Sally Beauty (SBH) 10-K2020 FY Annual report

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED: SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

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For the transition period from _______________ to __________________

Commission File No. 1-33145

SALLY BEAUTY HOLDINGS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(940) 898-7500

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES ☒ NO ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. YES ☐ NO ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES ☒ NO ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). YES ☒ NO ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C.  7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act.)  YES ☐ NO ☒

The aggregate market value of registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based upon the closing price of a share of the registrant’s common stock on March 31, 2020, was approximately $901,906,000. At November 13, 2020, there were 112,818,922 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement relating to the registrant’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K where indicated.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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In this Annual Report, references to “the Company,” “Sally Beauty,” “our company,” “we,” “our,” “ours” and “us” refer to Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires.

cautionary notice regarding forward-looking statements

Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in the documents incorporated by reference herein which are not purely historical facts or which depend upon future events may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which we refer to as the Exchange Act. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “target,” “can,” “could,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “might,” “anticipates” or similar expressions may also identify such forward-looking statements.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as such statements speak only as of the date they were made and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events or results described in the forward-looking statements. The most important factors which could cause our actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements are set forth in our description of risk factors in Item 1A to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which should be read in conjunction with the forward-looking statements in this report. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

The events described in the forward-looking statements might not occur or might occur to a different extent or at a different time than we have described. As a result, our actual results may differ materially from the results contemplated by these forward-looking statements.

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PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Our Company

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. is an international specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies with operations in North America, South America and Europe. We are one of the largest distributors of professional beauty supplies in the U.S. based on store count. At September 30, 2020, we operated two business segments, Sally Beauty Supply (“SBS”) and Beauty Systems Group (“BSG”), with 4,895 company-operated stores, 143 franchised stores and e-commerce platforms. SBS targets retail consumers, salons and salon professionals, while BSG exclusively targets salons and salon professionals. Within BSG, we also have one of the largest networks of distributor sales consultants (“DSCs”) for professional beauty products in North America, with approximately 715 sales consultants who sell directly to salons and salon professionals.

We provide our customers with a wide variety of leading third-party branded and owned-brand professional beauty supplies, including hair color and care products, styling tools, skin and nail care products and other beauty items. For each of the fiscal years ended September 30, 2020, 2019 and 2018, over 80% of our consolidated net sales were from customers located in the U.S.

The breadth, depth and professional quality of our hair color and hair care assortment provides us with a differentiated core business in an industry which is otherwise fragmented. Due to our long presence in the category, our brand heritage, our product and process-specific knowledge and our training of associates, we provide unmatched hair color and hair care expertise to consumers. We also have strong positioning with suppliers given our focus and our economies of scale of purchasing. Because we service retail and professional customers through a variety of channels, we are able to reach broad, diversified geographies and customer segments using a variety of product assortments and tactics.

Our stores are conveniently located and offer a wide selection of competitively priced beauty products, beauty solutions and expertise delivered by our knowledgeable salespeople. We also offer a comprehensive selection of textured hair products that we believe further differentiates us from our competitors.

On our professional side of our business, we believe that our DSCs distinguish us from other full-service/exclusive-channel distributors by providing us with a better understanding of our professional customers’ needs. In addition to placing orders through our DSCs, our customers have the ability to order and pick up the products they need between visits from our DSCs by visiting a nearby BSG store. We believe that our differentiated customer value proposition and strong brands drive customer loyalty.

Operating Strategy

Our mission is to empower our customers to express themselves through hair. Our strategy is to be the expert in hair color and hair care for the consumer and the salon professional. We emphasize hair color and hair care through our strategic product assortment and compelling customer experiences, while also focusing on our operating efficiency and increasing profitability.

We believe that we offer our customers a strong and differentiated value proposition by providing salon-quality products, including an extensive collection of owned and exclusive-label brands and solutions at attractive prices.

Our focus and experiences with hair color include a strong emphasis on our sales force. We believe our approach to recruiting, training, and compensation results in a highly knowledgeable and effective sales force. Also, as the partner of choice for established brands, as well as product innovators, we offer our customers a broad strategic product assortment.

Our goal is to continue to drive additional customer traffic to our stores to increase their sales productivity. In connection with this goal, we believe that creating an appealing shopping environment that embraces the retail consumer and salon professional and highlights our extensive product offerings will create a compelling shopping environment, and over time, will help drive increased customer traffic.

Our digital strategy continues to evolve from a largely transactional-based experience to a more content-rich experience that enables customers to learn about the latest trends and techniques from experts and influencer communities and engages them with our latest product launches and research products. As a result of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) global pandemic, we have seen customers adjust their shopping habits to practice social

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distancing. Going forward we will continue to focus on enhancing our digital offerings, refining those options and adding new services like buy online, pick-up in store, all while tying in with our mobile apps. We believe that these efforts will drive additional traffic and improve sales in the future.

Professional Beauty Supply Industry Distribution Channels

The professional beauty supply industry serves end-users through four distribution channels:

Open-Line

This channel serves retail consumers and salon professionals through retail stores and e-commerce platforms. This channel is served by a large number of localized retailers and distributors, with only a few having a regional or national presence and significant channel share. We believe that SBS, with its nationwide network of retail stores, is the largest open-line distributor in the U.S. In addition, SBS’s websites (including www.sallybeauty.com) and other e-commerce platforms, including our new SBS mobile commerce-based app, provide retail consumers and salon professionals access to product offerings and information beyond our retail stores.

Full-Service/Exclusive

This channel exclusively serves salons and salon professionals and distributes “professional-only” and other products for use in salons and for resale to consumers in salons. Many brands are distributed through exclusive arrangements with suppliers by geographic territory. BSG is one of the leading full-service distributors in the U.S. and Canada, with its nationwide network of professional-only stores and DSCs. In addition, BSG offers its products for sale to salons and salon professionals through e-commerce platforms (including www.cosmoprofbeauty.com, www.cosmoprofequipment.com and the CosmoProf mobile commerce-based app).

Direct

This channel focuses on direct sales to salons and salon professionals by large manufacturers. This is the dominant form of distribution in Europe but represents a smaller channel in the U.S. due to the highly fragmented nature of the U.S. salon industry, which makes direct distribution costs prohibitive for many manufacturers.

Mega-Salon Stores

In this channel, large-format salons are supplied directly by manufacturers due to their significant purchase requirements.

Key Industry and Business Trends

We believe the following key industry and business trends and characteristics will influence our business and our financial results going forward:

High level of marketplace fragmentation. The U.S. salon industry is highly fragmented with salons and barbershops. Given the fragmented nature of the salon industry, we believe that salon operators will continue to depend on full-service/exclusive distributors and open-line channels for a majority of their beauty supply products.

Rapidly evolving consumer trends. Our industry is characterized by continuously changing fashion-related trends that drive new styles, including hair and nail styles, and continuing demand for beauty products. In addition, we expect millennials and the aging baby-boomer population in the U.S. to continue to drive sales growth in certain professional beauty product categories, including through an increase in the usage of hair color and care products. Furthermore, due to the impact of COVID-19, we believe that consumer shopping habits have changed. As consumers exercise socially responsible distancing measures, we started to offer curbside pick-up and quickly pivoted our digital capabilities to including ship-from-store at SBS and same-day delivery at BSG.

Increasing use of owned and exclusive-label brand products. We offer an extensive range of owned and exclusive-label brand professional beauty products. Our lines of owned and exclusive-label brand products have matured and become better known in our retail stores and e-commerce platforms, showing an increase in sales.

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Growth in chair renting and frequent stocking needs. Salon professionals primarily rely on just-in-time inventory due to capital constraints and limited warehouse and shelf space. In addition, chair renters and suite renters, who now comprise a significant percentage of the total U.S. salon professionals, are often responsible for purchasing their own supplies. The number of chair renters and suite renters has significantly increased as a percentage of total salon professionals in recent years, and we expect this trend to continue. Chair renters and suite renters, given their smaller and more frequent purchasing patterns, are dependent on frequent trips to professional beauty supply stores. We expect that these factors will continue to drive demand for conveniently located professional beauty supply stores, like BSG and SBS.

Business Segments

We operate in two business segments: (i) SBS, an open-line retailer of professional beauty supplies offering professional beauty supplies to both retail consumers and salon professionals, in North America, South America and Europe, and (ii) BSG, including its franchise-based business Armstrong McCall, a full-service beauty supply distributor offering professional brands directly to salons and salon professionals through our own sales force and professional-only stores, many in exclusive geographical territories, in North America. SBS stores generally operate under the Sally Beauty banner, while BSG stores generally operate under the CosmoProf banner.

Neither the sales nor the product assortment for SBS or BSG are generally seasonal in nature.

The following table sets forth the percentage of our sales attributable to each of our major sales channels:

Store Design and Locations

Sally Beauty Supply

SBS stores are designed to highlight SBS’s extensive product offering and differentiated position in hair color and hair care. In the U.S. and Canada, SBS stores average approximately 1,700 square feet in size and are located primarily in strip shopping centers, which are occupied by other high traffic retailers such as grocery stores, mass merchants and home improvement centers. SBS applies strong category management processes, including centrally developed guides, to maintain consistent merchandise presentation across its store base. Store formats, including average size and product selection, vary by marketplace.

SBS balances its store renewals, remodels and expansions between new and existing geographies and regularly evaluates each store’s performance and strategically closes stores as necessary. In its existing marketplaces, SBS adds stores as necessary to provide additional coverage. In new marketplaces, SBS generally seeks to expand in geographically contiguous areas to leverage its experience. SBS selects geographic areas and store sites on the basis of demographic information, the quality and nature of neighboring tenants, store visibility and location accessibility.

As of September 30, 2020, SBS had 3,644 company-operated retail stores, 2,753 of which are located in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico), with the remaining 891 company-operated retail stores located in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Chile and Peru. SBS also supplied nine franchised stores located in the United Kingdom, Belgium and France.

Beauty Systems Group

BSG stores, including its franchise-based Armstrong McCall stores, are designed to create a professional shopping environment that highlights its extensive product offering and embraces the salon professional. Company-operated BSG stores average approximately 2,700 square feet and are located primarily in secondary strip shopping centers, since the stores are themselves a ‘destination’ for professionals not requiring a traffic-supporting neighbor retail location. BSG store layouts are designed to provide variety and options to the salon professional. Stores are

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segmented into distinctive areas arranged by product type, with certain areas dedicated to leading third-party brands. The selection of these and other brands varies by territory.

As of September 30, 2020, BSG operated 1,251 company-operated stores, with 1,116 located in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico) and the remaining 135 company-operated retail stores located in Canada. In addition, as of September 30, 2020, BSG supplied 134 franchised stores.

All SBS and BSG stores have implemented recommended practices and procedures within stores to ensure our customers and employees experience a safe and healthy environment, including, but not limited to, increased cleaning frequency and social distancing signage.

Merchandise

Sally Beauty Supply

SBS stores and websites carry an extensive selection of professional beauty supplies for retail customers, salons and salon professionals, featuring an average of 8,000 SKUs of beauty products in our stores across a variety of product categories including hair color and care, skin and nail care, styling tools and other beauty products. SBS’s stores and e-commerce platforms carry products from one or more of the leading manufacturers in each category, including third-party brands such as Wella^®, Clairol^®, OPI^®, Conair^® and Hot Shot Tools^®, as well as an extensive selection of owned and exclusive-label brand products. We believe that delivering an extensive selection of leading third-party, owned and exclusive-label brand professional beauty products at attractive prices through knowledgeable sales associates and convenient store locations is what differentiates SBS. Additionally, we believe that carrying a wide selection of the latest premier branded merchandise is critical for SBS in building long-term relationships with its customers and attracting new customers. As beauty trends continue to evolve, SBS will continue to offer the changing professional beauty product assortment necessary to meet the needs of retail consumers and salon professionals.

In addition, SBS’s extensive selection of owned and exclusive-label brand professional beauty products are only available at SBS stores and through its e-commerce platforms. We believe that SBS’s owned and exclusive-label brand products offer equal or better quality than higher-priced leading third-party brands, providing the customer attractive alternatives to those brands at lower prices. Generally, SBS’s owned-brand products have higher gross margins than the leading third-party branded products and, we believe, offer continued sales and profit growth potential. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020, owned and exclusive-label brand products accounted for approximately 45% of SBS’s product sales in the U.S. and Canada. SBS intends to continue to invest in the growth of its owned and exclusive-label brands and to actively promote these products.

Beauty Systems Group

BSG’s stores and e-commerce platforms carry an extensive selection of third-party branded products, such as Paul Mitchell^®, Wella^®, Matrix^®, Schwarzkopf^®, Kenra^®, Goldwell^®, Joico^® and Chi^®, for salons and salon professionals at competitive prices. We feature an average of 10,500 SKUs in our BSG stores across a variety of product categories including hair color and care, skin and nail care, styling tools and other beauty items. Additionally, BSG has exclusive and non-exclusive distribution rights for well-known brands in certain geographies with several key vendors. As part of its growth strategy, BSG continues to pursue the acquisition of additional distribution rights. We believe that carrying an extensive selection of branded merchandise is critical to maintaining relationships with our professional customers.

We believe BSG is the largest full-service distributor of professional beauty supplies in North America exclusively targeting salons and salon professionals. Through BSG’s large store base, e-commerce platforms and sales force, including Armstrong McCall, BSG is able to access a significant portion of the highly fragmented U.S. professional beauty salon products industry.

Marketing and Advertising

We continue to invest in new talent and capabilities in our digital commerce, brand marketing and strategy and global sourcing. As part of this effort, we have realigned our marketing and digital functions to create a new structure in which every team supports and fuels the growth for the U.S. and Canadian operations of both SBS and BSG. This allows us to leverage strong, centralized teams for areas such as e-commerce, loyalty and brand strategy, rather than trying to build duplicative capabilities for both segments.

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SBS’s marketing programs are designed to drive customer traffic by differentiating SBS as a source of professional advice, solutions and salon-quality products at competitive prices, all backed by our “Love It or Return It” guarantee.

We continuously adapt our marketing initiatives and adjust our media and messaging mix to achieve a high return on our marketing and advertising dollars. We target existing and potential customers through an integrated marketing approach designed to reach the customer through a variety of media, including digital advertising, email, social media, text messaging, direct mail and print advertising. In fiscal year 2020, we launched a private label rewards credit card for both SBS and BSG that will make it even easier for our customers to shop with us.

We continue to refine the strategy for sallybeauty.com and our other e-commerce platforms, shifting from largely transactional-based to a more content-rich experience that enables customers to learn about the latest trends and techniques from influencers, engage in our latest product launches and research products. We frequently update the home page to enhance its appeal to our existing and prospective customers. In addition, we continue to refine our internal processes and partnerships to increase traffic to the website. Many of our customers research products on our site before visiting a store. Beyond generating e-commerce sales, we believe our website and new SBS mobile app are important vehicles to reach consumers researching beauty products online who could potentially visit our stores as a result of their experience on our website or our SBS mobile app.

SBS’s customer loyalty and customer relationship management (“CRM”) programs in the U.S. and Canada help generate loyalty through our Sally Beauty Rewards Program and our recently launched private label rewards credit card. In return, SBS is able to collect valuable point-of-sale customer data as a means of increasing its understanding of customers’ needs and enhancing its ability to market to them in more personalized, relevant ways. We continue to assess and update our customer loyalty and CRM programs in an effort to further enhance the customer experience and promote repeat sales from both retail customers and salon professionals. Outside the U.S. and Canada, our customer loyalty and marketing programs vary by marketplace.

BSG’s marketing programs are designed primarily to promote its extensive selection of brand name products at competitive prices and to educate, motivate and empower its customers to grow professionally. BSG communicates on a frequent basis with its customers and potential customers, and distributes promotional material through multiple communication channels, including trade shows, educational events, store personnel, DSCs, print mail, e-mail, text and social media. In addition, we believe that BSG’s websites (www.cosmoprofequipment.com and www.cosmoprofbeauty.com) and the CosmoProf mobile commerce-based app enhance other efforts intended to promote awareness of BSG’s products by salons and salon professionals.

As of September 30, 2020, BSG had a network of 715 DSCs, which exclusively consult, support and sell directly to salons and salon professionals. In order to provide a knowledgeable sales consultant team, BSG actively recruits and trains individuals with industry knowledge or sales experience. We believe that DSCs with broad product knowledge and direct sales experience are more successful in driving sales. Our sales commission program is an important component of the compensation of our DSCs, which is designed to drive sales and to focus DSCs on selling products that are best suited to individual salons and salon professionals.

Our Customers

We appeal to a wide demographic consumer profile and offer an extensive selection of professional-grade beauty products sold directly to retail consumers, salons and salon professionals. Historically, these factors have provided us with reduced exposure to downturns in economic conditions in the countries in which we operate.

Our Competition

The global beauty industry is highly competitive. SBS competes with domestic and international beauty product wholesale and retail outlets, including local and regional open-line beauty supply stores, professional-only beauty supply stores, mass merchandisers, online retailers, drug stores, department stores and supermarkets, as well as salons that sell hair care products. BSG competes primarily with domestic and international beauty product wholesale suppliers, including online retailers, and manufacturers selling professional beauty products directly to salons and individual salon professionals. The primary competitive factors in the beauty products distribution industry are the price at which branded and owned-brand products are sold to customers; exclusive distribution contracts; the quality, perceived value, consumer brand name recognition, packaging and variety of the products sold; customer service; the efficiency of distribution networks; and the availability of desirable store locations.

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We face competition from certain manufacturers that use their own sales forces to distribute their professional beauty products directly or that align themselves with our competitors. Some of these manufacturers are vertically integrating through the acquisition of distributors and stores. We also face competition from authorized and unauthorized retailers and internet sites offering professional salon-only products.

Our Suppliers

We purchase our merchandise directly from manufacturers through supply contracts and by purchase orders. For the fiscal year 2020, our five largest suppliers – Coty, Inc., Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, the Professional Products Division of L'Oreal USA S/D, Inc., or L’Oreal, John Paul Mitchell Systems, and Conair Corporation – accounted for approximately 38% of our consolidated merchandise purchases. Products are purchased from these and many other manufacturers on an at-will basis or under contracts which can generally be terminated without cause upon 90 days or less notice or expire without express rights of renewal.

Our Employees

At September 30, 2020, we had approximately 30,000 global associates and we believe they are our greatest asset with their combined skills, knowledge, work/life experiences and capabilities. At the front line interacting with our customers or behind-the-scenes supporting our field teams, our associates play a huge role in our business. While we often emphasize our technology-based transformation and our wide variety of amazing hair and beauty products as key attributes, nothing happens or succeeds without our people.

In return for what they do for us, among many other things, we strive to:

Associate Health & Safety

We strive to create a safe and healthy work environment for all associates

SBH places a high value on the health and safety of our associates, customers, suppliers and vendors. This commitment is evidenced, in part, by our background check policy for new hires, training and policy implementations related to handling both associate and customer incidents, partnerships to maintain the stores and make necessary repairs, as well as ongoing support in the field and at the support center.

Additionally, SBH values our partnerships with suppliers and vendors and understands the impact they can have on our associates. Thus, SBH has included rules that govern their conduct, both with respect to expectations while interacting with our associates, and, with our foreign suppliers, assurances that they too are providing a safe and healthy working environment for their associates.

Calendar year 2020 presented special challenges with respect to the health and safety of our associates and customers. With the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to quickly adapt our priorities to make it possible for all of our associates to stay safe and reduce any exposure to the virus. While this involved temporary store closures for our entire network, mostly during our second and third fiscal quarter, we also had to change our procedures and offer new customer engagement options.

When local requirements allowed us to re-open to the public, we quickly developed requirements and procedures for how to do so as safely as possible – both for our associates and customers. We adopted additional safety protocols such as detailed cleaning protocols, personal protective equipment requirements, visual cues regarding social distancing and limitations on occupancy of stores during business hours. We also installed rolling rapid testing for COVID-19 at three of our distribution centers. We have continued to maintain these protocols, monitor for compliance and make improvements and adjustments where needed throughout fiscal year 2020.

Labor Practices

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We provide competitive wages and benefits in a positive work environment where we focus on doing what is right

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer with up-to-date policies, procedures and practices with respect to such important issues as safety, discrimination, harassment and retaliation. We provide focused training on these issues to our associates and managers.

We clearly communicate that any concerns related to issues such as discrimination, harassment, retaliation – and other issues such as wage law compliance and fraud – should be reported immediately. We also communicate the avenues available to our associates to do so through our “SBH CARES” communications and posters. The reporting avenues include options to do so by phone or online through our “Employee Concern Line”, and to do so anonymously if an associate prefers to take that approach.

We ensure compliance with other important labor and employment law issues through a variety of processes and procedures, using both internal and external expertise and resources.

We also emphasize the importance of taking care of our associates in our Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, which is the standard of conduct that applies to all of our associates, executive officers and Board of Directors. The Code reflects the core principles of conducting our business as a good corporate citizen in compliance with all laws, rules and regulations applicable to us and the conduct business with regard for the welfare of our associates and providing equal opportunity to all associates and job applicants. You can review this important document at http://investor.sallybeautyholdings.com.

Associate Engagement, Development and Culture

We live our values, listen to our associates and take action

We make significant efforts to ensure our associates are engaged and excited about the work they are doing and contributions they are making to our Company and our customers. We are committed to providing associates with what they need to thrive and grow their career.

We significantly invest in our talent processes and set clear expectations around leadership competencies and our cultural values at all levels in the organization. At SBH, we consider the whole end-to-end talent cycle of an associate to ensure we select exceptional people to represent our business and best serve our customer. This includes, robust interviewing processes as well as comprehensive onboarding programs to ensure new hires are set up to succeed in their early stages of joining SBH. There is also a strong cadence on completing regular cycles of performance management, linked to our Company values and leadership competencies, as well as regular reviews of our talent and succession pipelines.

Importantly, we devote significant effort and resources to the development of our associates, including providing almost all of our associates access to state-of-the-art learning management systems. We use these platforms to provide specifically designed and interactive e-learning courses in sales and service, product and hair knowledge, compliance training, and health and safety.  

We also place significant value and attention on responding to feedback and input from associates. This includes surveys regarding issues such as Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging and our annual engagement survey. We review our team’s input and comments, identify common themes and set out action plans to respond. We believe that listening is crucial, but that taking action and making commitments are even more important.

A core focus of our associate engagement and culture are our efforts focused on Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging, discussed below.

Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

We come together to create a culture for “One & All”

Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging are at the heart of who we are as a Company – at the Board level, throughout our global workforce, and in our shared commitment to serving a diverse customer base and their communities.

Our Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Mission Statement:

We find beauty in YOU!

Finding beauty in diversity is in our DNA because our differences are what make us beautiful. Our diversity, inclusivity, and self-expression are what fuel our innovation and growth.

At SBH, we come together to create a culture for ONE & ALL.

At the Board Level: Our Board’s composition leads the Company’s commitment to Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging. Having diverse voices on our Board enhances the Board’s expertise, broadens its viewpoint and sets the

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tone to encourage leaders at all levels of the Company to listen to the concerns of our associates and customers alike. Our Compensation Committee has taken the recent step of expressly adopting Talent into its charter, and will provide hands-on oversight of our Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging initiatives. Our Board believes that listening and responding to diverse voices is crucial to the Company’s success and long-term sustainability.  

In Our Workforce: Our SBH Team in the U.S. & Canada is over 91% female and over 50% racially/ethnically diverse. In 2019 and 2020, Forbes named our Company one of America’s Best Employers for Diversity. We recognize and celebrate the bedrock values of workforce diversity, inclusion, belonging and engagement within our teams. For us, these are key drivers of the success of the business, as our associates should – and do – reflect the various qualities of our customers and what they desire and expect from SBH.

In Our Customer Base: Our customers span the entire continuum of gender and ethnic diversity. We sell products to treat and style every kind of hair; we deliver a tailored assortment of beauty products that serve the local communities where our over 4,200 U.S. and Canadian stores are located. Serving the diverse demographics and needs of our customers drives a culture and workforce that embraces and reflects the communities we serve.

We will continue to develop and evolve how we enhance Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging throughout SBH. We recognize the value these initiatives bring to our Company, our associates, our customers and the communities we serve.

Regulation

We are subject to a wide variety of laws and regulations, which historically have not had a material effect on our business. For example, in the U.S., most of the products sold and the content and methods of advertising and marketing utilized are subject to both federal and state regulations administered by a host of federal and state agencies, including, in each case, one or more of the following: the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Products Safety Commission. The transportation and disposal of many of our products are also subject to federal and state regulation. State and local agencies regulate many aspects of our business. We also face comprehensive regulation outside the U.S., focused primarily on product labeling and safety issues.

As of September 30, 2020, SBS and BSG supplied franchised stores located in the U.S. and certain countries in Europe. As a result of these franchisor-franchisee relationships, we are subject to regulation when offering and selling franchises in the applicable countries. The applicable laws and regulations affect our business practices, as franchisor, in a number of ways, including restrictions placed upon the offering, renewal, termination and disapproval of assignment of franchises. To date, these laws and regulations have not had a material effect upon our operations.

Access to Public Filings

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to such reports are available, without charge, on our website, www.sallybeautyholdings.com, as soon as reasonably possible after they are filed electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, under the Exchange Act. The SEC maintains an internet site that contains our reports, proxy and information statements, and other information that we file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov. We will provide copies of such reports to any person, without charge, upon written request to our Investor Relations Department at our principal office. The information found on our website shall not be considered to be part of this or any other report filed with or furnished to the SEC.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Important risk factors that could materially affect our business, financial condition or results of operations in future periods are described below. These factors are not intended to be an all-encompassing list of risks and uncertainties and are not the only risks and uncertainties we face. Additional risks not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations in future periods.

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Operational, Strategic and General Business Risks

The beauty products distribution industry is highly competitive and is consolidating.

The beauty products distribution industry is highly fragmented and competitive, with few significant barriers to entry into the marketplaces for most of the types of products we sell. We face significant competition from other beauty stores and outlets, salons, mass merchandisers, online retailers, drug stores and supermarkets. The primary competitive factors in the beauty products distribution industry are price, quality, perceived value, consumer brand name recognition, packaging and variety and availability, customer service, and desirable store locations. Competitive conditions may limit our ability to maintain prices or may require us to reduce prices in efforts to retain business or channel share, particularly because customers are able to quickly and conveniently comparison shop and determine real-time product availability using digital tools, which can lead to decisions driven solely by price, the functionality of the digital tools, or a combination of these and other factors. Some of our competitors have greater financial and other resources than we do and are less leveraged than our business and may therefore be able to spend more aggressively on advertising and promotional activities and respond more effectively to changing business and economic conditions. We expect existing competitors, business partners and new entrants to the beauty products distribution industry to constantly revise or improve their business models in response to challenges from competing businesses, including ours. If these competitors introduce changes or developments that we cannot address in a timely or cost-effective manner, our business may be adversely affected.

In addition, our industry is consolidating, which may give our suppliers and our competitors increased negotiating leverage and greater marketing resources. For instance, we may lose customers if those competitors which have broad geographic reach attract additional salons (individual and chain) that are currently BSG customers, or if professional beauty supply manufacturers align themselves with our competitors or begin selling direct to customers. Not only does consolidation in distribution pose risks from competing distributors, but it may also place more leverage in the hands of certain manufacturers, resulting in smaller margins on products sold through our network.

If we are unable to compete effectively in our marketplace or if competitors divert our customers away from our networks, it would adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be unable to anticipate and effectively respond to changes in consumer preferences and buying trends in a timely manner.

Our success depends in part on our ability to anticipate, gauge and react in a timely manner to changes in consumer spending patterns and preferences for specific beauty products. If we do not timely identify and properly respond to evolving trends and changing consumer demands for beauty products in the geographies in which we compete, our sales may decline significantly. Furthermore, we may accumulate additional inventory and be required to mark down unsold inventory to prices that are significantly lower than normal prices, which would adversely impact our margins and could further adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, a large percentage of our SBS product sales come from our owned and exclusive-label brand products. The development and promotion of these owned and exclusive-label brand products often occur well before these products are sold in our stores. As a result, the success of these owned and exclusive-label brand products is largely dependent on our ability to develop products that meet future consumer preferences at prices that are acceptable to our customers. Furthermore, we may have to spend a significant amount on the advertising and marketing of our owned and exclusive-label brands to drive customer awareness of these brands. There can be no assurance that any new owned and exclusive-label brand will meet consumer preferences, gain acceptance among our customer base or generate sales to become profitable or to cover the costs of its development and promotion.

We expect continuously changing fashion-related trends and consumer tastes to influence future demand for beauty products. Changes in consumer tastes and fashion trends can have an impact on our financial performance. If we are unable to anticipate and respond to trends in the marketplace for beauty products and changing consumer demands, our business could suffer.

Our future success depends in part on our ability to successfully implement our strategic initiatives to improve the customer experience, attract new customers and improve the sales productivity of our stores.

We are continuing the implementation of a significant number of strategic initiatives designed to ‘play to win’ by focusing on our hair color and hair care business, improving our retail fundamentals, enhancing our digital capabilities and balancing our cost structure. There can be no assurance that these or future strategic initiatives will

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be successful. Furthermore, we are investing significant resources in these initiatives and the costs of the initiatives may outweigh their benefits. If these strategic initiatives are not successful, our same store sales will suffer and our growth prospects, financial results, profitability and cash flows will also be adversely impacted.

Our restructuring program may not be successful or we may not fully realize the expected cost savings and/or operating efficiencies from our restructuring plans.

Our ability to grow profitably depends in large part on our ability to successfully control or reduce our operating expenses. In furtherance of this strategy, we have engaged in ongoing activities to reduce or control costs, some of which are complicated and require us to expend significant resources to implement. Over the past several years, we have implemented, and plan to continue to implement, restructuring plans to transform the Company for the future and support long-term sales growth and profitability. These programs are intended to touch all aspects of the business, enhance operating capabilities, create greater efficiencies and take advantage of our considerable scale. Restructuring plans present significant potential risks that may impair our ability to achieve anticipated operating enhancements and/or cost reductions, or otherwise harm our business, including higher than anticipated costs in implementing our restructuring plans, as well as management distraction. The restructuring program and workforce changes may negatively impact communication, morale, management cohesiveness and effective decision-making. Despite these cost control plans, our costs may continue to increase for the foreseeable future.

We depend upon manufacturers who may be unable to provide products of adequate quality or who may be unwilling to continue to supply products to us.

We do not manufacture any products we sell, and instead purchase our products from recognized brand manufacturers and private label fillers. We depend on a limited number of manufacturers for a significant percentage of the products we sell.

Since we purchase products from many manufacturers and fillers under at-will contracts and contracts which can be terminated without cause upon 90 days’ notice or less, or which expire without express rights of renewal, manufacturers and fillers could discontinue sales to us immediately or upon short notice. Some of our contracts with manufacturers may be terminated if we fail to meet specified minimum purchase requirements. If minimum purchase requirements are not met, we do not have contractual assurances of continued supply. In lieu of termination, a manufacturer may also change the terms upon which it sells, for example, by raising prices or broadening distribution to third parties. For these and other reasons, we may not be able to acquire desired merchandise in sufficient quantities or on acceptable terms in the future.

Changes in SBS’s and BSG’s relationships with suppliers occur often and could positively or negatively impact the net sales and operating earnings of both business segments. Some of our suppliers may seek to decrease their reliance on distribution intermediaries, including full-service/exclusive and open-line distributors like BSG and SBS, by promoting their own distribution channels. These suppliers may offer advantages, such as lower prices, when their products are purchased from distribution channels they control. If our access to supplier-provided products were to diminish relative to our competitors or we were not able to purchase products at the same prices as our competitors, our business could be materially and adversely affected. Also, consolidation among suppliers may increase their negotiating leverage, thereby providing them with competitive advantages that may increase our costs and reduce our revenues, adversely affecting our business, financial condition and results of operations. Therefore, there can be no assurance that the impact of these developments, if they were to occur, will not adversely impact revenue or margins or that our efforts to mitigate the impact of these developments will be successful.

Any significant interruption in the supply of products by manufacturers and fillers or disruptions in our supply chain infrastructure could disrupt our ability to deliver merchandise to our stores and customers in a timely manner, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Manufacturers and owned and exclusive-label brand fillers of beauty supply products are subject to certain risks that could adversely impact their ability to provide us with their products on a timely basis, including inability to procure ingredients, industrial accidents, environmental events, strikes and other labor disputes, union organizing activity, disruptions in logistics or information systems, loss or impairment of key manufacturing sites, product quality control, safety, licensing requirements and other regulatory issues, as well as natural disasters, pandemics and other external factors over which neither they nor we have control.

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In addition, we directly source many of our owned and exclusive-label brand products, including, but not limited to, styling tools, salon equipment, sundries and other promotional products, from foreign third-party manufacturers and many of our vendors also use overseas sourcing to manufacture some or all of their products. Any event causing a sudden disruption of manufacturing or imports from such foreign countries, including the imposition of additional or increased import restrictions, duties or tariffs, political instability, local business practices, legal or economic restrictions on overseas suppliers’ ability to produce and deliver products or acts of war or terrorism or pandemics, could materially harm our operations to the extent they affect the production, shipment or receipt of merchandise. Our operating results depend to some extent on the orderly operation of our receiving and distribution processes, which depend on manufacturers’ adherence to shipping schedules and our effective management of our distribution facilities and capacity.

We distribute products to our stores without supplementing such deliveries with direct-to-store arrangements from vendors or wholesalers. We are a retailer carrying beauty products that change on a regular basis in response to beauty trends, which makes the success of our operations particularly vulnerable to disruptions in our distribution infrastructure. Any significant interruption in the operation of our supply chain infrastructure, such as disruptions in our information systems, disruptions in operations due to fire or other catastrophic events, labor disagreements or shipping and transportation problems, could drastically reduce our ability to receive and process orders and provide products and services to our stores, full service customers or e-commerce customers.

Fluctuations in the price, availability and quality of inventory may result in higher cost of goods, which we may not be able to pass on to the customers.

Our suppliers frequently attempt to pass on higher production costs, which may impact our ability to maintain or grow our margins. The price and availability of raw materials may be impacted by demand, regulation, weather and other factors. Additionally, manufacturers have and may continue to have increases in other manufacturing costs, such as transportation, labor and benefit costs. These increases in production costs result in higher merchandise costs to us. We may not always be able to pass on those cost increases to our customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our e-commerce businesses may be unsuccessful or, if successful, may divert sales from our stores.

We offer many of our beauty products for sale through our e-commerce businesses in the U.S. (such as www.sallybeauty.com, www.cosmoprofbeauty.com, www.cosmoprofequipment.com and mobile commerce-based apps) and abroad. We have recently undertaken a number of initiatives, including as part of our Transformation Plan and in response to COVID-19, to significantly advance our digital commerce capabilities and grow our e-commerce businesses. As a result, we are more susceptible to risks and difficulties frequently experienced by internet-based businesses, including risks related to our ability to attract and retain customers on a cost-effective basis and our ability to operate, support, expand and develop our e-commerce operations, websites and software and other related operational systems.

Although we believe that our participation in both e-commerce and physical store sales is a distinct advantage for us due to synergies and the potential for new customers, supporting product offerings through both of these channels could create issues that have the potential to adversely affect our results of operations. For example, growth in our e-commerce business relative to in-store sales may result in dilution of operating margin and profit due to higher delivery expenses incurred in our e-commerce sales. Furthermore, if our e-commerce businesses successfully grow, they may do so in part by attracting existing customers, rather than new customers, who choose to purchase products from us online rather than from our physical stores, thereby reducing the financial performance of our stores. In addition, offering different products through each channel could cause conflicts and cause some of our current or potential internet customers to consider competing distributors of beauty products. In addition, offering products through our e-commerce channels (particularly directly to consumers through our professional business) could cause some of our current or potential vendors to consider competing internet offerings of their products either directly or through competing distributors. As we continue to grow our e-commerce businesses, the impact of attracting existing rather than new customers, of conflicts between product offerings online and through our stores, and of opening up our channels to increased internet competition could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including operating margin, profit, future growth and same store sales. Furthermore, our recent initiatives to upgrade our e-commerce platforms may not be successful in driving traffic to our websites and increasing our online sales in the long term, which could adversely impact our net sales.

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Diversion of professional products sold by BSG could have an adverse impact on our revenues.

The majority of the products that BSG sells, including those sold by our Armstrong McCall franchisees, are meant to be used exclusively by salons and individual salon professionals or sold exclusively to their retail consumers. However, despite our efforts to prevent diversion, incidents of product diversion occur, whereby our products are sold by these purchasers (and possibly by other bulk purchasers such as franchisees) to wholesalers and ultimately to general merchandise retailers, among others. These retailers, in turn, sell such products to consumers. The diverted product may be old, tainted or damaged and sold through unapproved outlets, all of which could diminish the value of the particular brand. In addition, such diversion may result in lower net sales for BSG should consumers choose to purchase diverted products from retailers rather than purchasing from our customers, or choose other products altogether because of the perceived loss of brand prestige.  Furthermore, in many instances, BSG is subject to certain anti-diversion obligations under these manufacturers’ contracts, that if violated may result in the termination of such contracts. In addition, our investigation and enforcement of these anti-diversion obligations may require us to cease selling to customers suspected of diversion which could impact BSG’s net sales.

BSG’s financial results are affected by the financial results of BSG’s franchised-based business (Armstrong McCall).

BSG receives revenue from its sale of products to Armstrong McCall franchisees. Accordingly, a portion of BSG’s financial results is dependent upon the operational and financial success of these franchisees, including their implementation of BSG’s strategic plans. If sales trends or economic conditions worsen for Armstrong McCall’s franchisees, their financial results may worsen. Additionally, the failure of Armstrong McCall franchisees to renew their franchise agreements, any requirement that Armstrong McCall restructure its franchise agreements in connection with such renewals, or any failure of Armstrong McCall to meet its obligations under its franchise agreements, could result in decreased revenues for BSG or create legal issues with our franchisees or with manufacturers.

Furthermore, our franchisees may not run the stores and sales teams according to our standards, which could have a material adverse effect on our brand reputation and our business.

We may not be able to successfully identify acquisition candidates or successfully complete desirable acquisitions, and any acquisition could prove difficult to integrate, disrupt our business or have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

In the past several years, we have completed multiple acquisitions and we intend to pursue additional acquisitions in the future. We actively review acquisition prospects that we believe would complement our existing lines of business, increase the size and geographic scope of our operations or otherwise offer profitable growth and operating efficiency opportunities. There can be no assurance that we will continue to identify suitable acquisition candidates. Furthermore, due to, among other things, increasing competition for suitable acquisition candidates, our ability to reach agreement with acquisition candidates or finance such acquisitions on favorable terms, we may not be able to consummate such acquisitions on favorable terms or at all.  

Any acquisitions that we do make may be difficult to integrate profitably into our business and may entail numerous risks, including:

As a result, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of our acquisitions.

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If we are unable to optimize our store base by profitably opening and operating new stores and closing less profitable stores, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Our future growth strategy depends in part on our ability to optimize and profitably operate our stores in existing and additional geographic areas, including in international geographies, and to close underperforming stores. While the capital requirements to open an SBS or BSG store, excluding inventory, vary from geography to geography, such capital requirements have historically been relatively low in the U.S. and Canada. Despite these relatively low opening costs, we may not be able to open all the new stores we plan to open and we may be unable to optimize our store base by closing stores that are unprofitable or open stores that are profitable, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, as we continue to open new stores, our management, as well as our financial, distribution and information systems, and other resources will be subject to greater demands. If our personnel and systems are unable to successfully manage this increased burden, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially affected.

Use of social media may adversely impact our reputation.

There has been a substantial increase in the use of social media platforms, including blogs, social media websites and other forms of digital communications, and the influence of social medial influencers in the beauty products industry. Negative commentary regarding us or the products we sell may be posted on social media platforms or other electronic means at any time and may be adverse to our reputation or business. Customers value readily available information and often act on such information without further investigation and without regard to its accuracy. Any harm to us or the products we sell may be immediate without allowing us an opportunity for redress or correction.

We also use social media platforms as marketing tools. For example, we maintain Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest accounts. In addition, we have agreements with a variety of industry influencers, and we feature industry influencers in our advertising and marketing efforts and may include them in some of our branding. Further, many industry influencers use our products and feature our products through their own platforms. Actions taken by these individuals could harm our brand image, net revenues and profitability. Our marketing efforts through social media platforms and influencers may not be successful and the availability of these platforms may make it easier for smaller competitors to compete with us.

If we fail to attract and retain highly skilled management and other personnel, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be harmed.

Our success has depended, and will continue to depend, in large part on our ability to attract and retain senior executives who possess extensive knowledge, experience and managerial skill applicable to our business. Significant leadership changes or executive management transitions involve inherent risk and any failure to ensure the effective transfer of knowledge and a smooth transition could hinder our strategic planning, execution and future performance. In addition, from time to time, key executive personnel leave our Company and we may not be successful in attracting, integrating and retaining the personnel required to grow and operate our business profitably. While we strive to mitigate the negative impact associated with the loss of a key executive employee, an unsuccessful transition or loss could significantly disrupt our operations and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are also dependent on training, motivating and managing our store employees that interact with our customers on a daily basis. Competition for these types of qualified employees is intense and the failure to attract, retain and properly train qualified and motivated employees could result in decreased customer satisfaction, loss of customers, and lower sales.

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Regulatory, Legal and Cybersecurity Risks

If products sold by us are found to be defective in labeling or content, our credibility and that of the brands we sell may be harmed, marketplace acceptance of our products may decrease, and we may be exposed to liability in excess of our products liability insurance coverage and manufacturer indemnities.

We do not control the production process for the products we sell. We may not be able to identify a defect in a product we purchase from a manufacturer or owned and exclusive-label brand filler before we offer such product for resale. In many cases, we rely on representations of manufacturers and fillers about the products we purchase for resale regarding the composition, manufacture and safety of the products, as well as the compliance of our product labels with government regulations. Our sale of certain products exposes us to potential product liability claims, recalls or other regulatory or enforcement actions initiated by federal, state or foreign regulatory authorities or through private causes of action. Such claims, recalls or actions could be based on allegations that, among other things, the products sold by us are misbranded, contain contaminants or impermissible ingredients, provide inadequate instructions regarding their use or misuse, or include inadequate warnings concerning flammability or interactions with other substances. Claims against us could also arise as a result of the misuse by purchasers of such products or as a result of their use in a manner different than the intended use. We may be required to pay for losses or injuries actually or allegedly caused by the products we sell and to recall any product we sell that is alleged to be or is found to be defective. Furthermore, such claims could have an adverse impact on our reputation.

Any actual defects or allegations of defects in products sold by us could result in adverse publicity and harm our credibility or the credibility of the manufacturer, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Although we may have indemnification rights against the manufacturers of many of the products we distribute and rights as an “additional insured” under the manufacturers’ insurance policies, it is not certain that any manufacturer or insurer will be financially solvent and capable of making payment to any party suffering loss or injury caused by products sold by us or if all losses would be covered by such indemnification rights or insurance policies. If we are forced to expend significant resources and time to resolve such claims or to pay material amounts to satisfy such claims, it could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We could be adversely affected if we do not comply with current laws and regulations or if we become subject to additional or more stringent laws and regulations.

We are subject to a number of federal, state and local laws and regulations in the U.S., as well as applicable laws and regulations in each foreign marketplace in which we do business. These laws and regulations govern the composition, packaging, labeling and safety of the products we sell, as well as the methods we use to sell and import these products and other aspects of our business. Non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations of governmental authorities, including the FDA and similar authorities in other jurisdictions, by us or the manufacturers and fillers of the products sold by us could result in fines, product recalls and enforcement actions, and otherwise restrict our ability to market certain products, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, the laws and regulations applicable to us or manufacturers of the products sold by us may become more stringent. Failure to comply with these new and existing regulations could result in significant fines or damages, in addition to costs and expenses to defend claims related thereto. Legal compliance could also lead to considerably higher internal regulatory costs. Manufacturers may try to recover some or all of any increased costs of compliance by increasing the prices at which we purchase products, and we may not be able to recover some or all of such increased cost in our own prices to our customers. We are also subject to state and local laws and regulations that affect our franchisor-franchisee relationships. Increased compliance costs and the loss of sales of certain products due to more stringent or new laws and regulations could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to protect our intellectual property rights or if our products are found to infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, it could materially and negatively impact our business.

We rely upon trade secrets and know-how to develop and maintain our competitive position. Our trademarks, certain of which are material to our business, are registered or legally protected in the U.S., Canada and other countries in which we operate. The success of our business depends to a certain extent upon the value associated

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with our intellectual property rights. We protect our intellectual property rights through a variety of methods, including, but not limited to, applying for and obtaining trademark protection in the U.S., Canada and other countries throughout the world in which our business operates. We also rely on trade secret laws, in addition to confidentiality agreements with vendors, employees, consultants and others who have access to our proprietary information. While we intend to vigorously protect our trademarks against infringement, we may not be successful. In addition, the laws of certain foreign countries may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the U.S. The costs required to protect our intellectual property rights and trademarks are expected to continue to be substantial.

Furthermore, the industry in which we operate is characterized by the need for a large number of copyrights, trade secrets and trademarks and by frequent litigation based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. A third-party may at any time assert that our products violate such party’s intellectual property rights. Successful intellectual property claims against us could result in significant financial liabilities and/or prevent us from selling certain of our products. In addition, the resolution of infringement claims may require us to redesign our products, to obtain licenses to use intellectual property belonging to third parties, which may not be attainable on reasonable terms, or to cease using the intellectual property altogether.

We may be adversely affected by any disruption in our information technology systems.

Our operations are dependent upon our information technology systems, which encompass all of our major business functions. A substantial disruption in our information technology systems for any prolonged time period (arising from, for example, system capacity limits from unexpected increases in our volume of business, outages or delays in our service) could result in delays in receiving inventory and supplies or filling customer orders and adversely affect our customer service and relationships. Such delays, problems or costs may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We continuously need to improve and upgrade our systems and infrastructure while maintaining their reliability and integrity. The expansion of our systems and infrastructure will require us to commit substantial financial, operational and technical resources before the volume of our business increases, with no assurance that the volume of business will increase. The development and implementation of new systems and any other future upgrades to our systems and information technology may require significant costs and divert our management’s attention and other resources from our core business. There are also no assurances that these new systems and upgrades will provide us with the anticipated benefits and efficiencies. Many of our systems are proprietary, and as a result our options are limited in seeking third-party help with the operation and upgrade of those systems. There can be no assurance that the time and resources our management will need to devote to operations and upgrades, any delays due to the installation of any upgrade (and customer issues therewith), any resulting service outages, or the impact on the reliability of our data from any upgrade or any legacy system, will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Unauthorized access to confidential information and data on our information technology systems and security and data breaches could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

As part of our operations, we receive and maintain information about our customers, employees and other third parties. We have physical, technical and procedural safeguards in place that are designed to protect information and protect against security and data breaches as well as fraudulent transactions and other activities. Despite these safeguards and our other security processes and protections, we cannot be assured that all of our systems and processes are free from vulnerability to security breaches (through cyber-attacks, which are evolving and becoming increasingly sophisticated, physical breach or other means) or inadvertent data disclosure by third parties or us.

A significant data security breach, including misappropriation of our customers’ or employees’ confidential information, could result in significant costs to us, which may include, among others, potential liabilities to payment card networks for reimbursements of credit card fraud and card reissuance costs, including fines and penalties, potential liabilities from governmental or third-party investigations, proceedings or litigation, legal, forensic and consulting fees and expenses, costs and diversion of management attention required for investigation and remediation actions, and the negative impact on our reputation and loss of confidence of our customers, suppliers and others, any of which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and operating results.

In response to prior data security incidents, we have taken and are continuing to take actions to further strengthen the security of our information technology systems, including adopting payment terminals with end-to-end

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encryption technology in order to enhance the security of our credit card payment systems. Nevertheless, there can be no assurance that our security upgrades will be effective, that we will not suffer a similar criminal attack in the future, that unauthorized parties will not gain access to confidential information, or that any such incident will be discovered promptly. In particular, we understand that the techniques used by criminals to obtain unauthorized access to sensitive data change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target; accordingly, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventative measures. The failure to promptly detect, determine the extent of and appropriately respond to a significant data security breach could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and operating results.

General Economic, Market and Foreign Risks

The political, social and economic conditions in the geographies we serve may affect consumer purchases of discretionary items such as beauty products and salon services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our results of operations may be materially affected by conditions in the global capital markets and the economy and regulatory environment generally, both in the U.S. and internationally. Concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics, inflation, employment, tax laws, energy costs, geopolitical issues, uncertainty with respect to elections, terrorism, civil unrest, the availability and cost of credit, the mortgage market, sovereign and private banking systems, sovereign deficits and increasing debt burdens and the real estate and other financial markets in the U.S. and Europe have contributed to increased volatility and diminished expectations for the U.S. and certain foreign economies. We appeal to a wide demographic consumer profile and offer an extensive selection of beauty products sold directly to retail consumers and salons and salon professionals. Continued uncertainty in the economy could adversely impact consumer purchases of discretionary items such as beauty products, as well as adversely impact the frequency of salon services performed by professionals using products purchased from us. Factors that could affect consumers’ willingness to make such discretionary purchases include: general business conditions, levels of employment, interest rates, tax rates, the availability of consumer credit and consumer confidence in future economic conditions. As we have experienced and continue to experience with the COVID-19 pandemic, a prolonged economic downturn or acute recession, can adversely affect consumer spending habits and result in lower than expected net sales. The economic climate could also adversely affect our vendors. The occurrence of any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The occurrence of natural disasters or acts of violence or terrorism could adversely affect our operations and financial performance.

The occurrence of natural disasters or acts of violence, terrorism or civil unrest could result in physical damage to our properties, the temporary closure of stores or distribution centers, the temporary lack of an adequate work force, the temporary or long-term disruption in the supply of products (or a substantial increase in the cost of those products) from domestic or foreign suppliers, the temporary disruption in the delivery of goods to our distribution centers (or a substantial increase in the cost of those deliveries), the temporary reduction in the availability of products in our stores, and/or the temporary reduction in visits to stores by customers. If one or more natural disasters or acts of violence or terrorism were to impact our business, we could, among other things, incur significantly higher costs and longer lead times associated with distributing products. Furthermore, insurance costs associated with our business may rise significantly in the event of a large scale natural disaster or act of violence or terrorism.

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Currency exchange rate fluctuations could result in higher costs and decreased margins and earnings.

Many of our products are sold outside of the United States. As a result, we conduct transactions in various currencies, which increase our exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar. Our international revenues and expenses generally are derived from sales and operations in foreign currencies, and these revenues and expenses could be affected by currency fluctuations, including amounts recorded in foreign currencies and translated into U.S. dollars for consolidated financial reporting. Currency exchange rate fluctuations could also disrupt the business of the independent manufacturers that produce our products by making their purchases of raw materials more expensive and more difficult to finance. Foreign currency fluctuations could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had and is expected to continue to have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, and governmental authorities around the world implemented measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These measures adversely affected workforces, customers, consumer sentiment, economies, and financial markets, and, along with decreased consumer spending, have led to a severe economic downturn in many of our markets. As a result of COVID-19 and these measures, we temporarily closed all U.S. and Canadian retail and wholesale store fronts to customers during the end of our second quarter and for a portion of our third quarter. We also transitioned certain stores to a contactless curbside service model, or to a ship-from-store model and also furloughed a significant number of employees due to these store closures. We also temporarily idled a number of our distribution centers. As many of the shelter-in-place orders, quarantines and similar orders were lifted in the U.S. and Canada, we were able to re-open our stores during our third quarter. While our stores have largely remained open since re-opening in the third quarter, there is no guarantee that we will not have to close stores in the future as a result of COVID-19 or measures designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These store closures have had a material and adverse effect on our results of operations.

We have taken and continue to take decisive actions across our businesses to help protect employees, customers, and others in the communities we serve in response to the impact of COVID-19. These actions include increased sanitization and social distancing practices in our stores and remote work arrangements for a significant number of our corporate employees. These actions have the potential to increase our operating costs and decrease consumer traffic in our stores.  

While the COVID-19 pandemic did not have a material impact on our supply chain, it has the potential to have a meaningful impact on our supply chain if the factories that manufacture our products, the distribution centers where we manage our inventory, or the operations of our logistics and other service providers are disrupted, temporarily closed or experience worker shortages. We may also see disruptions or delays in shipments and negative impacts to pricing of certain products as a result of such disruptions.

In addition, the disruption to the global economy and to our business, along with a sustained decline in our stock price, may lead to triggering events that may indicate that the carrying value of certain assets – including inventories, accounts receivables, long-lived assets, intangibles and goodwill – may not be recoverable, which could lead to impairment or other asset write-downs in the future.

Changes in consumer behavior as a result of COVID-19 may materially and adversely affect our business.

Consumer fears about becoming ill with COVID-19 will continue in the near-term and consumer behavior may fundamentally change as a result of COVID-19 in both the near and long term. As a result, traffic in retail stores, including our stores, in the short term has been and in the long term may be materially and adversely affected for the long-term with more consumers relying on e-commerce to purchase beauty products. Consumer spending may also be negatively impacted by general macroeconomic conditions and consumer confidence, including the impacts of the recession which resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. All of this could materially and adversely impact sales at our retail stores. While we have accelerated the roll-out of our digital programs in response to the temporary closure of our stores and potential changes in consumer behavior, there is no guarantee that we will be successful in growing our e-commerce sales or materially offsetting lower sales at our retail stores. We have expended and plan to continue to expend significant resources to strengthen our digital platforms and we are re-designing our supply chain to focus more on e-commerce sales and fulfillment in the future, each of which have resulted in additional unexpected capital expenditures, business disruption and lower margin sales.

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Financial Risks

Our same store sales and quarterly financial performance may fluctuate for a variety of reasons.

Our same store sales and quarterly results of operations have fluctuated in the past and we expect them to continue to fluctuate in the future. A variety of factors affect our same store sales and quarterly financial performance, including:

Accordingly, our results, including same store sales, for any one fiscal quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any other quarter, and may even decrease, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

A portion of our indebtedness is subject to floating interest rates.

Borrowings under our ABL facility and the variable portion of our term loan B are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates were to increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness referred to above would increase even if the principal amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash flows will correspondingly decrease. We are currently party to, and in the future, we may enter into additional, derivative instruments, such as interest rate caps, to reduce our exposure to changes in interest rates. However, we may not maintain derivative instruments with respect to all of our variable rate indebtedness, and any instruments we enter into may not fully mitigate our interest rate risk.

In addition, amounts drawn under our ABL facility and the variable portion of our term loan B may bear interest rates in relation to the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). It is unclear if LIBOR will cease to exist at the end of 2021, when it is intended to be phased out, or if new methods of calculating LIBOR will be established such that it continues to exist after 2021. While both the ABL facility and the variable portion of our term loan B contain “fallback” provisions providing for alternative rate calculations in the event LIBOR is unavailable, these “fallback” provisions may not adequately address the actual changes to LIBOR or successor rates.  

We have substantial debt and may incur substantial additional debt, which could adversely affect our financial health, our ability to obtain financing in the future and our ability to react to changes in our business.

As of September 30, 2020, certain of our subsidiaries, including Sally Holdings LLC, which we refer to as Sally Holdings, had an aggregate principal amount of approximately $1.8 billion of outstanding debt, including capital lease obligations.

Our substantial debt could have significant consequences. For example, it could:

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Any of the foregoing impacts of our substantial indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Each of our ABL facility, institutional term loan and senior notes contain certain covenants and restrictions that we are required to comply with. Our ability to comply with these covenants and restrictions may be affected by economic, financial and industry conditions beyond our control. The breach of any of these covenants and restrictions could result in a default under either the ABL facility, the institutional term loan or the indentures that would permit the applicable lenders or senior note holders, as the case may be, to declare all amounts outstanding thereunder to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest. If we are unable to repay debt, lenders having secured obligations, such as the lenders under the ABL facility, could proceed against the collateral securing the debt. In any such case, our subsidiaries may be unable to borrow under the ABL facility and may not be able to repay the amounts due under the senior notes and the institutional term loan. This could have serious consequences to our financial condition and results of operations and could cause us to become bankrupt or insolvent.

In addition, we and our subsidiaries may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. As of September 30, 2020, our ABL facility provided us commitments for additional borrowings of up to approximately $435.0 million, subject to borrowing base limitations, and limitations on cash hoarding above certain balances, once utilized. If new debt is added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we face would increase, and we may not be able to meet all our debt obligations.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not applicable.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

Substantially all of our stores and a number of our warehouse and remote office locations are leased while our corporate headquarters in Denton, Texas and three warehouses/distribution centers are owned. The average store lease is for a term of five years with customary renewal options. The following table provides the number of stores per state in the U.S. and certain international locations, as of September 30, 2020:

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The following table provides locations for our significant offices and warehouses and our corporate headquarters, as of September 30, 2020:

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are involved, from time to time, in various claims and lawsuits incidental to the conduct of our business in the ordinary course. We carry insurance coverage in such amounts in excess of our self-insured retention as we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances and that may or may not cover any or all of our liabilities in respect of these matters. We do not believe that the ultimate resolution of these matters will have a material adverse impact on our consolidated financial position, cash flows or results of operations.

We are subject to a number of U.S., federal, state and local laws and regulations, as well as the laws and regulations applicable in each foreign country or jurisdiction in which we do business. These laws and regulations govern, among other things, the composition, packaging, labeling and safety of the products we sell, the methods we use to sell these products and the methods we use to import these products. We believe that we are in material compliance with such laws and regulations, although no assurance can be provided that this will remain true going forward.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable

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PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market for the Registrant’s Common Equity

Market Information

Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SBH.”

Holders

As of November 13, 2020, there were 609 stockholders of record of our common stock.

Dividends

We have not declared or paid dividends at any time during the two fiscal years prior to the date of this Annual Report. We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings to support investments in our business, to repay outstanding debt or to return capital to shareholders through share repurchases. Any determination to pay dividends will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, contractual restrictions, cash requirements and other factors that our Board of Directors deem relevant.  Furthermore, as a holding company we rely on cash from our subsidiaries to pay dividends. The terms of our debt agreements and instruments significantly restrict the ability of our subsidiaries to make certain restricted payments to us and our ability to pay dividends. Additionally, we and our subsidiaries may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future that may severely restrict or prohibit our subsidiaries from making distributions, paying dividends or making loans to us.  

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Performance Graph

The following performance graph and related information shall not be deemed “filed” with the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference into such filing.

The following graph illustrates the five-year comparative total return among Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc., the S&P 500 Index (“S&P 500”) and the Dow Jones U.S. Specialty Retailers Index (“DJ US Specialty Retailers”) assuming that $100 was invested on September 30, 2015, and that dividends, if any, were reinvested. The DJ US Specialty Retailers is a non-managed index and provides a comprehensive view of issuers, including our common stock, that are primarily in the U.S. retail sector.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following table presents selected financial data of Sally Beauty for each of the years in the five-year period ended September 30, 2020 (dollars and shares in thousands, except per share data):

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following section discusses management’s view of Sally Beauty’s financial condition and results of operations for fiscal year 2020 compared to fiscal year 2019. See Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2019, for a discussion of the financial condition and results of operations for fiscal year 2019 compared to fiscal year 2018. This section should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements of Sally Beauty and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section may contain forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these forward-looking statements that could cause results to differ materially from those reflected in such forward-looking statements.

Highlights of the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2020:

Impact of COVID-19 on Our Business and Business Strategy Update

Our results of operations for the fiscal year 2020 were significantly impacted by the effects of COVID-19 as we experienced a rolling shut down of customer-facing operations at all global stores starting in mid-March through mid-April, followed by the rolling restart of store operations from mid-April until the end of June, when almost all stores were re-opened. Store re-openings were triggered by local regulation; the adoption of our new COVID-19 related safety protocols involving store cleaning, masks, and gloves; limiting the number of customers in stores at one time; in-store social distancing guidelines; and the recall from furlough of sufficient store staff. By the end of our third fiscal quarter, we had re-opened substantially all global customer-facing store operations and saw strong consumer and professional demand in our re-opened stores. However, this demand was below pre-COVID-19 levels as market disruptions, including but not limited to salon closures, customer occupancy restrictions and consumer concerns over safety, persisted due to COVID-19.

The impact of COVID-19 led us to reprioritize our transformation plans to accelerate key digital and supply chain initiatives, and pivot to cash management and expense reduction. As such, during our third fiscal quarter, we amended our ABL facility to increase the revolving commitment thereunder from $500.0 million to $600.0 million.

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Also in our third fiscal quarter, to further strengthen our liquidity, we sold $300.0 million of 8.75% senior secured second-lien notes due 2025 (“Senior Secured Notes”). During our fourth fiscal quarter, we made significant progress in the implementation of our new merchandising system and began operations within our new North Texas distribution node. Additionally, due to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic and the related business uncertainty, we continue to defer non-digital capital investments and address our short-term cost structure.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related responses had a material impact on our fiscal year 2020 results of operations, cash flows and financial position. Furthermore, due to the uncertainty over the duration and severity of the economic and operational impacts of COVID-19, the material adverse impact of the pandemic may continue into our fiscal year 2021 and possibly beyond.

Results of Operations

Key Operating Metrics

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, information concerning key measures we rely on to assess our operating performance (dollars in thousands):

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The Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2020 compared to the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2019

Net Sales

SBS.  The decrease in net sales for SBS was primarily driven by the following (in thousands):