publicly expressed concern over problems related to harmful use of alcohol, including drinking and driving, underage drinking and health consequences from the misuse of alcohol. These campaigns could result in an increased risk of litigation against the Company and our industry. Lawsuits have been brought against beverage alcohol companies alleging problems related to alcohol abuse, negative health consequences from drinking, problems from alleged marketing or sales practices and underage drinking. While these lawsuits have been largely unsuccessful in the past, others may succeed in the future.
From time to time, we may also be party to other litigation or proceedings in the ordinary course of our operations, including in connection with commercial disputes, employment disputes, personal injury claims, enforcement or other regulatory actions by tax, customs, competition, environmental, anti-corruption and other relevant regulatory authorities, or securities- related class action lawsuits, particularly following any significant decline in the price of our securities. Any such litigation or other actions may be expensive to defend and result in damages, penalties or fines as well as reputational damage to our Company and our winery brands and may impact the ability of management to focus on other business matters. Furthermore, any adverse judgments may result in an increase in future insurance premiums, and any judgments for which we are not fully insured may result in a significant financial loss and may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Furthermore, any adverse judgments may result in an increase in future insurance premiums, and any judgements for which we are not fully insured may result in a significant financial loss and may materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our failure to adequately manage the risks associated with acquisitions or divestitures, or the failure of an entity in which we have an equity or membership interest, could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.
As part of our growth strategy, we make acquisitions from time to time that we believe will provide a strategic fit with our business and will increase long-term stockholder value. For example, in April 2024 we consummated the acquisition of Sonoma-Cutrer. Acquisitions, including the acquisition of Sonoma-Cutrer, involve risk and uncertainties, including potential difficulties integrating the acquired company into our operations and culture, implementing and maintaining consistent U.S. public company standards and controls, or controlling exposure to unknown liabilities, as well as possible loss of key accounts, customers or employees and impacts on the perception of existing brands. We may not effectively integrate the business or product offerings of acquired companies into our business or may fail to do so within the anticipated costs or timeframes. We may also fail to retain key customers and suppliers or key employees of acquired companies or successfully implement our business plan for the combined business. In addition, our management makes significant accounting judgments and estimates related to the application of acquisition accounting of acquisitions, including the acquisition of Sonoma-Cutrer under United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“U.S. GAAP”) as well as the underlying valuation models. Our final determinations and appraisals of the estimated fair value of assets acquired
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and liabilities assumed in our acquisitions, including the acquisition of Sonoma-Cutrer may vary materially from previous estimates and we may fail to realize fully anticipated cost savings, growth opportunities or other potential synergies. We cannot be certain that the fair value of acquired companies or investments will remain constant.
The Sonoma-Cutrer acquisition has, and future acquisitions and investments could result in additional debt and related interest expenses and the issuance of additional shares, which may consequently result in a reduction in our earnings or other financial results. If the financial performance of our Company, as supplemented by the companies acquired, does not meet our expectations, it may make it more difficult for us to service our debt obligations and our results of operations may fail to meet market expectations.
We may also consider the potential divestiture of assets or businesses that no longer meet our financial or strategic objectives. When selling assets, we may record material losses as a result of market conditions or unfavorable prices for the assets. When selling assets, we may record material losses as a result of market conditions or unfavorable 33Table of Contentsprices for the assets. Additionally, we may provide various indemnifications in connection with the divestiture of businesses or assets. We may also find it difficult to find a suitable or timely buyer of the assets which may result in financial losses or the delay of strategic objectives. The unfavorable outcome or unforeseen risks associated with acquisitions or divestitures may negatively affect our reputation or materially harm our financial results.
There can be no assurance that we will realize the expected benefits of acquisitions, divestitures, investments, or new products.We cannot assure that we will realize the expected benefits of acquisitions, divestitures, investments, or new products. There can be no assurance that the internal control over financial reporting of entities which we consolidate as a result of our investment activities will be as robust as the internal control over financial reporting for our wholly-owned subsidiaries. We cannot assure that the internal control over financial reporting of entities which we consolidate as a result of our investment activities will be as robust as the internal control over financial reporting for our wholly-owned subsidiaries. Our failure to adequately manage the risks associated with acquisitions, divestitures, investments, or new products or the failure of an entity with which we have an equity or membership interest could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
A failure of one or more of our key IT systems, networks, processes, associated sites or service providers could have a material adverse impact on business operations, and if the failure is prolonged, our financial condition.
We rely on IT systems, networks, and services, including internet sites, data hosting and processing facilities and tools, hardware (including laptops and mobile devices), software and technical applications and platforms, some of which are managed, hosted, provided and used by third-parties or their vendors, to assist us in the management of our business. The various uses of these IT systems, networks and services include, but are not limited to: hosting our internal network and communication systems; wine, grape and other inventory tracking; supply and demand planning; production; shipping wines to customers; hosting our winery websites and marketing products to consumers; collecting and storing customer, consumer, employee, stockholder, and other data; processing transactions; summarizing and reporting results of operations; hosting, processing and sharing confidential and proprietary research, business plans and financial information; complying with regulatory, legal or tax requirements; providing data security; and handling other processes necessary to manage our business.
Increased IT security threats and more sophisticated cybercrimes and cyberattacks, including computer viruses and other malicious codes, ransomware, unauthorized access attempts, denial of service attacks, phishing, social engineering, hacking and other types of attacks pose a potential risk to the security of our IT systems, networks and services, as well as the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of our data, and we have in the past, and may in the future, experience cyberattacks and other unauthorized access attempts to our IT systems. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access are constantly changing and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we or our vendors may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement sufficient preventative or remedial measures. If we are unable to efficiently and effectively maintain and upgrade our system safeguards, we may incur unexpected costs and certain of our systems may become more vulnerable to unauthorized access. In the event of a ransomware or other cyber-attack, the integrity and safety of our data could be at risk or we may incur unforeseen costs impacting our financial condition. Although we carry insurance covering cyber-attacks, including ransomware, these coverages are subject to deductibles and self-insurance obligation, as well as caps on coverage that could be below the value of losses we could incur. If the IT systems, networks or service providers we rely upon fail to function properly, or if we suffer a loss or disclosure of business or other sensitive information due to any number of causes ranging from catastrophic events, power outages, security breaches, unauthorized use or usage errors by employees, vendors or other third parties and
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other security issues, we may be subject to legal claims and proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy and security of personal information (also known as personal data), litigation, governmental investigations and proceedings and regulatory penalties, and we may suffer interruptions in our ability to manage our operations and reputational, competitive or business harm, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, such events could result in unauthorized disclosure of material confidential information, and we may suffer financial and reputational damage because of lost or misappropriated confidential information belonging to us or to our employees, stockholders, customers, suppliers, consumers or others. In any of these events, we could also be required to spend significant financial and other resources to remedy the damage caused by a security breach or technological failure and the reputational damage resulting therefrom, to pay for investigations, forensic analyses, legal advice, public relations advice or other services, or to repair or replace networks and IT systems. In any of these events, we could also be required to spend significant financial and other resources to remedy the damage caused by a security breach or technological failure and the reputational damage resulting 34Table of Contentstherefrom, to pay for investigations, forensic analyses, legal advice, public relations advice or other services, or to repair or replace networks and IT systems. A greater percentage of our employees are now working remotely some or all of the time, which may further increase our vulnerability to cybercrimes and cyberattacks and increase the stress on our technology infrastructure and systems. Although we maintain cyber risk insurance, this insurance may not be sufficient to cover all of our losses from any future breaches or failures of our IT systems, networks and services.
Our failure to adequately maintain and protect or otherwise process personal information of our customers or our employees in compliance with evolving legal requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We collect, use, store, disclose, transfer and protect (collectively, “process”) personal information, including from employees, customers and potential customers, in connection with the operation of our business. A wide variety of federal, state, local and international laws as well as regulations and industry guidelines apply to the processing of personal information and may vary between jurisdictions or conflict with other rules. Data protection and privacy laws and regulations are evolving, subject to differing interpretations and being tested in courts and may result in increasing regulatory and public scrutiny and escalating levels of enforcement and sanctions.
A variety of data protection legislation apply in the U.S. at both the federal and state level, including new laws that may impact our operations. For example, in June 2018, the State of California enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”). For example, in June 2018, the State of California enacted the CCPA. The CCPA defines “personal information” in a broad manner and generally requires companies that collect, use, share and otherwise process personal information of California residents to make disclosures about their data collection, use, and sharing practices, allows consumers to opt-out of certain data sharing with third parties for purposes of cross-contextual advertising or the sale of personal information, allows consumers to exercise certain rights with respect to any personal information collected and provides a new cause of action for data breaches.
Failure to comply with the CCPA could result in and provides for penalties for noncompliance of up to $7,500 per violation. Additional states have either passed or are considering data protection laws with similarly broad requirements. Other states, including Virginia, Connecticut, and Colorado, have adopted privacy laws with similarly significant requirements. Other states, including Virginia, Connecticut, and Colorado, have adopted privacy laws that are either in effect or go into effect this year with similarly significant requirements. However, these regulations will only apply to us in the event that we process the personal information of more than 100,000 residents of those states in a given year.
Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission, and many state attorneys general are interpreting federal and state consumer protection laws to impose standards for the online collection, use, dissemination, and security of data. The burdens imposed by the CCPA and other similar laws that have been or may be enacted at the federal and state level may require us to modify our data collection and processing practices and related policies and to incur substantial expenditures in order to comply with the additional laws.
Global privacy and data protection legislation, enforcement, and policy activity are rapidly expanding and evolving, and may be inconsistent from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For example, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (“GDPR”), which became effective in May 2018, imposes a broad array of requirements for processing personal data, including elevated disclosure requirements regarding collection and use of such data, requirements that companies allow individuals to obtain copies or demand deletion of personal data held by those companies, limitations on retention of information, and public disclosure of significant data breaches, among other things. The GDPR provides for substantial penalties for non-compliance of up to the
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greater of €20 million or 4% of global annual revenue for the preceding financial year. From January 1, 2021, the GDPR has been retained in the United Kingdom (“U. From January 1, 2021, the GDPR has been retained in U. K.”), as it forms part of the law of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland by virtue of section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended by the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/419) (“U.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/419) (“UK GDPR”), alongside the U. K. GDPR”), alongside the U.K.’s Data Protection Act 2018. Although we do not currently operate in Europe, should our operations expand there or if we are deemed to target our services to individuals in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we could be required to comply with the GDPR and U.’s Data Protection Act 2018. Although we do not currently operate in Europe, should our operations expand there or if we are deemed to target our services to individuals in the European Economic Area 35Table of Contentsor the United Kingdom, we could be required to comply with the GDPR and UK GDPR, which could expose us to significant compliance costs and potential penalties in the event of any actual or alleged violation. K. GDPR, which could expose us to significant compliance costs and potential penalties in the event of any actual or alleged violation.
Compliance with these and any other applicable privacy and data protection laws and regulations is a rigorous and time-intensive process, and we may be required to put in place additional mechanisms ensuring compliance with the new privacy and data protection laws and regulations. Our actual or alleged failure to comply with any applicable privacy and data protection laws and regulations, industry standards or contractual obligations, or to protect such information and data that we process, could result in litigation, regulatory investigations, and enforcement actions against us, including fines, orders, public censure, claims for damages by employees, customers and other affected individuals, public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups, damage to our reputation and competitive position and loss of goodwill (both in relation to existing customers and prospective customers) any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Evolving and changing definitions of personal information, personal data, and similar concepts within the European Union, U.K., the U.S. and elsewhere, especially relating to classification of IP addresses, device identifiers, location data, household data and other information we may collect, may limit or inhibit our ability to operate or expand our business, including limiting strategic partnerships that may involve the sharing of such information and data. Additionally, if third parties that we work with, such as vendors or developers, violate applicable laws or our policies, such violations may also place personal information at risk and have an adverse effect on our business. Even the perception of privacy concerns, whether or not valid, may harm our reputation, subject us to regulatory scrutiny and investigations, and inhibit adoption of our wines by existing and potential customers.
If we fail to effectively price our products or implement price increases, our financial condition may be adversely affected.
The prices of our products are driven by numerous factors, including supply costs, consumer demand, inflation and market conditions. In response to such conditions, we may increase prices on certain of our products, which may result in a decrease in sales volume, demand for our products, and an ability to attract new customers. If price increases result in a greater spread between the price of our products and the price of competitors’ products, consumers may be less willing to pay a premium for our products, particularly in times of economic uncertainty. Additionally, our retail customers may not accept such price increases or may require increased promotional activity. If we cannot effectively price our products or carry out price increases, our business, results of operations and financial condition, could be adversely affected.
Failure to appropriately address certain emerging ESG matters important to our investors could have a material adverse impact on our reputation and, as a result, our business.
There is an increased focus from investors, customers, associates, business partners and other stockholders with respect to certain ESG matters. The expectations related to ESG matters are rapidly evolving, and we announce initiatives and goals related to ESG matters from time to time. We could fail in achieving our ESG initiatives or goals or fail, or be perceived to fail, to act responsibly in our ESG efforts or in accurately reporting our progress on our initiatives and goals. In addition, we could be criticized for the scope of such initiatives or goals. Such events could cause us to suffer negative publicity and our reputation could be adversely impacted, which in turn could have a negative impact on investor perception and our appeal to consumers. This may also impact our ability to attract and retain talent to compete in the marketplace.
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Risks related to regulation
As a producer of alcoholic beverages, we are regularly the subject of regulatory reviews, proceedings and audits by governmental entities, any of which could result in an adverse ruling or conclusion, and which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects.
We are subject to extensive regulation in the U.S. by federal, state and local laws regulating the production, distribution and sale of consumable food items, and specifically alcoholic beverages, including by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and the Food and Drug Administration. These and other regulatory agencies impose a number of product safety, labeling and other requirements on our operations and sales. In California, where most of our wines are made, we are subject to alcohol-related licensing and regulations by many authorities, including the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control, which investigates applications for licenses to sell alcoholic beverages and reports on the moral character and fitness of alcohol license applicants and the suitability of premises where sales are to be conducted.
Any governmental litigation, fines or restrictions on our operations resulting from the enforcement of these existing regulations or any new legislation or regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Any government intervention challenging the production, marketing, promotion, distribution or sale of beverage alcohol or specific brands could affect our ability to sell our wines. Because litigation and other legal proceedings can be costly to defend, even actions that are ultimately decided in our favor could have a negative impact on our business, results of operations or financial condition. Adverse developments in major lawsuits concerning these or other matters could result in management distraction and have a material adverse effect on our business. Changes to the interpretation or approach to enforcement of regulations may require changes to our business practices or the business practices of our suppliers, distributors or customers. The penalties associated with any violations or infractions may vary in severity and could result in a significant impediment to our business operations and could cause us to have to suspend sales of our wines in a jurisdiction for a period of time.
New and changing environmental requirements, and new market pressures related to climate change, could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.37Table of ContentsNew and changing environmental requirements, and new market pressures related to climate change, could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
There has been significant public discussion related to concerns that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have an adverse impact on global temperatures, weather patterns and the frequency and severity of extreme weather and natural disasters. Federal regulations govern, among other things, air emissions, wastewater and stormwater discharges, and the treatment, handling and storage and disposal of materials and wastes. State environmental regulations and authorities intended to address and oversee environmental issues are largely state-level analogs to federal regulations and authorities intended to serve similar purposes. In California, we are also subject to state-specific rules, such as those contained in the California Environmental Quality Act, California Air Resources Act, Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act, California Water Code sections 13300-13999 and Title 23 of the California Administrative Code and various sections of the Health and Safety Code. We are subject to local environmental regulations that address a number of elements of our wine production process, including air quality, the handling of hazardous waste, recycling, water use and discharge, emissions and traffic impacts. Compliance with these and other environmental regulations requires significant resources. Continued regulatory and market trends towards sustainability may require or incentivize us to make changes to our current business operations. We may experience significant future increases in the costs associated with environmental regulatory compliance, including fees, licenses and the cost of capital improvements for our vineyards and wineries to meet environmental regulatory requirements. In addition, we may be party to various environmental remediation obligations arising in the normal course of our business or relating to historical activities of businesses we acquire. Due to regulatory complexities, uncertainties inherent in litigation and the risk of unidentified contaminants in our current and former properties, the potential exists for remediation, liability and indemnification costs to differ materially from the costs that we have estimated. We may incur costs associated with environmental compliance arising from events we cannot control, such as unusually severe floods, earthquakes or fires. There can be no assurance that our costs in relation to these matters will not exceed our projections or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We cannot assure that our costs in relation to these matters will not exceed our projections or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
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Changes in foreign and domestic laws and government regulations to which we are currently subject, including changes to the method or approach of enforcement of these government rules and regulations, may increase our costs or limit our ability to sell our wines into certain markets, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Government laws and regulations may result in increased production and sales costs, including an increase in the applicable tax in various state, federal and foreign jurisdictions in which we do business. The amount of wine that we can sell directly to consumers outside of California is regulated, and in certain states we are not allowed to sell wines directly to consumers at all. Changes in these laws and regulations that tighten current rules could have an adverse impact on sales or increase costs to produce, market, package or sell wine.
Changes in regulation that require significant additional source data for registration and sale, changes in labeling or warning requirements, or limitations on the permissibility of any component, condition or ingredient, in the places in which our wines can be legally sold could inhibit sales of affected products in those markets.
The wine industry is subject to extensive regulation by a number of foreign and domestic agencies, state liquor authorities and local authorities. These regulations and laws dictate such matters as licensing requirements, land use, production methods, trade and pricing practices, permitted distribution channels, permitted and required labeling, advertising, and sequestration of classes of wine and relations with wholesalers and retailers. Any expansion of our existing facilities or development of new vineyards, wineries or tasting rooms may be limited by present and future zoning ordinances, use permit terms, environmental restrictions and other legal requirements. In addition, new or updated regulations, requirements or licenses, particularly changes that impact our ability to sell DTC and/or retain accounts in California, or new or increased excise taxes, income taxes, property and sales taxes or international tariffs, could affect our financial condition or results of operations. From time to time, states consider proposals to increase state alcohol excise taxes. New or revised regulations or increased licensing fees, requirements or taxes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to health, safety and labor laws. Regulatory reviews, proceedings and audits by governmental entities could result in an adverse ruling or conclusion, which may have a material adverse effect on our business. Changes to the enforcement of these rules and regulations may increase our costs or limit our ability to operate, which could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
We are required to comply with labor, health and safety laws and regulations in California, Washington and the other states in which we operate. Our operations are subject to periodic inspections by government authorities. The regulations require, among other things, health and safety protocols and procedures, fair and legal employment and in the case of some workers, health benefits. A failure to comply with these laws and any new or changed regulations could increase our operating costs and materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Risks related to our indebtedness
We have incurred substantial indebtedness and we may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations to meet our debt service requirements, continue our operations and pursue our growth strategy and we may be unable to raise capital when needed or on acceptable terms.
We have incurred substantial indebtedness to fund various corporate activities and our ongoing operations. Our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations to meet all of our debt service requirements, to pay dividends and to fund our general corporate and capital requirements.
Our ability to satisfy our debt obligations will depend upon our future operating performance. We do not have complete control over our future operating performance because it is subject to prevailing economic conditions, interest rates, consumer preferences, and financial, business and other factors.
Our current and future debt service obligations and covenants and any failure to satisfy any such obligations and covenants could limit:
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our ability to pay dividends;
our ability to obtain financing for future working capital needs or acquisitions or other purposes;
our funds available for operations, expansions, dividends or other distributions; and
our ability to conduct our business.
Also, our vulnerability to adverse economic conditions may be greater than less leveraged competitors and, as a result, our ability to withstand competitive pressures may be limited.
Restrictive covenants in our Credit Facility (first lien credit facility pursuant to that certain Amended and Restated First Lien Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of November 4, 2022, see Note 10 (Debt)) place limits on our ability to conduct our business.Restrictive covenants in our New Credit Facility (first lien credit facility pursuant to that certain Amended and Restated First Lien Loan and Security Agreement, dated as of November 4, 2022, see Note 10 (Debt)) place limits on our ability to conduct our business. Covenants in our Credit Facility include those that restrict our ability to:
make acquisitions, incur debt, encumber or sell assets;
amend our constitutional documents;
pay dividends;
engage in mergers and consolidations;
enter into transactions with affiliates;
make investments; and
permit our subsidiaries to enter into certain agreements.
Our Credit Facility also contains financial covenants, including a debt to capitalization ratio test and fixed charge coverage ratio test.39Table of ContentsOur New Credit Facility also contains financial covenants, including a debt to capitalization ratio test and fixed charge coverage ratio test.
Our Credit Facility also contains change of control provisions which, if triggered upon the occurrence of a merger or other change of control transaction, may result in an acceleration of our obligation to repay the debt.Our New Credit Facility also contains change of control provisions which, if triggered upon the occurrence of a merger or other change of control transaction, may result in an acceleration of our obligation to repay the debt. If we fail to comply with the obligations contained in our Credit Facility or future loan agreements, we could be in default under those agreements, which could require us to immediately repay the related debt and also debt under any other agreements containing cross-acceleration or cross-default provisions. If we fail to comply with the obligations contained in our New Credit Facility or future loan agreements, we could be in default under those agreements, which could require us to immediately repay the related debt and also debt under any other agreements containing cross-acceleration or cross-default provisions.
Our capacity to fund working capital or operational expenses depends upon our net cash available. Any decline in our net cash or changes in the terms of our Credit Facility, lines of credit, bank credit agreements or other sources of credit could limit our access to the capital resources required to fund our expenses. Any decline in our net cash or changes in the terms of our New Credit Facility, lines of credit, bank credit agreements or other sources of credit could limit our access to the capital resources required to fund our expenses.
We rely on cash generated from our operating activities as our primary source of liquidity. To support our operations, execute our growth strategy as planned and pay dividends, if declared, we will need to continue generating significant amounts of cash from operations, including funds required to pay our employees, related benefits and other operating expenses, finance future acquisitions, invest in technologies and pay for the increased direct and indirect costs associated with operating as a public company. If our business does not generate sufficient cash flow from operations to fund these activities, and if sufficient funds are not available under our Credit Facility, we may need to seek additional capital, including by incurring additional debt.
Additional capital may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. In addition, incurring indebtedness requires that a portion of cash flow from operating activities be dedicated to interest and principal payments. Debt service requirements could reduce our ability to use our cash flow to fund operations and capital expenditures, to capitalize on future business opportunities, including additional acquisitions, or to pay dividends or increase dividends. Any of these risks could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
We utilize derivative financial instruments to manage our exposure to interest rate fluctuations associated with our variable rate indebtedness. We may be exposed to interest rate risk based on our ability to hedge effectively, as well as risk related to nonperformance based on the creditworthiness of counterparties to these financial instruments.
We have entered into interest rate swap derivative instruments to attempt to limit our exposure to changes in variable interest rates. While our intended strategy is to minimize the impact to our interest cost due to increases in interest rates applicable to our variable rate debt, there can be no guarantee that our strategy will be effective. We are also exposed to potential credit losses due to the risk of non-performance of the counterparty to our
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interest rate swaps. Consequently, we may experience credit-related losses in the future. See Note 11 (Derivative Instruments) to our audited Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. See Note 11 (Derivative instruments) to our audited Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Risks related to our common stock
As a result of being a public company, we are obligated to develop and maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting and any failure to maintain the adequacy of these internal controls may negatively impact investor confidence in our Company and, as a result, the value of our common stock.
We are required pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This assessment includes disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting. Any failure to comply with the applicable requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner could severely inhibit our ability to accurately report our financial condition or results of operations. If we are unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm determines we have a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our common stock could decline, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), the SEC or other regulatory authorities and our access to the capital markets could be restricted in the future. If we are unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm 40Table of Contentsdetermines we have a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our common stock could decline, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the NYSE Exchange, the SEC or other regulatory authorities and our access to the capital markets could be restricted in the future. In addition, we have incurred and will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses related to our compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other applicable securities rules and regulations.
Our largest stockholders have significant influence over us, including influence over decisions that require the approval of stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to influence the outcome of key transactions, including a change of control.
As of July 31, 2024, affiliates of TSG Consumer Partners LLC (“TSG”) and Brown-Forman Corporation (“Brown-Forman”) owned approximately 41.8% and 21.4% of our outstanding common stock, respectively. Although we are no longer a “controlled company” within the meaning of the corporate governance standards of the NYSE, affiliates of TSG and Brown-Forman are able to significantly influence our decisions.
Additionally, TSG’s and Brown-Forman’s interests may not align with the interests of our other stockholders.Additionally, TSG’s interests may not align with the interests of our other stockholders. TSG and Brown-Forman both may make investments in companies and may acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. TSG is in the business of making investments in companies and may acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. They may also pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. TSG may also pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us.
Certain of our directors have relationships with TSG or Brown-Forman, which may cause conflicts of interest with respect to our business.
Three of our directors are affiliated with TSG and two are affiliated with Brown-Forman.Three of our directors are affiliated with TSG. Our TSG-affiliated directors and Brown-Forman-affiliated directors have fiduciary duties to us and, in addition, have duties to TSG or Brown-Forman, as applicable. As a result, these directors may face real or apparent conflicts of interest with respect to matters affecting both us and TSG or Brown-Forman, as applicable, whose interests may be adverse to ours in some circumstances. As a result, these directors may face real or apparent conflicts of interest with respect to matters affecting both us and TSG, whose interests may be adverse to ours in some circumstances.
Provisions of our corporate governance documents could make an acquisition of our Company more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management, even if beneficial to our stockholders.41Table of ContentsProvisions of our corporate governance documents could make an acquisition of our Company more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management, even if beneficial to our stockholders.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and the Delaware General Corporation Law contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so might be beneficial to our stockholders. These provisions include:
the division of our board of directors into three classes and the election of each class for three-year terms;
advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and director nominations;
the ability of the board of directors to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors;
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the ability of our board of directors to issue new series of, and designate the terms of, preferred stock, without stockholder approval, which could be used to, among other things, institute a rights plan that would have the effect of significantly diluting the stock ownership of a potential hostile acquirer, likely preventing acquisitions that have not been approved by our board of directors;
limitations on the ability of stockholders to call special meetings and to take action by written consent; and
the required approval of holders of at least 75% of the voting power of the outstanding shares of our capital stock to adopt, amend or repeal certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws or remove directors for cause.
Because our board of directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions could in turn affect any attempt to replace current members of our management team. As a result, you may lose your ability to sell your stock for a price in excess of the prevailing market price due to these protective measures, and efforts by stockholders to change the direction or management of the Company may be unsuccessful.
Your percentage ownership in us may be diluted by future issuances of capital stock, which could reduce your influence over matters on which stockholders vote.
Pursuant to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, our board of directors has the authority, without action or vote of our stockholders, to issue all or any part of our authorized but unissued shares of common stock, including shares issuable upon the exercise of options, or shares of our authorized but unissued preferred stock. Issuances of common stock or voting preferred stock would reduce your influence over matters on which our stockholders vote and, in the case of issuances of preferred stock, would likely result in your interest in us being subject to the prior rights of holders of that preferred stock.
We are subject to additional laws, regulations and stock exchange listing standards, which impose additional costs on us and may strain our resources and divert our management’s attention.
We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, as amended, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the listing requirements of the NYSE and other applicable securities laws and regulations. Compliance with these laws and regulations increases our legal and financial compliance costs and makes some activities more difficult, time- consuming or costly. We also expect that being a public company and being subject to new rules and regulations will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. However, the incremental costs that we incur as a result of becoming a public company could exceed our estimate. These factors may therefore strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors.
A significant portion of our total outstanding shares may be sold into the market at any time.42Table of ContentsA significant portion of our total outstanding shares may be sold into the market at any time. This could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is performing well.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock. We have outstanding 147,073,614 shares of common stock as of July 31, 2024. This figure assumes no exercises of outstanding options. We have outstanding 115,316,308 shares of common stock as of July 31, 2023. This figure assumes no exercises of outstanding options. TSG and Brown-Forman each have certain demand registration rights. Such sales by TSG and, following the expiration of the lock-up agreement over Brown-Forman’s shares in October 2025 or any applicable early release in accordance with the terms of such lock-up, Brown-Forman could be significant. Such shares can be freely sold in the public market, subject to any lock-up agreements. The market price of our stock could decline if the holders of restricted shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them.
We have no current plans to pay regular cash dividends on our common stock as such, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.
We do not anticipate paying any regular cash dividends on our common stock. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other
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things, our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is, and may be, limited by covenants of existing and any future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur. Therefore, any return on investment in our common stock is solely dependent upon the appreciation of the price of our common stock on the open market, which may not occur.
If securities or industry analysts do not continue to publish research or reports about our business, if they adversely change their recommendations regarding our shares or if our results of operations do not meet their expectations, our share price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our shares is influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us and our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. In the event one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our Company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our share price or trading volume to decline. Moreover, if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock, or if our results of operations do not meet their expectations, our share price could decline.
Our certificate of incorporation designates courts in the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, and also provide that the federal district courts will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act, each of which could limit our stockholders’ ability to choose the judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, stockholders or employees.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that, subject to limited exceptions, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for:
any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf;
any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders;
any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws;
any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws; and
any other action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine (each, a “Covered Proceeding”).
Our certificate of incorporation also provides that the federal district courts of the United States of America are the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action against us or any of our directors, officers, employees or agents and arising under the Securities Act.43Table of ContentsOur certificate of incorporation also provides that the federal district courts of the United States of America are the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action against us or any of our directors, officers, employees or agents and arising under the Securities Act. However, Section 22 of the Securities Act provides that federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction over lawsuits brought under the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. To the extent the exclusive forum provision restricts the courts in which claims arising under the Securities Act may be brought, there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such a provision. We note that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. This provision does not apply to claims brought under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”). This provision does not apply to claims brought under the Exchange Act.
Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to these provisions. These provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees.
Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our certificate of incorporation inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition.
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General risks
Our operating results and share price may be volatile, and the market price of our common stock may drop below the price you pay.
Our quarterly operating results are likely to fluctuate in the future. In addition, securities markets worldwide have experienced, and are likely to continue to experience, significant price and volume fluctuations. This market volatility, as well as general economic, market or political conditions, could subject the market price of our shares to wide price fluctuations regardless of our operating performance. You may not be able to resell your shares at or above the price you purchased them for or at all. Our operating results and the trading price of our shares may fluctuate in response to various factors, including:
market conditions in the broader stock market;
actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly financial and operating results;
introduction of new wines by us or our competitors;
issuance of new or changed securities analysts’ reports or recommendations;
results of operations that vary from expectations of securities analysis and investors;
guidance, if any, that we provide to the public, any changes in this guidance or our failure to meet this guidance;
strategic actions by us or our competitors;
announcement by us, our competitors or our vendors of significant contracts or acquisitions;
sales, or anticipated sales, of large blocks of our stock;
additions or departures of key personnel;
regulatory, legal or political developments;
public response to press releases or other public announcements by us or third parties, including our filings with the SEC;
litigation and governmental investigations;
changing economic conditions;
changes in accounting principles;
default under agreements governing our indebtedness;
exchange rate fluctuations; and
other events or factors, including those from natural disasters, war, actors of terrorism or responses to these events.
These and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, may cause our operating results and the market price and demand for our shares to fluctuate substantially.44Table of ContentsThese and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, may cause our operating results and the market price and demand for our shares to fluctuate substantially. While we believe that operating results for any particular quarter are not necessarily a meaningful indication of future results, fluctuations in our quarterly operating results could limit or prevent investors from readily selling their shares and may otherwise negatively affect the market price and liquidity of our shares. In addition, in the past, when the market price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against the company that issued the stock. If any of our stockholders brought a lawsuit against us, we could incur substantial costs defending the lawsuit. Such a lawsuit could also divert the time and attention of our management from our business, which could significantly harm our profitability and reputation.
We may require additional debt and equity capital to pursue our business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges or unforeseen circumstances. If such capital is not available to us, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
We may require additional capital to pursue our business objectives and respond to business opportunities, challenges or unforeseen circumstances, including to increase our marketing expenditures to improve our winery brand awareness, build and maintain our product inventory, develop new wines, enhance our operating infrastructure and acquire complementary businesses. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. However, additional funds may not be available when we need them on terms that are acceptable to us or at all. Moreover, any debt financing that we secure in the future could involve restrictive covenants, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business
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opportunities. Volatility in the credit markets may also have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain debt financing. If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences and privileges superior to those of holders of our common stock. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, we may be forced to obtain financing on undesirable terms or our ability to continue to pursue our business objectives and to respond to business opportunities, challenges or unforeseen circumstances could be significantly limited, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Changes in tax law may adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
The tax laws applicable to our business activities are subject to change and uncertain interpretation. Our tax position could be adversely impacted by changes in tax rates, tax laws, tax practice, tax treaties or tax regulations or changes in the interpretation thereof by the tax authorities in jurisdictions in which we do business. Changes to tax laws (which changes may have retroactive application) could adversely affect us. Future changes in U.S. tax laws (which changes may have retroactive application) could have a material adverse effect on our business, cash flow, financial condition or results of operations. Our actual tax rate may vary from our expectation and that variance may be material. A number of factors may increase our future effective tax rates, including: (1) the jurisdictions in which profits are determined to be earned and taxed; (2) the resolution of issues arising from any future tax audits with various tax authorities; (3) changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities; (4) our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income and any adjustments to the amount of the net operating loss carryforwards we can utilize, and (5) changes in tax laws or the interpretation of such tax laws, and changes in U.S. GAAP.
Recent negative developments affecting the financial services industry could adversely affect our current and projected business operations, our financial condition and results of operations.
Although we have not been materially impacted by recent disruptions in the financial services industry, we cannot guarantee that the banks or other financial institutions that hold our funds will not experience similar issues. If failures in financial institutions occur where we hold deposits, we could experience additional risk and any such loss or limitation on our cash and cash equivalents would adversely affect our business.
These market developments have negatively impacted customer confidence in the safety and soundness of regional and smaller community banks, and investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systematic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on terms favorable to us, or at all, and could have material adverse impacts on our liquidity, our business, financial condition or results of operations and our prospects. Our business may be adversely impacted by these developments in ways that we cannot predict at this time, there may be additional risks that we have not yet identified, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to avoid negative consequences directly or indirectly from any failure of one or more banks or other financial institutions.
International operations, worldwide and domestic economic trends and financial market conditions, geopolitical uncertainty or changes to international trade agreements and tariffs, import and excise duties, other taxes or other governmental rules and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.
Our wines are sold in numerous countries, and we source production materials from foreign countries, including barrels from France, glass bottles from Mexico and cork from Portugal. Risks associated with international operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition and/or results of operations, include:
changes in local political, economic, social, and labor conditions;
potential disruption from socio-economic violence, including the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, terrorism and drug-related violence;
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restrictions on foreign ownership and investments or on repatriation of cash earned in countries outside the U.S.;
import and export requirements and border accessibility;
currency exchange rate fluctuations;
a less developed and less certain legal and regulatory environment in some countries, which, among other things, can create uncertainty regarding contract enforcement, intellectual property rights, privacy obligations, real property rights and liability issues; and
inadequate levels of compliance with applicable anti-bribery laws, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Our wine aging programs often incorporate the use of French oak barrels. We contract with barrel cooperages in Europe for French oak wine barrels that meet our specifications. These contracts are paid in Euros once per year. We hedge our exposure to foreign currency fluctuations with respect to Euro-U.S. Dollar conversion rates by entering foreign currency forward contracts. We cannot perfectly hedge our exposure to foreign currency fluctuations, and such exposure could negatively impact our results of operations.
Unfavorable global or regional economic conditions, including economic slowdown and the disruption, volatility and tightening of credit and capital markets, as well as unemployment, tax increases, governmental spending cuts, a return of high levels of inflation, or public perception that any of these adverse effects have occurred or may occur in the future, could affect consumer spending patterns and purchases of our wines. These could also create or exacerbate credit issues, cash flow issues and other financial hardships for us and our suppliers, distributors, retailers and consumers. The inability of suppliers, distributors and retailers to access liquidity could impact our ability to produce and distribute our wines.
We are also exposed to risks associated with interest rate fluctuations. We could experience changes in our ability to manage fluctuations in interest rates and, accordingly, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in reducing those risks.
We could also be affected by nationalization of our international operations, unstable governments, unfamiliar or biased legal systems, intergovernmental disputes or animus against the U.S. Any determination that our operations or activities did not comply with applicable U.S. or foreign laws or regulations could result in the imposition of fines and penalties, interruptions of business, terminations of necessary licenses and permits, and other legal and equitable sanctions.
The military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the escalating geopolitical tensions resulting from such conflict have resulted and may continue to result in sanctions, tariffs, and import-export restriction which, when combined with any retaliatory actions that have been and may be taken by Russia, could cause further inflationary pressures and economic supply chain disruptions.
The U.S. and other countries in which we operate impose duties, excise taxes, and/or other taxes on beverage alcohol products, and/or on certain raw materials used to produce our beverage alcohol products, in varying amounts. The U.S. federal government or other governmental bodies may propose changes to international trade agreements, tariffs, taxes and other government rules and regulations. Significant increases in import and excise duties or other taxes on, or that impact, beverage alcohol products could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition and/or results of operations. Any such tariffs, particularly on imports from Mexico and any retaliatory tariffs imposed by the Mexican government, may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, including our sales and profitability.
In addition, federal, state, provincial, local and foreign governmental agencies extensively regulate the beverage alcohol products industry concerning such matters as licensing, warehousing, trade and pricing practices, permitted and required labeling, advertising and relations with wholesalers and retailers. Certain federal, state or local regulations also require warning labels and signage. New or revised regulations or increased licensing fees, requirements or taxes could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition and/or results of operations. Additionally, various jurisdictions may seek to adopt significant additional product labeling or warning requirements or limitations on the marketing or sale of our wines because of what our wines contain or
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allegations that our wines cause adverse health effects. If these types of requirements become applicable to our wines under current or future environmental or health laws or regulations, they may inhibit sales of such products.
These international, economic and political uncertainties and regulatory changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition and/or results of operations, especially to the extent these matters, or the decisions, policies or economic strength of our suppliers and distributors, affect our business, liquidity, financial condition and/or results of operations.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.


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Item 1C. Cybersecurity
The Company recognizes the importance of developing, implementing and maintaining cybersecurity measures designed to safeguard our information systems and protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our data. The Company employs a holistic process for overseeing and managing cybersecurity and information security risks, which is supported by management, the Audit Committee and the Board.
Cybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy
We have strategically integrated cybersecurity risk management into our broader risk management framework to promote a company-wide culture of cybersecurity risk management. This includes, among other initiatives, annual and ongoing security awareness training for employees, mechanisms to detect and monitor unusual network and endpoint activity, integrated threat intelligence and containment and incident response tools.
Our information security program is managed by our Vice President, Information Technology (“VPIT”), whose team is responsible for leading enterprise-wide cybersecurity strategy, policy, standards, architecture and processes. The VPIT reports directly to the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), who provides quarterly reports to our Audit Committee and periodic reports to our Board, as well as our Chief Executive Officer and other members of our executive team, as appropriate. These reports include updates on the Company’s cyber risks and threats, the status of projects to strengthen our information security systems, assessments of the information security program and the emerging threat landscape. Our program is regularly evaluated by internal and external experts with the results of those reviews also reported by the VPIT to the CFO and, subsequently, to our executive team, Board and Audit Committee, as appropriate. We also actively engage with key third-party vendors, industry participants, and intelligence and law enforcement communities as part of our continuing efforts to evaluate and enhance the effectiveness of our information security policies and procedures. We may experience significant future increases in the costs associated with environmental regulatory compliance, including fees, licenses and the cost of capital improvements for our vineyards and wineries to meet environmental regulatory requirements.
The Company's approach to cybersecurity risk management includes the following key elements:
Multi-Layered Defense and Continuous Monitoring. The Company employs various approaches to protect its computing environments and products from cybersecurity threats through multi-layered defenses and apply lessons learned from its defense and monitoring efforts to proactively prevent future attacks. The Company's internal cybersecurity team and third-party security services provide comprehensive cyber threat detection and response capabilities and maintain a full-time monitoring system which complements the technology, processes and threat detection techniques we use to monitor, manage and mitigate cybersecurity threats. From time to time, the Company engages third-party consultants or other advisors to assist in assessing, identifying and/or managing cybersecurity threats.
Third-Party Risk Assessments. The Company engages with a range of external experts, including cybersecurity assessors, consultants, legal advisors and auditors in evaluating and testing potential threats to Duckhorn systems. Our collaboration with these parties includes regular reporting, threat assessments and consultation on security enhancements.
Training and Awareness. The Company’s cybersecurity team provides periodic awareness training to our employees to help identify, avoid and mitigate cybersecurity threats. Employees with network access participate annually in required trainings, which cover timely and relevant topics, including social engineering, phishing, password protection, confidential data protection, asset use and mobile security and educate employees on the importance of reporting all incidents promptly to the Company’s centrally managed cyber defense and security operations teams. The Company also periodically hosts tabletop exercises with management and other employees to practice rapid cyber incident response.
Supplier Engagement. The Company requires its suppliers to comply with its standard information security terms and conditions as a condition of doing business with us. Certain suppliers are also required to complete information security questionnaires to review and assess any potential cyber-related risks depending on the nature of services provided. The Company allows its suppliers limited and monitored access to certain of its networks and systems.
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Incident Response Plan. The Company’s cybersecurity team, overseen by our VPIT, implements and oversees processes for the monitoring of our information systems. This includes the deployment of security measures and system audits to identify potential vulnerabilities. In the event of a cybersecurity incident, we deploy an Incident Response Plan, which includes migrating actions, stakeholder engagement and long-term strategies for remediation and prevention of future incidents.
As of the date of this report, we have not experienced a cybersecurity incident that resulted in a material effect on our business strategy, results of operations, or financial condition, but we cannot provide assurance that we will not be materially affected in the future by such risks or any future material incidents. For more information, see Item 1A. Risk Factors.
Cybersecurity Governance and Oversight
The Company’s cybersecurity risk management program is supervised by our VPIT, who reports directly to the Company’s CFO. The VPIT and his team are responsible for leading enterprise-wide cybersecurity strategy, policy, standards, architecture and processes. Our current VPIT has over 20 years of experience in the IT industry and more than 13 years of dedicated service to The Duckhorn Portfolio, where he has played a pivotal role in shaping the company's IT infrastructure and security posture. He brings expertise in Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and is supported by a team of seasoned IT professionals.
The Duckhorn Portfolio Cybersecurity Policy outlines our processes for determining, assessing the materiality of, monitoring and responding to cyber security incidents. The VPIT, CFO and Chief Strategy and Legal Officer, in conjunction with outside counsel and consultants, review the materiality and disclosure of any cyber security incidents, which ultimately are reviewed by the Company’s Disclosure Committee and Audit Committee. The Company’s Incident Response Team, overseen by our VPIT, is primarily responsible for implementing our Incident Response Plan for assessing, identifying, communicating and managing cybersecurity threats, incidents and risks.
The Incident Response Team manages cybersecurity incidents and drives awareness, ownership and alignment across broad governance and risk stakeholder groups. The Incident Response Team consists of IT team members (management, infrastructure and cybersecurity) and, as appropriate, senior leaders from our legal, finance and other internal departments, who may engage external subject matter experts, if required. The Incident Response Team is responsible for overseeing and validating the Company’s cybersecurity strategic direction, risks and threats, priorities, resource allocation, capabilities and planning. The Incident Response Team typically operates under the authority of the Company’s executive team and in alignment with Duckhorn’s Risk Steering Committee, a cross-functional management committee that oversees and provides strategic direction for Duckhorn’s Enterprise Risk Management program.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is charged with oversight of cybersecurity matters and receives quarterly reports from the VPIT and/or CFO regarding, among other things, the Company’s cyber risks and threats, the status of projects to strengthen the Company’s information security systems, assessments of the Company’s security program and the emerging threat landscape. The Audit Committee also conducts a semiannual review of our cybersecurity posture and the effectiveness of our risk management strategies. The Chair of the Audit Committee regularly briefs the full Board on matters of cyber security. The Board also periodically receives cybersecurity updates directly from management.

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