ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the year ended December 31, 2020
OR
☐
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from _____________ to _____________
Commission file number 333-173681
Merion, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Nevada
5122
45-289-8504
(State or Other Jurisdiction of
(Primary Standard Industrial
(I.R.S. Employer
Incorporation or Organization)
Classification Code Number)
Identification No.)
100 N. Barranca St #1000 West Covina, CA
91791
(Address of principal executive offices)
(Zip Code)
Issuer’s telephone number: (626) 331-7570
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class
Trading Symbol(s)
Name of each exchange on
which registered
None
N/A
N/A
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Common stock, par value $0.001 per share
(Title of class)
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o 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 o 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 if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer
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Accelerated filer
☐
Non-accelerated filer
☒
Smaller reporting company
☒
Emerging growth company
☐
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 is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act.) Yes o No ☒
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold on the OTC markets on June 30, 2020, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was $45,295,083 based on 82,354,696 shares of common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant at the price of $0.55.
The number of outstanding shares of Registrant’s Common Stock, $0.001 par value, was 184,555,937 shares as of March 25, 2021.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND INFORMATION
This Annual Report on Form 10-K, the other reports, statements, and information that we have previously filed or that we may subsequently file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and public announcements that we have previously made or may subsequently make, may include or may incorporate by reference certain statements that may be deemed to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are intended to enjoy the benefits of that act. Unless the context is otherwise, the forward-looking statements included or incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K and those reports, statements, information and announcements address activities, events or developments that Merion, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “we,” “us,” “our,” “our Company” or “Merion”) expects or anticipates, will or may occur in the future. Any statements in this document about expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “predict,” “potential,” “believe,” “will likely result,” “expect,” “will continue,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “projection,” “would” and “outlook,” and similar expressions. Accordingly, these statements involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in them. Any forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed throughout this document. All forward-looking statements concerning economic conditions, rates of growth, rates of income or values as may be included in this document are based on information available to us on the dates noted, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. It is important to note that our actual results may differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements due to fluctuations in interest rates, inflation, government regulations, economic conditions and competitive product and pricing pressures in the geographic and business areas in which we conduct operations, including our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other factors discussed elsewhere in this Report.
Certain risk factors could materially and adversely affect our business, financial conditions and results of operations and cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by us, and you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement or statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The risks and uncertainties we currently face are not the only ones we face. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict which will arise. There may be additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial to our business. In addition, we cannot assess the impact of each factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. If any such risks occur, our business, operating results, liquidity and financial condition could be materially affected in an adverse manner.
The industry and market data contained in this report are based either on our management’s own estimates or, where indicated, independent industry publications, reports by governmental agencies or market research firms or other published independent sources and, in each case, are believed by our management to be reasonable estimates. However, industry and market data is subject to change and cannot always be verified with complete certainty due to limits on the availability and reliability of raw data, the voluntary nature of the data gathering process and other limitations and uncertainties inherent in any statistical survey of market shares. We have not independently verified market and industry data from third-party sources. In addition, consumption patterns and customer preferences can and do change. As a result, you should be aware that market share, ranking and other similar data set forth herein, and estimates and beliefs based on such data, may not be verifiable or reliable.
Merion, Inc. is a provider of health and nutritional supplements and personal care products. Currently, we mainly sell our products over the Internet directly to end-user customers through our websites, www.dailynu.com and www.merionus.com, and to wholesale distributors through phone and electronic communication. Our major customers of our nutritional and beauty products are primarily located in the Asian market, predominantly in the People’s Republic of China. Our major customers of our Original Equipment Manufacturer (“OEM”) and packaging products are located in the United States (“U.S.”).
Company History
Merion, Inc., a Nevada corporation, was formed on February 4, 2011. Its predecessor, E-World USA Holding, Inc., was a California company incorporated in 2007 (“E-World CA”). In April 2011, E-World CA entered into a merger agreement with its wholly-owned subsidiary with the same name, E-World USA Holding, Inc., a Nevada corporation (“E-World NV”), that was the survivor of the merger and became the Company. Under the Merger Agreement, the Company issued 90,000,000 shares of its common stock on a one-for-one basis for each share of E-World CA’s common stock issued and outstanding at the date of the merger. In addition, the Company issued its Type A Warrants and Type B Warrants in exchange for comparable warrants issued and outstanding of E-World CA at the date of the merger. On June 27, 2017, the Company filed an amendment to its Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State for the State of Nevada to change its name effective immediately, from E-World NV, to Merion, Inc.
Products
In June 2014, we suspended our direct marketing model in China in response to the legal action taken by the Chinese authorities. Since June 2014, we have sold our products primarily over the Internet directly to end-user customers and by phone/email orders directly to our wholesale distributors. Certain miscellaneous sales are made directly to customers who walk into the Company offices and customers who call the Company directly for products. We are now focusing on selling health and nutritional supplements and personal care products directly on the internet through our websites, www.dailynu.com and www.merionus.com. As of the date of filing of this report, we market ten individual nutritional supplement products, three and four of which were introduced in 2018 and 2019 respectively, and one beauty product, which was also introduced in 2018, on our websites. We are no longer selling similar products of third parties on our websites.
Company Products
Our nutritional supplement products are made according to a micro molecular nutrition formula. To achieve the maximum effect of products, micro molecular health foods were designed to be absorbed by cells directly with minimum chemical conversion, which we believe promotes faster absorption. We believe our Company is one of only a few companies in the market which are using a micro molecular nutrition formula.
In November and December 2016, our Dibeier Granules & Oral products successfully passed inspection by the Shenzhen Academy of Metrology & Quality Inspection and the Guangdong Quality Supervision and Inspection Institution for Food (Shenzhen). As a result, we were able to directly export these products to the China market and sell them at nutritional supplement stores in China as food, rather than only through our website. However, we have couple wholesale distributors selling other products and still exploring potential wholesale distributors in China to import these products. We are no longer selling Dibeier Granules & Oral products to individual customers in our website.
In January 2018, we introduced a new beauty product, Noir Naturel, a gentle formula for grey coverage from the first application into hair.
In September 2018, we introduced three different types of natural aphrodisiac supplements, Viwooba (1-3), for men that may support kidney health, improve immunity, enhance physical fitness, eliminate fatigue, improve sexual desire and enhance energy, strength and sexual ability.
In March 2019, we introduced 1) Lady-S, a female dietary supplement that may assist with weight loss, 2) Gold King, a nutritional supplement that may provide antioxidant support and liver health, 3) New Power, a nutritional supplement that may support heart health, and 4) Taibao, a nutritional supplement that may enhance physical performance and metabolism.
In December 2019, we introduced Remage Power, a nutritional supplement that may provide anti-aging Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)+ support and promote energy & cell metabolism.
The nutritional supplements’ and beauty products’ formulas do not have patent protection.
Sales breakdown
2020
2019
Nutritional and beauty products
16
%
85
%
OEM and packaging products
84
%
15
%
Currently, the Company does not have plans to expand its business beyond the nutritional products and beauty sector and the OEM and packaging sector.
All nutrition and beauty products are sold in China and all OEM and packaging products are sold in the U.S.
Return and Refund Policy for Our Products
Merion guarantees the quality of its products, and will exchange any product found to be defective. Additionally, customers can apply for return and a 90% refund of the original purchase price of products purchased within 60 days. When products are returned, they must be unopened and resalable. All shipping fees for product exchanges or returns for refunds must be fully paid by customers. All of the returned products must not be damaged and must be within the valid shelf-life period specified on the product label. In addition to the Company’s 60-day return policy, the Company, at its discretion, may accept a customer’s application for a buy-back of products previously sold within one year at 90% of the original product costs less commissions and shipping costs.
For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, there were no returns of products.
Sourcing and Production
During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we contracted for production of certain of our proprietary products from manufacturers that we believe are reliable, reputable and deliver high quality materials, products and services. During the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we also acquired our ingredients from suppliers for direct production in our Nevada factory. In 2020, one supplier accounted for approximately 71.8% of our purchases: Xi’an Yanhao Bio-tech Co.,Ltd. In 2019, three suppliers accounted for approximately 68.4% of our purchases: Forward Farma Inc. (35.5%), BioCaps Enterprise Inc. (17.5%), and Vyna Nutra Inc. (15.4%). The loss of one or more of these suppliers could have a negative impact on our sales and revenues if we cannot find a substitute quickly or upon favorable terms.
The Company does not have written or contractual agreements with its suppliers or third party manufacturers. Our product ingredient sourcing and other manufacturing requirements are conducted on a purchase-order basis. If one or more of our current suppliers stopped selling us ingredients and/or if one or more of our current manufacturers stopped manufacturing our products, we would be forced to find other suppliers and manufacturers. The time needed to find other suppliers or manufacturers could outlast the inventory on hand and result in loss of sales.
We maintain good relationships with our suppliers and do not anticipate that any of our suppliers will terminate such relationships in the near term. We also have ongoing relationships with secondary and tertiary suppliers. In the event that we become unable to source any products or ingredients from our major suppliers, we believe that we would be able to produce or replace those products or substitute source these ingredients from our secondary and tertiary suppliers without great difficulty or significant increases to our cost of goods sold.
In January 2018, we entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with SUSS Technology Corporation, a Nevada corporation (the “Seller”), pursuant to which the Seller agreed to sell to the Company substantially all of the assets associated with the manufacture of dietary supplements (the “Asset Sale”) for an aggregate purchase price (the “Purchase Price”) of $1,000,000 and 1,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Purchase Shares”). The Seller was one of our major suppliers during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016. Having purchased these assets from the Seller, we have begun manufacturing some of the nutritional supplements that we sell. These assets meet all industry nutritional and dietary supplements manufacturing standards, including FDA and GMP compliance and cGMP regulations. In addition to manufacturing the nutritional supplements that we sell, we also have started production of hard capsules, tablets, solid beverage (sachet packaging), teabags, powder, granules, dietary supplements for export, softgel capsules and healthy food from these assets for any potential new customers who need such products.
For nutritional products and beauty products, we purchase our ingredients from third parties and contract with third-party manufacturers or use our own manufacturing facility in Nevada for further processing of the raw materials into final products to be sold. Prior to January 1, 2018, we did not own a manufacturing plant for product processing and all manufacturing was conducted by third parties.
We also maintain good relationships with our manufacturers and do not anticipate that any of our manufacturers will terminate such relationships in the near term. In the event we become unable have our products produced by our major manufacturers, we believe that we would be able to reallocate production to our other manufacturers or locate other manufacturers without great difficulty or significant increases to our cost of goods sold.
In addition, we maintain good relationships with our wholesale distributors in China and our OEM and packing customers in the U.S. and do not anticipate that any of those parties will terminate such relationships in the near term. In 2020, one customer accounted for approximately 56.2% of our sales. In 2019, one customer accounted for approximately 9.7% of our sales. The loss of one or more customers could result in a potential loss of sales and have a negative effect on our operations if we cannot find one or more substitutes.
Order Backlog
We have no current order backlog.
Industry Analysis
The nutrition industry includes many small and medium sized companies that manufacture and distribute products generally intended to enhance the body’s performance and wellness. The three major product categories within the nutrition industry are:
·
Nutritional Supplements – products such as vitamins, minerals, nutritional supplements, herbs and botanicals and compounds derived from these substances.
·
Natural and Organic Foods – products such as cereals, milk, non-diary beverages and frozen entrees.
·
Functional Foods – products with added ingredients or fortification specifically for health or performance purposes.
The nutritional supplement market is characterized by:
·
Large selections of essentially similar products that are difficult to differentiate.
·
Retail consumers’ emphasis on value pricing.
·
Constantly changing formulations based on evolving scientific research.
·
Low entry barriers resulting from low brand loyalty, rapid change, widely available manufacturing, low regulatory requirements and ready access to large distribution channels, such as the Internet and retail stores selling nutritional supplements and other direct marketing companies.
·
A lack of uniform standards regarding product ingredient sources, potency, purity, absorption rate and form.
The market for nutritional products is large and intensely competitive. The Company competes directly with companies that manufacture and market nutritional products. The Company competes with other companies in the nutritional products industry by emphasizing the uniqueness, value and premium quality of the Company’s products and convenience of the Company’s Internet sales system. Many of the Company’s competitors have much greater name recognition and financial resources than the Company. In addition, nutritional products can be purchased in a wide variety of channels of distribution. While the Company believes that consumers appreciate the convenience of ordering products from home through the Internet, the buying habits of many consumers accustomed to purchasing products through traditional retail channels are difficult to change. The Company’s product offerings are also relatively small compared to the wide variety of products offered by many other nutritional product companies.
Marketing Plan
The Company signed a new lease agreement effective March 1, 2020 to open a New York office to expand its business in the New York market. The office will be used as the training center for market development. The Company will focus on promoting its product (ReMage Power) in the New York market. ReMage Power is a nutritional supplement which provides anti-aging Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)+ support and promotes energy and cell metabolism. However, due to the surge of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases throughout the United States, we have not utilized the training center since the beginning of the lease. In January 2021, the U.S. federal government began rolling out the COVID-19 vaccinations and we expect to start using the training center in the summer of 2021 once the majority of the U.S. population is immunized.
The Company is developing a new sales channel through Youbo which works as a live-streaming platform fully integrated into the WeChat app. Although this is a new live-steaming platform, Youbo has 3 million registered users within the first two months of its operation since 2019. The Company will promote its products through this new platform.
The Company also promotes its products through its websites.
A majority of the Company’s sales on nutritional and beauty products were generated from China for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.
Since June 2014, we have mainly sold our products over the Internet directly to end-user customers through our websites, www.dailynu.com and www.merionus.com, and to wholesale distributors. In March 2016, we launched an Affiliate Marketing Program, which has not been active since January 2017. The Company reactivated such program in January 2020. Members who successfully register with the affiliate program can earn up to a 70% commission from total sales amounts that achieved through their unique links assigned by the Company. However, no commissions were earned from the Members after the re-activation of such program in January 2020. We deactivated this program in November 2020.
We believe that consumers have become more confident in ordering products like ours over the Internet. However, the nutritional supplement and skin care product e-commerce markets have been, and continue to be, increasingly competitive, and are rapidly evolving.
The Company’s marketing efforts also include the Company CEO’s network and relationships to approach customers and distributors to purchase the Company’s products in fiscal years 2020 and 2019.
On June 30, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors approved the grant of up to twenty million shares (from authorized but unissued shares of the Company’s common stock) to persons outside the U.S. who sell Company products, based on their sales performance in the future. The Company must determine that this type of incentive compensation is legal and appropriate for each country in which it is utilized. For ease of administration, this plan has been, and will continue to be, implemented solely for persons outside of the United States pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933.
As of December 31, 2020, the Company has already issued 64,500 shares to the Company’s sales agents outside the U.S. and such shares were issued in 2018.
Intellectual Property
We have no registered trademarks or patents in the United States. We have common law ownership rights under U.S. trade secret law for the formulations for eleven of our twelve Nutritional Supplements (all except O2 Cell Power). We also have common law ownership rights for the formulation of our Noir Naturel product.
The formulation of the O2 Cell Power product is owned by Oxygen America, Inc., which manufactures this product and packages it with Company designed packaging under an oral agreement with us. We are authorized by this supplier under oral agreement to sell this product worldwide under our brand name without infringing on any rights of Oxygen America, Inc.
The Company has obtained a Trademark Registration in China for the name of “Dibeier” (or Mandarin pinyin: “Nuo Lin”) with trademark application number 20669799 in September 2017. Under Chinese law, this trademark may be renewed every 10 years and can be valid for an indefinite period subject to timely renewal.
The Company also has obtained a Trademark Registration in China for the name of “DailyNu” with trademark application number 20683305 in September 2017. Under Chinese law, this trademark may be renewed every 10 years and can be valid for an indefinite period subject to timely renewal.
Other than the aforementioned trademarks, we do not own any other registered trademarks, trade names or other governmentally approved intellectual property rights for those products.
Research and Development
In 2018, we made efforts to internally develop an online platform called “E-Hospital”. We anticipated that E-Hospital would provide the latest and the most advanced U.S. health care information and products, including legally exported nutrition supplements and newly-released medication for local hospitals and other medical institutes in China through the Internet. We contacted doctors who would be partnering with our E-Hospital platform to provide periodic video consultation and overseas medical lectures to promote the exchange of medical information and developments. The collaboration of E-Hospital with overseas local hospitals could strengthen the recognition, popularity and reputation of overseas local hospitals, as well as expand the market share and increase the competitiveness of these hospitals.
We expect that the E-Hospital Services will eventually provide the following benefits:
·
High quality remote treatment anywhere, to suit individual lifestyles;
·
Coordinate medication delivered directly to patients;
·
Facilitate access to the latest US medical treatments;
·
Provide an internet forum for communication and sharing between doctors and doctors, doctors and patients, or patient to patient; and
·
Facilitate access to safe and high quality nutritional supplements, which are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain in polluted countries such as China.
Under our plan, the E-Hospital Services will also include the following:
·
Facilitate access to effective advanced medication, therapeutic nutritional supplements and health products;
·
Facilitate access to cutting-edge medical health knowledge;
·
Coordinate prescriptions, legally issued by all E-Hospital affiliated doctors;
·
Feature services and new medications promoted by our local hospital partners;
·
Provide access to live video consultations with U.S. doctors, medical lectures, and product shipping and customer service.
The Company has put the E-Hospital project on hold in 2019 and 2020 due to the lack of funding to develop the online system and negative impact by COVID-19. The Company plans to resume the construction of the system as soon as we secure the funding for this project.
Research and development expenses for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were $0 and $904, respectively.
Government Regulation
Given uncertainties relating to our compliance with personal network marketing laws in foreign jurisdictions, the Company discontinued sales through the network marketing model in 2014, and began selling directly to end-user customers from our website.
We believe we are no longer subject to personal network marketing regulations since we discontinued sales through the network marketing model in 2014. Nonetheless, we are still subject to federal, state, local and foreign regulations. Various governmental agencies have an impact on our business, including but not limited to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Regulations promulgated by the FDA and other government agencies cover product ingredients, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, sales, compensation and taxation, to name a few. All of our products have certificates of free sales issued by the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. If the Company were to fail to meet standards required by these regulations, then the Company could be prohibited from selling its products.
The Company plans to export its Dibeier Products into China to be sold over-the-counter in retail locations such as nutritional product stores, rather than only through our websites. Under Chinese law, to import these products into China, the Company must provide the Inspection Report from the Provincial Quality Supervision and Inspection Institution. In November and December 2016, our Dibeier Granules & Oral products successfully passed inspection by the Shenzhen Academy of Metrology & Quality Inspection and the Guangdong Quality Supervision and Inspection Institution for Food (Shenzhen). The Company also obtained the Product Chinese Name registration from local SAMR and the trademark registration in September 2016 from the Trademark Office of State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”), formerly known as State Administration for Industry & Commerce of China.
Human Capital Resources
We understand that our success depends on our ability to attract, train and retain our employees. We strive to attract, recruit, and retain employees through competitive compensation and benefit programs, learning and development opportunities that support career growth and advancement opportunities, and employee engagement initiatives that foster a strong Company culture. In addition to cash compensation, we offer customary benefits in accordance with local regulatory requirements as well as performance-based stock options to our employees. We also recognize the importance of keeping our employees safe. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented changes that we determined were in the best interest of our employees and have followed local government orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Employees
We have the following employees as of December 31, 2020:
·
Full time: 8
·
Operations – 4
·
Administrative – 2
·
Management – 1
·
Sales – 1
We have no collective bargaining agreement with our employees. We consider our relationships with our employees to be excellent.
The Company operates in an environment that involves a number of risks and uncertainties. The risks and uncertainties described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are not the only risks and uncertainties that we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that presently are not considered material or are not known to us, and therefore are not mentioned herein, may impair our business operations. If any of the risks described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K actually occur, our business, operating results and financial position could be adversely affected.
Risks Related to Our Business and Shares of Common Stock
We have had a history of losses since inception.
For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we had net losses of approximately $1.8 million and $0.7 million, respectively. We can offer no assurance that we will ever operate profitably or that we will generate positive cash flows in the future. Our management expects the business to continue to experience negative cash flow for the foreseeable future and cannot predict when, if ever, our business might become profitable. With our cash on hand as of December 31, 2020, management has concluded under generally accepted accounting principles that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months from the date of this filing. Until we can generate significant revenues, if ever, we expect to satisfy our future cash needs through equity or debt financing. We will need to raise additional funds, and such funds may not be available on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. If we are unable to raise funds on acceptable terms, we may not be able to execute our business plan, take advantage of future opportunities, or respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated requirements. This may seriously harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. In the event we are not able to continue operations our shareholders will likely suffer a complete loss of their investment in our securities.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our stock adversely, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market, or our competitors. If any of the analysts who may cover us change their recommendation regarding our stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, our stock price would likely decline. If any analysts who may cover us were to cease coverage of our Company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.
The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile.
The market for our common stock will likely be characterized by significant price volatility when compared to more established issuers and we expect that it will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. The market price of our common stock is likely to be volatile for a number of reasons. First, our common stock is likely to be sporadically and/or thinly traded. As a consequence of this lack of liquidity, the trading of relatively small quantities of common stock by our stockholders may disproportionately influence the price of the common stock in either direction. The price of the common stock could, for example, decline precipitously if even a relatively small number of shares are sold on the market without commensurate demand, as compared to a market for shares of an established issuer which could better absorb those sales without adverse impact on its share price. Secondly, we are a speculative investment due to our lack of profits to date. As a consequence of this enhanced risk, more risk-adverse investors may, under the fear of losing all or most of their investment in the event of negative news or lack of progress, be more inclined to sell their shares on the market more quickly and at greater discounts than would be the case with the shares of an established issuer. We cannot make any predictions or projections as to what the prevailing market price for our common stock will be at any time or as to what effect the sale of common stock or the availability of common stock for sale at any time will have on the prevailing market price.
Because the principal trading markets for our shares is the OTC Market, the corporate governance rules of the major U.S. stock exchanges do not apply to us. As a result, our governance practices may differ from those of a company listed on such U.S. exchanges.
Our governance practices need not comply with certain New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ corporate governance standards, including:
·
the requirements that a majority of our board of directors consists of independent directors;
the requirement that we have an audit committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and
·
the requirement that we have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities.
There can be no assurance that we will voluntarily comply with any of the foregoing requirements. Accordingly, you may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such corporate governance requirements.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and require us to disclose information that is helpful to competitors, make us more vulnerable to litigation and make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel.
As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). Compliance with these rules and regulations requires significant legal and financial compliance costs and makes some activities difficult, time-consuming or costly. Our senior management may be unable to implement programs and policies in an effective and timely manner or that adequately respond to the increased legal, regulatory and reporting requirements associated with being a publicly traded company. Our failure to comply with all applicable requirements could lead to the imposition of fines and penalties, distract our management from attending to the management and growth of our business, result in a loss of investor confidence in our financial reports and have an adverse effect on our business and stock price.
Our future growth and stability depends, in part, on our ability to diversify our sales. Our efforts to establish new sales from existing customers and new customers could require significant initial investments, which may or may not result in higher sales and improved financial results.
Our business strategy depends in large part on our ability to develop new product sales from current and new customer relationships. These activities often require a significant up-front investment including, among others, customized formulations, regulatory compliance, product registrations, package design, product testing, pilot production runs, and the build-up of initial inventory. We may experience significant delays from the time we increase our operating expenses and make investments in inventory until the time we generate net sales from new products or customers, and it is possible that we may not generate material revenue from new products or customers after incurring such expenditures. If we incur significant expenses and investments in creating and purchase inventory that we are not able to recover our cost, and we are not able to compensate for those expenses, our operating results could be adversely affected.
We are affected by extensive laws, governmental regulations, administrative determinations, court decisions and similar constraints, which can make compliance costly and subject us to enforcement actions by governmental agencies.
The formulation, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, holding, storage, distribution, advertising and sale of our products are affected by extensive laws, governmental regulations and policies, administrative determinations, court decisions and similar constraints at the federal, state and local levels, both within the United States and China and in any country where we conduct business. There can be no assurance that we or our independent distributors will be in compliance with all of these regulations. A failure by us or our distributors to comply with these laws and regulations could lead to governmental investigations, civil and criminal prosecutions, administrative hearings and court proceedings, civil and criminal penalties, injunctions against product sales or advertising, civil and criminal liability for the Company and/or its principals, bad publicity, and tort claims arising out of governmental or judicial findings of fact or conclusions of law adverse to the Company or its principals. In addition, the adoption of new regulations and policies or changes in the interpretations of existing regulations and policies may result in significant new compliance costs or discontinuation of product sales, and may adversely affect the marketing of our products, resulting in decreased revenues.
We are currently dependent on a limited number of independent suppliers and manufacturers of our products that cannot be manufactured in our Nevada factory, which may affect our ability to deliver our products in a timely manner. If we are not able to ensure timely product deliveries, potential distributors and customers may not order our products, and our revenues may decrease.
We currently rely entirely on a limited number of third parties to supply and manufacture our products that cannot be manufactured in our Nevada factory. Our products are manufactured on a purchase order basis only and manufacturers can terminate their relationships with us at will. These third party manufacturers may be unable to satisfy our supply requirements, manufacture our products on a timely basis, fill and ship our orders promptly, provide services at competitive costs or offer reliable products and services. The failure to meet any of these critical needs would delay or reduce product shipment and adversely affect our revenues, as well as jeopardize our relationships with our distributors and customers. In the event any of our third party manufacturers were to become unable or unwilling to continue to provide us with products in required volumes and at suitable quality levels, we would be required to identify and obtain acceptable replacement manufacturing sources. There is no assurance that we would be able to obtain alternative manufacturing sources on a timely basis. Additionally, all our third party manufacturers source the raw materials for our products, and if we were to use alternative manufacturers we may not be able to duplicate the exact profile of the product from the original manufacturer. An extended interruption in the supply of our products would result in decreased product sales and our revenues would likely decline.
We face significant competition from existing suppliers of products similar to ours. If we are not able to compete with these companies effectively, we may not be able to achieve and maintain profitability.
We face intense competition from numerous resellers, manufacturers and wholesalers of health and nutritional supplements and personal care products similar to ours, including retail, online and mail order providers. Many of our competitors have longer operating histories, established brands in the marketplace, revenues significantly greater than ours and better access to capital than us. We expect that these competitors may use their resources to engage in various business activities that could result in reduced sales of our products. Companies with greater capital and research capabilities could re-formulate existing products or formulate new products that could gain wide marketplace acceptance, which could have a depressive effect on our future sales. In addition, aggressive advertising and promotion by our competitors may require us to compete by lowering prices because we do not have the resources to engage in marketing campaigns against these competitors, and the economic viability of our operations likely would be diminished.
Adverse publicity associated with our products, ingredients, or those of similar companies, could adversely affect our sales and revenue.
Our customers’ perception of the safety and quality of our products or even similar products distributed by others can be significantly influenced by national media attention, publicized scientific research or findings, product liability claims and other publicity concerning our products or similar products distributed by others. Adverse publicity, whether or not accurate, that associates consumption of our products or any similar products with illness or other adverse effects, will likely diminish the public’s perception of our products. Claims that any products are ineffective, inappropriately labeled or have inaccurate instructions as to their use, could have a material adverse effect on the market demand for our products, including reducing our sales and revenues.
The efficiency of nutritional supplement products is supported by limited conclusive clinical studies, which could result in less market acceptance of these products and lower revenues or lower growth rates in revenues.
Our nutritional supplement products are made from various ingredients including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, botanicals, fruits, berries and other substances for which there is a long history of human consumption. However, there is little long-term experience with human consumption of certain product ingredients or combinations of ingredients in concentrated form. Although we believe all of our products fall within the generally known safe limits for daily doses of each ingredient contained within them, nutrition science is imperfect. Moreover, some people have peculiar sensitivities or reactions to nutrients commonly found in foods, and may have similar sensitivities or reactions to nutrients contained in our products. Furthermore, nutritional science is subject to change based on new research. New scientific evidence may disprove the efficacy of our products or prove our products to have effects not previously known. We could be adversely affected by studies that may assert that our products are ineffective or harmful to consumers, or if adverse effects are associated with a competitor’s similar products.
Our products may not meet health and safety standards or could become contaminated.
We do not have control over all of the third parties involved in the manufacturing of our products and their compliance with government health and safety standards. Even if our products meet these standards they could otherwise become contaminated. A failure to meet these standards or contamination could occur in our operations or those of our distributors or suppliers. This could result in expensive production interruptions, recalls and liability claims. Moreover, negative publicity could be generated from false, unfounded or nominal liability claims or limited recalls. Any of these failures or occurrences could negatively affect our business and financial performance.
Compliance with new and existing laws and governmental regulations could increase our costs significantly and adversely affect our results of operations.
The processing, formulation, safety, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, advertising and distribution of our products are subject to federal laws and regulation by one or more federal agencies, including the FDA. These activities are also regulated by various state, local and international laws and agencies of the states and localities in which our products are sold. Government regulations may prevent or delay the introduction, or require the reformulation, of our products, which could result in lost revenues and increased costs to us. For example, the FDA regulates, among other things, the composition, safety, manufacture, labeling and marketing of dietary ingredients and dietary supplements (including vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other dietary ingredients for human use). Dietary supplements and dietary ingredients that do not comply with FDA’s regulations and/or the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (“DSHEA”) will be deemed adulterated or misbranded. Manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and dietary ingredients are prohibited from marketing products that are adulterated or misbranded, and the FDA may take enforcement action against any adulterated or misbranded dietary supplement on the market. The FDA has broad enforcement powers. If we violate applicable regulatory requirements, the FDA may bring enforcement actions against us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations.
The FDA may not accept the evidence of safety for any new dietary ingredient that we may wish to market, may determine that a particular dietary supplement or ingredient presents an unacceptable health risk based on the required submission of serious adverse events or other information, and may determine that a particular claim or statement of nutritional value that we use to support the marketing of a dietary supplement is an impermissible drug claim, is not substantiated, or is an unauthorized version of a “health claim.” Any of these actions could prevent us from marketing particular dietary supplement products or making certain claims or statements with respect to those products. The FDA could also require us to remove a particular product from the market. Any future recall or removal would result in additional costs to us, including lost revenues from any products that we are required to remove from the market, any of which could be material. Any product recalls or removals could also lead to an increased risk of litigation and liability, substantial costs, and reduced growth prospects.
We could be exposed to product liability claims or other litigation, which may be costly and could materially adversely affect our operations.
We could face financial liability due to product liability claims if the use of our products results in significant loss or injury. Additionally, the manufacture and sale of our products involves the risk of injury to consumers from tampering by unauthorized third parties or product contamination. We could be exposed to future product liability claims that, among others: our products contain contaminants; we provide consumers with inadequate instructions about product use; or we provide inadequate warning about side effects or interactions of our products with other substances. Even if we were to prevail in any such claims, the cost of litigation and settlement could be significant. We do not maintain product liability insurance, and could experience significant losses from any litigation relating to our products.
A severe and prolonged downturn in the Chinese or global economy or disruptions in the financial markets may adversely impact our business and results of operations and may limit our access to additional financing.
The nutritional supplement and personal care industry can be affected by macroeconomic factors, including changes in national, regional, and local economic conditions, employment levels and consumer spending patterns. A prolonged slowdown in the Chinese or global economy could erode consumer confidence which could result in changes to consumer spending patterns, which could be harmful to our financial position and results of operations.
In addition, the capital and credit markets is experiencing volatility and the availability of funds remains limited, we will incur increased costs associated with equity and/or debt financing. It is possible that our ability to access the capital and credit markets may be limited by these or other factors at a time when we would like, or need, to do so, which could have an adverse impact on our ability to refinance maturing debt and/or react to changing economic and business conditions. In addition, fluctuations in interest rates could impact our floating rate debt negatively and increase our debt obligations.
Loss of key personnel could impair our ability to operate.
Our success depends on hiring, retaining and integrating senior management and skilled employees. We are currently dependent on certain current key employees, including Mr. Dinghua Wang, our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and director, who is vital to our ability to grow our business and achieve profitability. As with all personal service providers, our officers can terminate their relationship with us at will. Our inability to retain these individuals may result in our reduced ability to operate our business.
Dinghua Wang has control over key decision making as a result of his control of a majority of our voting stock.
Mr. Dinghua Wang, a member of the Board of Directors and our Chief Executive and Financial Officer, beneficially owns 94,711,912 shares, or 50.9%, of our outstanding common stock. Mr. Dinghua Wang is able to exercise voting rights with respect to these shares of common stock, and has the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to our shareholders for approval, including the election of directors and any merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentrated control could delay, defer, or prevent a change of control, merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets that our other shareholders support, or conversely this concentrated control could result in the consummation of such a transaction that our other shareholders do not support. This concentrated control could also discourage a potential investor from acquiring our common stock due to the limited voting power of such stock. As a board member and officer, Mr. Dinghua Wang owes a fiduciary duty to our shareholders and must act in good faith in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of our shareholders. As a shareholder, even a controlling shareholder, Mr. Dinghua Wang is entitled to vote his shares, and shares over which he has voting control, in his own interests, which may not always be in the interests of our shareholders.
Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property rights may undermine our competitive position, and litigation to protect our intellectual property rights may be costly.
We rely primarily on trade secrets and other contractual restrictions to protect our intellectual property. We have not registered or applied for protections for most of our intellectual property or proprietary technologies relating to the formulations of nutritional supplements that we produce. To protect our proprietary technology and processes, we also rely in part on nondisclosure agreements with our employees, licensing partners, third-party producers, consultants, agents and other organizations to which we disclose our proprietary information. The actions we have taken to protect our intellectual property rights may not be adequate to provide us with meaningful protection or commercial advantage. As a result, third parties may use the intellectual property or proprietary technologies that we have developed and compete with us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
PRC intellectual property-related laws and their implementation are still under development. Accordingly, intellectual property rights and confidentiality protections in China may not be as effective as in the United States or many other countries. In addition, policing unauthorized use of proprietary technology can be difficult and expensive. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights and the outcome of any such litigation may not be in our favor. Given the relative unpredictability of China’s legal system and potential difficulties enforcing a court judgment in China, there is no guarantee that we would be able to halt the unauthorized use of our intellectual property through litigation in a timely manner or at all. Furthermore, any such litigation may be costly and may divert management attention away from our business and cause us to expend significant resources. An adverse determination in any such litigation will impair our intellectual property rights and may harm our business, prospects and reputation. In addition, we have no insurance coverage against litigation costs and would have to bear all costs arising from such litigation to the extent we are unable to recover them from other parties. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may be exposed to infringement or misappropriation claims by third parties, which, if determined adversely against us, could disrupt our business and subject us to significant liability to third parties.
Our success largely depends on our ability to use and develop our know-how and product formulations without infringing upon the intellectual property rights of third parties. We may be subject to litigation involving claims of infringement or violation of other intellectual property rights of third parties. The holders of patents and other intellectual property rights potentially relevant to our product offerings may be unknown to us or may otherwise make it difficult for us to acquire a license on commercially acceptable terms.
There may also be technologies licensed to and relied on by us that are subject to infringement or other corresponding allegations or claims by others which could damage our ability to rely on such technologies. In addition, although we endeavor to ensure that companies that work with us possess appropriate intellectual property rights or licenses, we cannot fully avoid the risks of intellectual property rights infringement created by suppliers of raw materials used in our products, our third-party producers, or by companies with which we work in cooperative research and development activities. Our current or potential competitors, many of which have substantial resources and have made substantial investments in competing technologies, may have obtained or may obtain patents that will prevent, limit or interfere with our ability to make, use or sell our products in China or other countries. The defense of intellectual property claims, including patent infringement suits, and related legal and administrative proceedings can be both costly and time-consuming, and may significantly divert the efforts and resources of our technical and management personnel. Furthermore, an adverse determination in any such litigation or proceeding to which we may become a party could cause us to:
·
pay damage awards;
·
seek licenses from third parties, which may not be available on reasonable terms or at all;
·
pay additional ongoing royalties, which could decrease our profit margins;
·
redesign our products, which may be costly, if possible at all; or
·
be restricted by injunctions.
These factors could effectively prevent us from pursuing some or all of our business and result in our customers or potential customers deferring, canceling or limiting their purchase or use of our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
We or the third parties upon whom we depend may be adversely affected by health epidemics, including the recent COVID-19 outbreak or natural disasters
In recent years, there have been outbreaks of epidemics in various countries, including China. Recently, there was an outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) in China, which has spread rapidly to many parts of the world, including the U.S. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 a pandemic. The epidemic has resulted in quarantines, travel restrictions, and the temporary closure of office buildings and facilities in China and in the U.S.
Substantially all of our product sales revenues are generated in China and all of our OEM and packaging revenues are generated in the U.S. Consequently, our results of operations have been and may continue to be adversely, and may be materially, affected, to the extent that the COVID-19 or any other epidemic harms the Chinese and U.S. economy. Any future potential impact to our results will depend on, to a large extent, future developments and new information that may emerge regarding the duration and severity of the COVID-19 and the actions taken by government authorities and other entities to contain the COVID-19 or treat its impact, almost all of which are beyond our control. Potential impacts include, but are not limited to, the following:
•
temporary closure of offices, travel restrictions or suspension of shipment of our products to our customers and suppliers have negatively affected, and could continue to negatively affect, to supply our demand for raw materials;
•
our customers that are negatively impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19 may reduce their budgets to purchase our products, which may materially adversely impact our revenue;
•
our customers may require additional time to pay us or fail to pay us at all, which could significantly increase the amount of accounts receivable and require us to record additional allowances for doubtful accounts. We may have to provide significant sales incentives to our customers and distributors in response to the outbreak, which may in turn materially adversely affect our financial condition and operating results;
•
the business operations of our distributors have been and could continue to be negatively impacted by the outbreak, which may negatively impact our distribution channel, or result in loss of customers or disruption of our products, which may in turn materially adversely affect our financial condition and operating results;
•
any disruption of our supply chain, logistics providers or customers could adversely impact our business and results of operations, including causing us or our suppliers to cease manufacturing products for a period of time or materially delay delivery to customers, which may also lead to loss of customers, as well as reputational, competitive and business harm to us;
•
many of our customers, distributors, suppliers and other partners are individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which may not have strong cash flows or be well capitalized, and may be vulnerable to an epidemic outbreak and slowing macroeconomic conditions. If the SMEs that we work with cannot weather the COVID-19 and the resulting economic impact, or cannot resume business as usual after a prolonged outbreak, our revenues and business operations may be materially and adversely impacted;
•
the global stock markets have experienced, and may continue to experience, significant decline from the COVID-19 outbreak, which could materially adversely affect our stock price; and
Our results of operations for year ended of December 31, 2020 have been negatively impacted. Because of the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak and potential resurgence, the future financial impact related to the outbreak of and response to the coronavirus cannot be reasonably estimated at this time, and our results for the first quarter of and full year 2021 may be adversely affected. We expect our total revenues in the first quarter of 2021 to decrease year over year, and there is no guarantee that our total revenues will grow or remain at the similar level year over year in the next three quarters of 2021.
In addition, our corporate headquarters is located in Los Angeles, which has in the past experienced severe earthquakes and other natural disasters. Consequently, if any natural disasters, health epidemics or other public safety concerns were to affect cities and regions that we have operations or cause travel restriction in such regions, our operation may experience material disruptions, which may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In general, our business could be adversely affected by the effects of epidemics, including, but not limited to, the COVID-19, avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the influenza A virus, Ebola virus, severe weather conditions such as a snowstorm, flood or hazardous air pollution, or other outbreaks. In response to an epidemic, severe weather conditions, or other outbreaks, government and other organizations may adopt regulations and policies that could lead to severe disruption to our daily operations, including temporary closure of our offices and other facilities. These severe conditions may cause us and/or our partners to make internal adjustments, including but not limited to, temporarily closing down business, limiting business hours, and setting restrictions on travel and/or visits with clients and partners for a prolonged period of time. Various impact arising from a severe condition may cause business disruption, resulting in material, adverse impact to our financial condition and results of operations.
Adverse changes in political and economic policies of the PRC government could impede the overall economic growth of China, which could reduce the demand for our products and damage our business.
We generate most of our revenues in China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects are affected significantly by economic, political and legal developments in China. The PRC economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including:
·
the higher level of government involvement and regulation;
·
the early stage of development of the market-oriented sector of the economy;
·
the rapid growth rate;
·
the higher rate of inflation;
·
the higher level of control over foreign exchange; and
·
government control over the allocation of many resources.
As the PRC economy has been transitioning from a planned economy to a more market-oriented economy, the PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. While these measures may benefit the overall PRC economy, they may also have a negative effect on us.
Although the PRC government has in recent years implemented measures emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the PRC government continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the PRC economy through the allocation of resources, controlling payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and imposing policies that impact particular industries or companies in different ways. Our ability to operate in China may be harmed by changes in PRC laws and regulations, including those relating to how we conduct our business, taxation, import and export tariffs, environmental regulations, land use rights, property and other matters. We believe that our operations in China are in material compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements. However, the central or local governments of the jurisdictions in which we operate may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations. Accordingly, government actions in the future, including any decision not to continue to support recent economic reforms and to return to a more centrally planned economy or regional or local variations in the implementation of economic policies, could have a significant adverse effect on economic conditions in China or particular regions thereof and could require us to divest ourselves of any interest we then hold in PRC properties or joint ventures.
If we are found to have failed to comply with applicable laws, we may incur additional expenditures or be subject to significant fines and penalties.
Our sales in the PRC are subject to certain PRC laws and regulations applicable to us. However, many PRC laws and regulations are uncertain in their scope, and the implementation of such laws and regulations in different localities could have significant differences. In certain instances, local implementation rules and/or the actual implementation are not necessarily consistent with the regulations at the national level. Although we strive to comply with all the applicable PRC laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that the relevant PRC government authorities will not later determine that we have not been in compliance with certain laws or regulations.
Inflation in China and measures to contain inflation could negatively affect our operations and growth.
While the PRC economy has experienced rapid growth, such growth has been uneven among various sectors of the economy and in different geographical areas of the country. Rapid economic growth can lead to growth in the money supply and rising inflation. If prices for our products rise at a rate that is insufficient to compensate for the rise in our costs, our business may be materially and adversely affected. In order to control inflation in the past, the PRC government has imposed controls on bank credits, limits on loans for fixed assets and restrictions on state bank lending. If imposed in the future, such austerity measures or other measures could lead to a slowing of economic growth. A slowdown in the PRC economy could also materially and adversely affect our business and prospects.
If relations between the U.S. and China worsen, our business could be adversely affected and investors may be unwilling to hold or buy our stock and our stock price may decrease.
At various times during recent years, the U.S. and China have had significant disagreements over political and economic issues. Controversies may arise in the future between these two countries. Any political or trade controversies between the U.S. and China, whether or not directly related to our business, could reduce the price of our common stock. These controversies also could make it more difficult for us to provide our products to our customers in China. The international trade policies of China and the U.S. could adversely affect our business, and the imposition of trade sanctions relating to import and export, taxes, import duties and other charges on imports from China or exports to China. Due to an increase in tariffs imposed by China on products from U.S., some customers might seek alternatives, which could have negative impact on our sales as we mainly sell our products to customers in China. In order to avoid these new tariffs, the market has shifted towards an uncertain era. Our sales during this stage may also be impacted by this shift in behavior.
Unit 9C, 37-12 Prince Street, Flushing, NY 11354 with 3,000 square feet
·
Term of Lease:
Unit 9C, 37-12 Prince Street – From March 2020 through February 2023
·
Monthly Rental:
$8,333
We believe our current facilities, including warehousing facilities, are fully suitable and adequate for our business, and that our facilities in Nevada are not currently used at full capacity.
We do not intend to renovate, improve, or develop properties. We are not subject to competitive conditions for property. We have no policy with respect to investments in real estate or interests in real estate, and no policy with respect to investments in real estate mortgages. Further, we have no policy with respect to investments in securities of or interests in persons primarily engaged in real estate activities.
From time to time, we may be subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of business. We are not currently a party to any material legal proceedings, and to our knowledge none is threatened. There can be no assurance that future legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business or otherwise will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Our common stock is qualified for quotation on the OTCQB Market under the symbol “EWLU.”
On February 28, 2018, we up-listed our trading market from the OTC Pink Open Market to the OTCQB Market. The following table sets forth the quarterly high and low sales prices of a share of our common stock as reported by OTCQB Market for the periods indicated. These over-the-counter market quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commission and may not necessarily represent actual transactions.
Year
Quarter Ending
High
Low
2020
December 31
$
1.00
$
0.55
2020
September 30
$
0.55
$
0.18
2020
June 30
$
0.55
$
0.43
2020
March 31
$
0.89
$
0.28
2019
December 31
$
0.38
$
0.30
2019
September 30
$
0.45
$
0.10
2019
June 30
$
0.60
$
0.35
2019
March 31
$
1.10
$
0.60
Holders of Common Stock
As of March 25, 2021, there were 184,555,937 shares (excluding 1,380,000 shares of vested restricted stock and 690,000 shares of unvested restricted stock) of our common stock issued and outstanding and there were approximately 5,286 shareholders of record of our common stock.
Dividends
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock. For the foreseeable future, we intend to retain any earnings to finance the development and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will be dependent upon then existing conditions, including our financial condition and results of operations, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, business prospects and other factors that the Board of Directors considers relevant.
There are no restrictions in our articles of incorporation or bylaws that prevent us from declaring dividends. The Nevada Revised Statutes, however, prohibit us from declaring dividends where, after giving effect to the distribution of the dividend:
·
we would not be able to pay our debts as they become due in the usual course of business; or
·
our total assets would be less than the sum of our total liabilities plus the amount that would be needed to satisfy the rights of stockholders who have preferential rights superior to those receiving the distribution, unless otherwise permitted under our articles of incorporation.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
The following table provides information about our equity compensation plan as of December 31, 2020:
Plan Category
Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of options warrants and rights (a)
Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options warrants and rights (b)
Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a)) (c)
Equity compensation plans approved by stockholders
-
$
-
-
Equity compensation plans not approved by stockholders
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the related notes, and other financial information included in this Form 10-K.
Our Management’s Discussion and Analysis contains not only statements that are historical facts, but also statements that are forward-looking. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “potential,” “believes,” “seeks,” “hopes,” “estimates,” “should,” “may,” “will,” “with a view to” and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements are, by their very nature, uncertain and risky. These risks and uncertainties include international, national, and local general economic and market conditions; our ability to sustain, manage, or forecast growth; our ability to successfully make and integrate acquisitions; new product development and introduction; existing government regulations and changes in, or the failure to comply with, government regulations; adverse publicity; competition; the loss of significant customers or suppliers; fluctuations and difficulty in forecasting operating results; change in business strategy or development plans; business disruptions; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the ability to protect technology; the risk of foreign currency exchange rates; and other risks that might be detailed from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Although the forward-looking statements in this Report reflect the good faith judgment of our management, such statements can only be based on facts and factors currently known by them. Consequently, and because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, the actual results and outcomes may differ materially from the results and outcomes discussed in the forward-looking statements. You are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in this report as we attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations and prospects.
Overview
Our Company is a provider of health and nutritional supplements and personal care products. Currently, we are mainly selling our products over the Internet directly to end-user customers through our websites, www.dailynu.com and www.merionus.com, and to wholesale distributors through phone and electronic communication. Our major customers of our nutritional and beauty products are located in the Asian market, predominantly in the People’s Republic of China. Our major customers of our OEM and packaging products are located in the United States.
Since June 2014, we have sold our products primarily over the Internet directly to end-user customers and by phone/email orders directly to our wholesale distributors. Certain miscellaneous sales are made directly to customers who walk into the Company offices and customers who call the Company directly for products. We are now focusing on selling health and nutritional supplements and personal care products directly on the internet through our websites, www.dailynu.com and www.merionus.com. As of the date of filing of this report, we market ten individual nutritional supplement products, three and four of which were introduced in 2018 and 2019 respectively, and one beauty product, which was also introduced in 2018, on our websites. We are no longer selling similar products of third parties on our websites.
In January 2018, we entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with SUSS Technology Corporation, a Nevada corporation (the “Seller”), pursuant to which the Seller agreed to sell to the Company substantially all of the assets associated with the Seller’s manufacture of dietary supplements (the “Asset Sale”) for an aggregate purchase price (the “Purchase Price”) of $1,000,000 and 1,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Purchase Shares”) valued at $320,000. The Seller was one of our major suppliers during the year ended December 31, 2017. Upon purchasing these assets from the Seller, we started to manufacture some of the nutritional supplements that we sell. These assets meet all industry nutritional and dietary supplement manufacturing standards, including U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Good Manufacturing Practice compliance and Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations. In addition to manufacturing the nutritional supplements that we sell, we produce hard capsules, tablets, solid beverages (sachet packaging), teabags, powder, granules, dietary supplements, softgel capsules and health foods from these assets for any potential new customers who need such products. These are the products that were added to our existing products, as a part of our OEM and packaging businesses.
In January 2018, we introduced a new beauty product, Noir Naturel, a gentle formula for grey coverage from the first application into hair care.
In September 2018, we introduced three different types of natural aphrodisiac supplements, Viwooba (1-3) for men that may support kidney health, improve immunity, enhance physical fitness, eliminate fatigue, improve sexual desire and enhance body energy, strength and sexual ability.
In March 2019, we introduced 1) Lady-S, a female dietary supplement that may assist with weight loss, 2) Gold King, a nutritional supplement that may provide antioxidant support and liver health, 3) New Power, a nutritional supplement that may support heart health, and 4) Taibao, a nutritional supplement that may enhance physical performance and energy metabolism.
In December 2019, we introduced ReMage Power, a nutritional supplement that may provide anti-aging Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)+ support and promote energy & cell metabolism.
Principal Factors Affecting Our Financial Performance
We believe consumers have become more confident in ordering products like ours over the internet. However, the nutritional supplement and skin care products e-commerce markets have been, and continue to be, increasingly competitive and are rapidly evolving due to the reasons discussed below.
Barriers to entry are minimal in the nutritional supplement and skin care businesses, and current and new competitors can launch new websites at a relatively low cost. Many competitors in this area have greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. Continued advancement in technology, and increased access to that technology, is paving the way for growth in direct marketing. We also face competition for consumers from retailers, duty-free retailers, specialty stores, department stores and specialty and general merchandise catalogs, many of which have greater financial and marketing resources than we have. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we believe that we are well-positioned within the Asian consumer market with our current plan of supplying American merchandise to consumers in Asia. There can be no assurance that we will maintain or increase our competitive position or that we will continue to provide only American-made merchandise.
As COVID-19 has limited the global travels and import goods, we moved our focus on local OEM and packaging business and it became our majority revenue source in the fiscal year of 2020. The loss of one or more of our local OEM and packaging customers could result in a potential loss of sales and have a negative effect on our operations if we cannot find one or more substitutes.
Our products are sensitive to business and personal discretionary spending levels, and demand tends to decline or grow more slowly during economic downturns, including downturns in any of our major markets. The global economy is currently undergoing a period of downturn now due to COVID-19, and the future economic environment continues to remain uncertain. This has led, and could further lead, to reduced consumer spending, which may include spending on nutritional and beauty products and other discretionary items. The increase of trade tensions between US and China and the spread of COVID-19 have and might continue to have negative impacts on our business. The reduced consumer spending may force us and our competitors to lower prices. These conditions may adversely affect our revenues and results of operations.
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
At the end of 2019, there was an outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) in China, which has spread rapidly to many parts of the world, including the U.S. In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The pandemic has resulted in quarantines, travel restrictions, and the temporary closure of office buildings and facilities in China and in the U.S. The economic impact of the coronavirus or COVID-19 in both China and the U.S have significantly impacted our business and resulting in lesser demand from our customers.
Our headquarters are located in California and were closed from March 19, 2020 to June 9, 2020. Due to the recent surge of new Covid-19 cases in California, our offices were closed again from July 16, 2020 to September 16, 2020 and our employees worked remotely from home during these periods. Our offices have been reopened since September 16, 2020. Our manufacturing facility is located in Nevada and partially suspended its operations from March 23, 2020 to April 1, 2020 due to lack of raw materials and it has been operating normally since April 1, 2020. Substantially all of our product sales revenues are generated in China and all of our OEM and packaging revenues are generated in the U.S. Consequently, our results of operations have been and will continue be materially adversely affected, to the extent that COVID-19 harms the Chinese and U.S. economy. Any potential impact to our results will depend on, to a large extent, future developments and new information that may emerge regarding the duration and severity of COVID-19 and the actions taken by government authorities and other entities in China and U.S. to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, almost all of which are beyond our control.
Although we expect that our health supplement products and our OEM/packaging services will still be in demand due to awareness of the importance of health growing along with the realities of COVID-19, the global economy has been and may continue to be negatively affected by COVID-19 and there is continued uncertainty about the duration and intensity of the impact of COVID-19. Many of our customers are individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which may not have strong cash flows or be well capitalized, and may be vulnerable to a pandemic outbreak and slowing macroeconomic conditions. If the SMEs cannot weather COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic impact, or cannot resume business as usual after a prolonged outbreak, our revenues and business operations may be materially and adversely impacted.
While the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of, COVID-19 may be difficult to assess or predict, a widespread pandemic could result in significant disruption of global financial markets, reducing the Company’s ability to access capital, which could negatively affect the Company’s liquidity.
Substantially all of our revenues are concentrated in China and the United States. Consequently, the COVID-19 outbreak has and may continue to materially adversely affect our business operations, financial condition and operating results, including but not limited to the material negative impact to our production and delivery of our products, revenues and collection of accounts receivable and the additional allowance for doubtful accounts. The situation remains highly uncertain for any further outbreak or resurgence of the COVID-19. It is therefore difficult for the Company to estimate the impact on our business or operating results that might be adversely affected by any further outbreak or resurgence of COVID-19 for the year of 2021.
In addition, due to the of COVID-19 going around the world and some of the Company’s raw materials sourced from outside of the United States, the raw material supplies have been and might continue to be negatively impacted and due to increased shipping costs and shortage of raw materials around the world. Consequently, the COVID-19 outbreak has and may continue to materially adversely affect the Company’s business operations, financial condition and operating results for 2021, including but not limited to the shortage of raw materials, delay of shipment, and increased price of raw materials for the Company’s products.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, the overall financial impact for 2021 cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. Our total revenues in 2020 were lower as compared to the same period of 2019.
Looking ahead, we understand that these unprecedented times will have a financial impact to some of our customers, and might potentially cause loss of certain existing customers. Our plan has been to promote the awareness of the importance of health and our health supplement products, which in term might build sales with new customers to offset the loss of any of our existing customers.
As COVID-19 continues to impact global business, the U.S. government established relief programs for small business such as the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (“EIDL”). We received a PPP loan of $131,100 and EIDL loan of $150,000 to help fund our operation in 2020. The PPP loan was fully forgiven by the SBA administration in January 2021.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
Total sales decreased by approximately $1,369,000, or 75.7%, from approximately $1,808,000 in the year ended December 31, 2019 to approximately $439,000 in the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease of sales was mainly due to lesser demand from our customers resulting from the negative economic impact of the coronavirus or COVID-19 in both China and the U.S.
The cost of sales increased by approximately $166,000, or 57.8%, from approximately $288,000 in the year ended December 31, 2019 to approximately $454,000 in the year ended December 31, 2020. The main reason for the increase was due to the increase of OEM and packaging costs of approximately $130,000, which is in line with this type of revenue, the increase of inventory write-down of approximately $36,000 due to obsolescence, and the increase of idle capacity costs of approximately $71,000 as we were operating under capacity during the year ended December 31, 2020, due to the negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
Our overall gross margin (loss) percentage decreased from approximately 84.1% in the year ended December 31, 2019 to approximately (3.5) % in the year ended December 31, 2020, mainly due to the decrease of sales in the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019 while we were still incurring significant overhead cost in our factory which we operated under idle capacity. The decrease in overall gross margin percentage was also due to the inventory obsolescence write-down.
Our product sales gross margin (loss) percentage decreased from approximately 93.1% in the year ended December 31, 2019 to approximately 48.8% in the year ended December 31, 2020. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the majority of our product sales were attributable to our Cell Power, Viwooba (1-3), OPC Spa, Lady-S, Gold King, New Power, Taibao and Remage Power products, which were all manufactured by us. For the year ended December 31, 2020, in additional to our own manufacturing products, we sold two new supplements products that promote brain health and anti-aging that were manufactured by the third-party manufactures. The main reason for the decrease of sales gross margin percentage was due to our majority sales in 2019 are self-manufactured products which has a higher profit margin and some of our product sales in 2020 had a lower profit margin as we did not manufacture these products.
Our OEM and packaging sales gross margin percentage decreased from approximately 51.1% in the year ended December 31, 2019 to approximately 29.2% in the year ended December 31, 2020. For the year ended December 31, 2020, we had incurred more manufacturing overhead costs for our OEM and packaging sales with additional labor hours being allocated to such production due to more production procedures for certain products as compared to the same period in 2019. As a result, our OEM and packaging sales gross margin percentage decreased by 21.9% during the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019.
Selling expenses decreased from approximately $165,000 in the year ended December 31, 2019 to approximately $48,000 in the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease of approximately $117,000, or 70.9%, was mainly due to the decrease of approximately $118,000 of marketing expenses as we have limited our global business marketing and traveling due to COVID-19.
General and administrative (“G&A”) expenses decreased by approximately $66,000 from approximately $1,411,000 in the year ended December 31, 2019 to approximately $1,345,000 in the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease was mainly attributable to the decrease of approximately $30,000 of professional expenses, such as attorney fees, auditor fees and consulting fees, the decrease of approximately $99,000 of payroll and benefit expenses and the decrease of approximately $12,000 of bad debt expense, the decrease of $25,000 of other miscellaneous G&A expenses such as insurance expenses, meals and entertainment and storage expenses as we temporarily closed our California office due COVID-19 outbreak from March 19, 2020 to June 9, 2020 and again from July 16, 2020 to September 16, 2020, offset by the increase of approximately $100,000 of rent expense of our training center in New York.
Stock compensation expenses decreased by approximately $436,000 from approximately $857,000 in the year ended December 31, 2019 to approximately $421,000 in the year ended December 31, 2020. In March 2019, we issued 1,000,000 shares of our common stock to an advisor to provide certain business and financial operation and planning consultation services, and amortized such cost, which was $445,000 and $125,000 during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively. We also issued shares of our common stock to other financial advisors which resulted in approximately $157,000 of stock compensation expense during the year ended December 31, 2019. Approximately $255,000 and $296,000, related to the amortization of the value of 2,300,000 shares of restricted common stock issued to three employees for the year ended December 31, 2019 and 2020, respectively, which all have a vesting period of three years.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, we traded in one of our vehicles which resulted in a gain of $16,000.
Other income decreased by approximately $196,000 from approximately $192,000 of other income in the year ended December 31, 2019 to approximately $4,000 of other expense in the year ended December 31, 2020, mainly due to the decrease of approximately $241,000 of gain on debt settlement as we were able to negotiate a higher conversion with our debtor as compared to our closing stock price as of the conversion date in 2019, the decrease of approximately $27,000 of other income and the increase of approximately $59,000 of interest expenses, offset by approximately $131,000 of gain on forgiveness of loan payable.
Net loss increased by approximately $1.1 million from approximately $0.7 million in the year ended December 31, 2019 to approximately $1.8 million in the year ended December 31, 2020, mainly due to the reasons discussed above.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2020, we had a cash balance of approximately $10,000, compared to a cash balance of approximately $9,000 at December 31, 2019.
In assessing our liquidity, we monitor and analyze our cash on-hand and our operating and capital expenditure commitments. Our liquidity needs are to meet our working capital requirements, operating expenses and capital expenditure obligations. Other than operating expenses and current liabilities of approximately $0.9 million, the Company does not have significant cash commitments. Cash requirements include cash needed for purchase of inventory, payroll, payroll taxes, rent, and other operating expenses. However, in response to the liquidity factors described above, the Company has continued to find ways to reduce its operating expenses. In addition, should our Company need funds, our principal shareholder and Chief Executive and Financial Officer Mr. Dinghua Wang may lend additional money to the Company from time to time to the extent he is in a position and willing to do so. No assurance can be provided that he will continue to lend funds to the Company in the future.
Management has concluded under U.S. GAAP that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern as a result of our lack of significant revenue and sufficient working capital. If we are unable to generate significant revenue or secure financing, we may be required to cease or limit our operations. Our financial statements do not include adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, cash used in operating activities amounted to approximately $990,000 as compared to approximately $1,444,000 used in operating activities in the same period in 2019. Cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily due to the result of our approximately $1.8 million net loss, non-cash transaction of approximately $16,000 from gain on disposal of equipment and approximately $131,000 from gain on forgiveness of loan payable, the increase of accounts receivable of approximately $64,000, the increase of prepaid expenses of approximately $167,000 and the payment of lease liabilities of approximately $177,000 as we paid for our lease obligations when they become due. This amount was partially offset by the non-cash expense of approximately $421,000 in stock based compensation, approximately $59,000 of depreciation expense, approximately $190,000 in amortization of operating leases right-of-use assets, approximately $29,000 of bad debt expense, approximately $49,000 of inventory write-down, the decrease of inventories of approximately $36,000, the increase of accounts payable and accrued expenses of approximately $103,000 and increase of deferred revenue of approximately $497,000.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, financing activities provided approximately $990,000 as compared to approximately $1,158,000 during the year ended December 31, 2019. Net cash received in the year ended December 31, 2020 includes approximately $1.1 million from the issuance of common stock and collection of our stock subscriptions receivable, approximately $10,000 from a third party loan, and approximately $281,000 from SBA loans. These amounts were partially offset by our net repayments to our principal shareholder and Chief Executive and Financial Officer, Mr. Dinghua Wang of approximately $382,000, repayment of third party loans of approximately $10,000 and principal payments of our long-term debt of approximately $13,000.
The material terms of the loans from our principal shareholder and Chief Executive and Financial Officer, Mr. Dinghua Wang, certain related parties and certain unaffiliated third parties are set forth in Note 6 and Note 7 of the accompanying notes to financial statements.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to our stockholders.
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and
Stockholders of Merion, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Merion, Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ deficit and cash flows for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the financial statements). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Emphasis of a matter
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Company reported net losses of approximately $1,818,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020. At December 31, 2020, the Company has a significant working capital deficiency of approximately $556,000, a shareholders’ deficit of approximately $169,000 and has had to rely on additional borrowings to continue its operations. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regards to these matters are also described in Note 2 to the financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. Our opinion is not modified with respect to this matter.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee/Board of Directors and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.
Going Concern
As described further in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Company has incurred significant losses, has negative working capital and lacks significant revenues. The ability of the Company to continue as a going concern is dependent on raising capital and ultimately to attain profitable operations. Accordingly, the Company has determined that these factors raise substantial doubt as to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of one year from the issuance of these financial statements. Management intends to alleviate the going concern risk by investigating and securing various financing resources, including but not limited to borrowing from the Company’s major shareholder, private placements, and the possibility of raising funds through a future public offering.
We determined the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern is a critical audit matter due to the estimation and uncertainty regarding the Company’s available capital and the risk of bias in management’s judgments and assumptions in their determination.
Our audit procedures related to the Company’s assertion on its ability to continue as a going concern included the following:
·
We performed testing procedures such as analytical procedures to identify conditions and events that indicate there could be substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time.
·
We reviewed and evaluated management's plans for dealing with the adverse effects of these conditions and events.
·
We inquired of Company management and reviewed Company records to assess whether there are additional factors that contribute to the uncertainties disclosed.
·
We assessed whether the Company’s determination that there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern was adequately disclosed.
Valuation of Shares Issued to a Related Party for Debt Settlement
As described in Note 11 to the financial statements, the Company issued 5,243,839 shares of common stock, valued at $5,243,839, for the repayment of debt to its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and a company owned by him. These shares were valued at a price of $1.00 per share, which was determined by using the purchase price of shares in the Company’s most recent private placement.
We determined that management’s assessment of the fair value of the common stock issued is a critical audit matter due to the materiality of the amount involved and that the Company’s common stock is a thinly traded security.
Our audit procedures related to the valuation of the common stock issued included examining the agreements for the most recent private placement and agreeing the stock price per share from the private placement to the stock price used in the issuance of the common stock in the settlement of debt with the related party. We also evaluated the reasonableness of the Company’s methodology and its disclosure in relation to this matter included in Note 11 to the financial statements.
/s/ Wei, Wei & Co., LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2017.
Advances from related parties, non-interest bearing
-
518,839
Due to employee
-
95,000
Due to third parties, interest bearing
-
20,000
Due to third parties, non-interest bearing
-
50,000
TOTAL NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES
640,991
3,131,403
TOTAL LIABILITIES
1,552,542
6,428,265
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
SHAREHOLDERS' DEFICIT:
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 1,000,000,000 shares authorized, 184,555,937 and 177,404,608 shares issued and outstanding, as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively
Merion, Inc. (the “Company”), a Nevada corporation, was formed on February 4, 2011. Its predecessor, E-World USA Holding, Inc., was a California company incorporated in 2007 (“E-World CA”). In April 2011, E-World CA entered into a merger agreement with its wholly-owned subsidiary, E-World USA Holding, Inc., a Nevada corporation (“E-World NV”) that was the survivor of the merger and became the Company. Under the Merger Agreement, the Company issued 90,000,000 shares of its common stock on a one for one basis for each share of E-World CA’s common stock issued and outstanding at the date of the merger. In addition, the Company issued Type A Warrants and Type B Warrants in exchange for comparable warrants issued and outstanding of E-World CA at the date of the merger. On June 27, 2017, the Company filed an amendment to its Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State for the State of Nevada to change its name from E-World NV to Merion, Inc.
The Company is a manufacturer and provider of health and nutritional supplements and personal care products currently sold on the internet through our websites, www.dailynu.com and www.merionus.com, and to wholesale distributors. The Company also provides Original Equipment Manufacturer (“OEM”) and packaging services of hard capsules, tablets, solid beverage (sachet packaging), teabags, powder, granules, dietary supplements for export, softgel capsules and health food.
Note 2 – Going Concern
Management has determined there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern as a result of our lack of significant revenues, significant recurring losses, and negative working capital. If we are unable to generate significant revenue or secure additional financing, we may be required to cease or curtail our operations. Our financial statements do not include adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Management is trying to alleviate the going concern risk by: engaging external sales representatives to sell the Company’s products, investigating and securing various financing resources, including but not limited to borrowing from the Company’s major shareholder, private placements, and the possibility of raising funds through a future public offering.
Note 3 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
These financial statements have been presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). In the opinion of management, all adjustments consisting of normal recurring adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation of the financial statements, have been included.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Significant accounting estimates reflected in the Company’s financial statements include the useful lives of property and equipment, the collectability of receivables and impairment on long-lived assets. The inputs into the Company’s judgments and estimates consider the economic implications of COVID-19 on the Company’s critical and significant accounting estimates. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents are comprised primarily of money market accounts and foreign and domestic bank accounts. To reduce its credit risk, the Company monitors the credit standing of the financial institutions that hold the Company’s cash and cash equivalents.
Accounts Receivable
Trade accounts receivable are periodically evaluated for collectability based on credit history with customers and their current financial condition. Bad debt expense or write-offs of receivables are determined on the basis of loss experience, known and inherent risks in the receivable portfolio, and current economic conditions.
The accounts receivable balance and allowance for doubtful accounts are as follows:
December 31,
2020
December 31,
2019
Accounts receivable
$
75,258
$
80,792
Allowance for doubtful accounts
-
(41,011
)
Accounts receivable, net
$
75,258
$
39,781
Movement of allowance for doubtful accounts is as follows:
Year ended
December 31,
2020
Year ended
December 31,
2019
Beginning balance
$
41,011
$
-
Provision for doubtful accounts
28,723
41,011
Less: write-offs
(69,734
)
-
Ending balance
$
-
$
41,011
Inventories
Inventories are valued at the lower of cost (determined on a first-in, first-out basis) or net realizable value. Inventory consists of nutritional products, beauty products, and raw materials in our manufacturing facility. Management reviews inventory on hand for estimated obsolescence or unmarketable items, as compared to future demand requirements and the shelf life of the various products. Based on the review, the Company records inventory write-downs, when necessary, when costs exceed expected net realizable value. The inventories’ shelf lives are approximately 3 years. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company recognized $49,358 and $12,827, respectively, of inventory obsolescence reserves or write-downs.
Property and Equipment, net
Property and equipment are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Upon disposition, the cost and related accumulated depreciation and amortization is removed from the books, and any resulting gain or loss is included in operations. The Company provides depreciation and amortization using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of various classes as follows:
Machinery
10 years
Computer and software
3 to 5 years
Furniture and fixtures
5 to 10 years
Vehicles
5 to 7 years
Leasehold improvements
over the lesser of the remaining lease term or the expected life of the improvement
Repairs and maintenance are charged to operations when incurred while betterments and renewals are capitalized.
Right-of-use Asset and Lease Liabilities
In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02 “Leases (Topic 842).” The new standard requires lessees to recognize lease assets (“right of use”) and related lease obligations (“lease liabilities”) for leases previously classified as operating leases under generally accepted accounting principles on the balance sheet for leases with terms in excess of 12 months. The Company adopted this standard as of January 1, 2019 utilizing the practical expedients approach.
Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived assets, including property, equipment, and right-of-use-assets with finite lives, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances (such as a significant adverse change to market conditions that will impact the future use of the assets) indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. The Company assesses the recoverability of the assets based on the undiscounted future cash flows the assets are expected to generate and recognizes an impairment loss when estimated discounted future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset plus net proceeds expected from disposition of the asset, if any, are less than the carrying value of the asset. When the Company identifies an impairment, the Company reduces the carrying amount of the asset to its estimated fair value based on a discounted cash flow approach or, when available and appropriate, to comparable market values. Management reviewed the impact of COVID-19 and the related disruptions on the Company’s operating results, and based upon potential orders, it believes that currently there was no impairment during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.
Deferred Revenue
Deferred revenue represents payments advanced by customers on specified product orders or on future orders that have not been shipped as of the balance sheet date. Deferred revenue also represents shipping fee deposits advanced by customers in relation to the unshipped product orders. Deferred revenue is reduced when the related sale is recognized in accordance with the Company’s revenue recognition policy.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The FASB accounting standards codification (“ASC”), FASB ASC 825 Financial Instruments, requires that the Company discloses estimated fair values of financial instruments.
As defined in ASC 820 Fair Value Measurement, fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price). The Company utilizes the market data of similar entities in its industry or assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk and the risks inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. These inputs can be readily observable, market corroborated, or generally unobservable. The Company classifies fair value balances based on the observability of those inputs. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (level 1 measurement) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (level 3 measurement).
The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are as follows:
Level 1 –
Quoted prices that are available in active markets for identical assets or liabilities as of the reporting date. Active markets are those in which transactions for the asset or liability occur in sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.
Level 2 –
Pricing inputs, other than quoted prices in active markets included in level 1, which are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date and includes those financial instruments that are valued using models or other valuation methodologies. These models are primarily industry-standard models that consider various assumptions, including quoted forward prices for commodities, time value, volatility factors, and current market and contractual prices for the underlying instruments, as well as other relevant economic measures. Substantially all of these assumptions are observable in the marketplace throughout the full term of the instrument, can be derived from observable data or are supported by observable levels at which transactions are executed in the marketplace.
Level 3 –
Pricing inputs include significant inputs that are generally less observable from objective sources. These inputs may be used with internally developed methodologies that result in management’s best estimate of fair value.
The Company’s revenue is recognized based on the amount of consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for satisfying the performance obligations in accordance with ASC 606 Revenue from Contracts with Customers.
The core principle underlying the revenue recognition is that the Company will recognize revenue to represent the transfer of goods and services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in such exchange. This will require the Company to identify contractual performance obligations and determine whether revenue should be recognized at a point in time or over time, based on when control of goods and services transfers to a customer. The Company’s revenue streams are recognized at a point in time, based on when control of goods and services transfers to a customer and there are no remaining performance obligations under the contract.
ASC 606 requires the use of a new five-step model to recognize revenue from customer contracts. The five-step model requires that the Company (i) identify the contract with the customer, (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (iii) determine the transaction price, including variable consideration to the extent that it is probable that a significant future reversal will not occur, (iv) allocate the transaction price to the respective performance obligations in the contract, and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies each performance obligation.
The Company accounts for a contract with a customer when the contract is committed in writing, the rights of the parties, including payment terms, are identified, the contract has commercial substance and consideration is probable of collection.
The Company derives its revenues from sales contracts with its customers with revenues being recognized upon delivery of products. Persuasive evidence of an arrangement is demonstrated via sales contracts and invoices; and the sales price to the customer is fixed upon acceptance of the sales contract. Sales rebates or discounts are recognized as a reduction of revenue when the sale is made. The Company recognizes revenue when control of the goods is transferred upon shipment to the customer by the Company and collectability of payment is reasonably assured. These revenues are recognized at a point in time after all performance obligations are satisfied.
The Company also recognizes revenue on shipping and handling fees charged to the Company’s customers. Shipping and handling fee revenue is recognized when products have been delivered at a point in time. Shipping and handling fee revenues totaled $1,288 and $30,635 for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Product returns are allowed for unopened products purchased under regular sales terms within 60 days. Allowances for product returns are provided at the time the sale is recorded using historic return rates for each country and the relevant return pattern. Historically the Company has a return rate of nearly zero. Accordingly, the allowance as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 is estimated at $0.
In addition to the Company’s 60-day return policy, the Company, at its discretion, may accept a customer’s application for a buy-back of products previously sold within one year at 90% of the original product’s cost less commissions and shipping costs. To date, the Company has not received any buy-back applications. As a result, no allowance for buy-backs had been recorded as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.
The majority of the Company’s product sales are generated from China and all of the Company’s OEM and packaging sales are generated from the United States. While all products are priced in U.S. currency, the Company accepts payments in both U.S. dollars and Hong Kong dollars.
Shipping and handling costs incurred by the Company are included in selling expenses and totaled $13,617 and $27,571 for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Income Taxes
The Company utilizes ASC 740 Income Taxes, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred income taxes are recognized for the tax consequences in future years of differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their financial reporting amounts at each period end based on enacted tax laws and statutory tax rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Deferred taxes are also recognized for net operating losses that can be carried forward. A valuation allowance is established, when necessary, to reduce net deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
Basic and Diluted Earnings (Loss) Per Share
Generally accepted accounting principles regarding earnings per share (“EPS”) require presentation of basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share in conjunction with the disclosure of the methodology used in computing such earnings (loss) per share.
Basic earnings (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) available to common stockholders by the weighted average of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share takes into account the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised and converted into common stock. These common stock equivalents are not included when the Company has a loss because they would be anti-dilutive.
920,000 shares and 1,610,000 of unvested restricted common stock granted to three employees which all have a vesting period of three years are excluded in the diluted EPS calculation for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, due to its anti-dilutive nature. There were no other potential dilutive securities outstanding for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk are cash and accounts receivable arising from its normal business activities. The Company maintains balances at financial institutions which, from time to time, may exceed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured limits for the banks located in the United States. The Company had no uninsured balances as of December 31, 2020.
Major Customers and Suppliers
For the year ended December 31, 2020, one customer accounted for approximately 56% of the Company’s sales and for the year ended December 31, 2019, one customer accounted for approximately 10% of the Company’s sales.
As of December 31, 2020, one customer accounted for approximately 82 % of the Company’s accounts receivable. As of December 31, 2019, three customers accounted for approximately 88% (67%, 11% and 10 %) of the Company’s accounts receivable.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, one supplier accounted for 72% of the Company’s product purchases and for the year ended December 31, 2019, three suppliers accounted for 69% (36%, 18% and 15%) of the Company’s product purchases.
A party is considered to be related to the Company if the party directly or indirectly or through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the Company. Related parties also include principal owners of the Company, its management, members of the immediate families of principal owners of the Company and its management and other parties with which the Company may deal if one party controls or can significantly influence management or operating policies of the other to an extent that one of the transacting parties might be prevented from fully pursuing its own separate interests. A party which can significantly influence the management or operating policies of the transacting parties or if it has an ownership interest in one of the transacting parties and can significantly influence the other to an extent that one or more of the transacting parties might be prevented from fully pursuing its own separate interests is also a related party.
New Accounting Pronouncements
In May 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-05, which is an update to ASU Update No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which introduced the expected credit losses methodology for the measurement of credit losses on financial assets measured at amortized cost basis, replacing the previous incurred loss methodology. The amendments in Update 2016-13 added Topic 326, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses, and made several consequential amendments to the Codification. Update 2016-13 also modified the accounting for available-for-sale debt securities, which must be individually assessed for credit losses when fair value is less than the amortized cost basis, in accordance with Subtopic 326-30, Financial Instruments— Credit Losses—Available-for-Sale Debt Securities. The amendments in this update address those stakeholders’ concerns by providing an option to irrevocably elect the fair value option for certain financial assets previously measured at amortized cost basis. For those entities, the targeted transition relief will increase comparability of financial statement information by providing an option to align measurement methodologies for similar financial assets. Furthermore, the targeted transition relief also may reduce the costs for some entities to comply with the amendments in Update 2016-13 while still providing financial statement users with decision-useful information. In November 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-10, to update the effective date of ASU No. 2016-13 for private companies, not-for-profit organizations and certain smaller reporting companies applying for credit losses standard. The new effective date for these preparers is for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company has not early adopted this update and it will become effective on January 1, 2023 assuming the Company will remain eligible to be smaller reporting company. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this new standard on Company’s financial statements and related disclosures.
In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes”. The amendments in this Update simplify the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740. The amendments also improve consistent application of and simplify GAAP for other areas of Topic 740 by clarifying and amending existing guidance. ASU 2019-12 is effective for the Company for annual and interim reporting periods beginning January 1, 2021. Early adoption of the amendments is permitted, including adoption in any interim period for public business entities for periods for which financial statements have not yet been issued. The adoption of this ASU on January 1, 2021 did not have any significant impact on Company’s financial statements and related disclosures.
The Company does not believe other recently issued but not yet effective accounting standards and updates, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Reclassification
Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation for the year ended December 31, 2020. These reclassifications have no effect on the statements of operations and cash flows.
Inventories consist of raw materials for production and finished goods available for resale, and can be categorized as:
December 31,
2020
December 31,
2019
Raw materials
$
51,078
$
101,102
Work-in-progress
8,925
6,776
Finished goods
20,727
57,866
Inventories
$
80,730
$
165,744
Note 5 – Property and Equipment
Property and equipment consist of the following:
December 31,
2020
December 31,
2019
Computer equipment and software
$
114,953
$
114,953
Furniture and fixtures
26,686
26,686
Automobiles
123,902
179,677
Leasehold improvements
40,053
40,053
Machinery
420,000
420,000
Total
725,594
781,369
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization
(324,900
)
(445,369
)
Property and equipment, net
$
400,694
$
336,000
Depreciation expense totaled $59,209 and $54,692 for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Note 6 – Debt
Loan payable - Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”)
On April 17, 2020, the Company received loan proceeds in the amount of approximately $131,100 under the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The PPP, established as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), provides for loans to qualifying businesses for amounts up to 2.5 times of the average monthly payroll expenses of the qualified business. The loans and accrued interest are forgivable after eight weeks (or an extended 24-week covered period) as long as the borrower uses the loan proceeds for eligible purposes, including payroll, benefits, rent and utilities, and maintains its payroll levels. The loan forgiveness amount will be reduced for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) advance of $10,000 that the Company received on April 28, 2020. The amount of loan forgiveness will be further reduced if the borrower terminates employees or reduces salaries during the eight-week period by more than 25%. The Company believes that its use of the loan proceeds of $121,100, net of EIDL advances, complied with the conditions for forgiveness of the loan and interest. The Company filed for loan forgiveness and the application was approved on January 8, 2021. The PPP loan was accounted for as a government grant and the forgiveness of the loan was recorded in other income in the year ended December 31, 2020.
Small Business Administration Loans (“SBA”)
On July 17, 2020, the Company received a loan in the amount of $150,000 from the SBA EIDL program administered by the SBA pursuant to the CARES Act. In accordance with the requirements of the CARES Act, the Company will use proceeds from the SBA loan primarily for working capital to alleviate economic injury caused by the COVID Pandemic occurring in the month of January 2020 and continuing thereafter. The SBA loan is scheduled to mature on July 17, 2050 with a 3.75% interest rate and is subject to the terms and conditions applicable to loans administered by the SBA under the CARES Act. The monthly payable, including principal and interest, of $731 commences on July 17, 2021 payable over 30 years.
Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2020 amounted to $2,344.
Due to third parties, interest bearing
The Company has borrowed money from third parties to fund operations. These third parties consist of the Chief Executive and Financial Officer Mr. Dinghua Wang’s friends and the spouse of a former board member of the Company. These advances have a weighted average annual interest rates of 9% and 10% for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, are unsecured, and were due on demand but no later than March 30, 2024. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company owed $0 and $1,500,000 to these third parties, respectively. The full balance of the loans of $1,500,000 was transferred to DW California Food Distribution LLC (“DW Food), a California limited liability company that is owned by Mr. Dinghua Wang, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, through a debt sale agreement in December 2020. This balance due to DW Food was subsequently paid with shares of the Company’s common stock (See Note 7 – Related Party Transactions).
Interest expense for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 for the above loans amounted to $136,937 and $42,362, respectively.
Due to third parties, non-interest bearing
The Company has borrowed money from third parties to fund operations. These third parties consist of the Chief Executive and Financial Officer, Mr. Dinghua Wang’s friends and a former board member of the Company. These advances do not bear interest, are unsecured, and are due on demand but no later than March 30, 2024. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company owed $0 and $100,000 to these third parties, respectively. The full balance of the loans of $100,000 was transferred to DW Food, a related party, through a debt sale agreement in December 2020. This balance due to DW Food was subsequently paid with shares of the Company’s common stock (See Note 7 – Related Party Transactions).
Long term debt
In March 2020, the Company purchased and financed a vehicle with a six year loan for a total of approximately $124,000. The Company traded in a fully depreciated vehicle and received a credit of $16,000. The monthly payments are $1,715 from March 2020 to February 2026, with interest at 4.56% per annum.
Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2020 for the above loan amounted to $3,866.
Note 7 – Related Party Transactions
Due to shareholder, interest bearing
In January 2016, Mr. Dinghua Wang pledged certain of his personal assets and obtained a personal loan from which he provided funds for the operations of the Company. In consideration for the funds the Company received, the Company agreed to pay the interest on this loan on Mr. Dinghua Wang’s behalf. The loan had interest of 9.99%. The loan was repaid in October 2019.
Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2019 for the above loan was $38,849.
Due to shareholder, non-interest bearing
From time to time, Mr. Dinghua Wang advances monies to the Company and the Company repays such advances. Such business transactions are recorded as due to or from Mr. Dinghua Wang at the time of the transaction. During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, advances totaled $27,927 and $242,335, respectively, and payments to Mr. Dinghua Wang totaled $410,375 and $312,331, respectively. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the balance due to Mr. Dinghua Wang, non-interest bearing, amounted to $55,607 and $2,438,055, respectively. This balance is unsecured.
In December 2020, the Company entered into a debt repayment agreement with Mr. Dinghua Wang, and DW Food in which the Company agreed to repay $5,243,839 of debt, of which $2,000,000 was owed to Mr. Dinghua Wang and $3,243,839 was owed to DW Food, in exchange for shares of Common Stock of the Company for an aggregate of 5,243,839 shares at a price of $1.00 per share
Due to employee
The Company has borrowed money from Vickie Ho, Executive Vice President of the Company, to fund operations. These advances do not bear interest and are unsecured. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company owed $0 and $95,000 to such employee. The full balance of the advances of $95,000 was transferred to DW Food, a related party, through a debt sale agreement in December 2020. This balance due to DW Food was subsequently paid with shares of the Company’s common stock.
The Company borrowed $30,000 from a related party to fund operations in July 2016. This related party is the son of the Company’s Chief Executive and Financial Officer, Mr. Dinghua Wang. The advance had an annual interest rate of 10%, was unsecured and was due on March 20, 2024. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company owed $0 and $30,000 to this related party, respectively. The full balance of the advances of $30,000 was transferred to DW Food, a related party, through a debt sale agreement in December 2020. This balance due to DW Food was subsequently paid with shares of the Company’s common stock.
Interest expense for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 for the above loans amounted to $2,753 and $3,000, respectively.
Advances from related parties, non-interest bearing
The Company has borrowed money from certain related parties to fund operations. The related parties consist of the Chief Executive and Financial Officer, Mr. Dinghua Wang’s immediate family members and relatives. These advances do not bear interest, are unsecured and are due on March 20, 2024. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company owed $0 and $518,839 to these related parties, respectively. The full balance of the advances of $518,839 was transferred to DW Food, a related party, through a debt sale agreement in December 2020. This balance due to DW Food was subsequently paid with shares of the Company’s common stock.
Note 8 – Income Taxes
The following table reconciles the U.S. statutory rates to the Company’s effective tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:
Year ended December 31,
2020
Year ended December 31,
2019
Federal statutory rate
21.0
%
21.0
%
State statutory rate
7.0
%
7.0
%
Valuation allowance
(24.2
)%
(20.2
)%
Permanent difference *
(3.8
)%
(7.9
)%
Effective tax rate
0.0
%
(0.1
)%
*Represents 50% of meal and entertainment expenses and stock compensation expenses that are not deductible.
The Company uses the asset and liability method, where deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial and income tax reporting purposes. Deferred taxes are also recognized for net operating loss carry forwards which can be utilized to offset taxable income in the future. Net operating loss for the years ended 2017 through 2019 of approximately $3.4 million will not expire but limited to 80% of income until utilized. Net operating loss for the years ended 2016 and prior will expire in the years 2031 to 2036. As deferred tax assets may not be fully realizable due to potential recurring losses, management has provided a 100% valuation allowance for the deferred tax assets.
The components of the deferred tax assets are as follows:
December 31,
2020
December 31,
2019
Allowance for doubtful accounts
$
-
$
11,476
Amortization of intangible assets
181,334
196,445
Net operating losses
2,593,424
2,125,102
Deferred tax assets
2,774,757
2,333,023
Valuation allowance
(2,774,757
)
(2,333,023
)
Deferred tax assets, net
$
-
$
-
Changes in the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets increased by $441,734 and $145,578 for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company did not utilize any deferred tax assets from the prior period.
As of December 31, 2020, federal tax returns filed for 2017, 2018 and 2019 remain subject to examination by the taxing authorities. As of December 31, 2020, California tax returns filed for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 remain subject to examination by the taxing authorities
Effective January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASU 2016-02, “Leases” (Topic 842), and elected the practical expedients that do not require us to reassess: (1) whether any expired or existing contracts are, or contain, leases, (2) lease classification for any expired or existing leases and (3) initial direct costs for any expired or existing leases. The Company adopted the practical expedient that allows lessees to treat the lease and non-lease components of a lease as a single lease component. There was no impact from the adoption of ASC 842 as of January 1, 2019, as the Company did not have any existing leases with a lease term in excess of twelve months on January 1, 2019.
In January 2019, the Company entered an office lease agreement with a 5-year lease term starting in March 2019 and ending in February 2024. The Company recognized lease liabilities of approximately $618,000, with a corresponding right-of-use (“ROU”) asset in the same amount based on the present value of the future minimum rental payments of the lease, using an effective interest rate of 4.78%, which was determined using the Company’s estimated incremental borrowing rate. As of December 31, 2020, the remaining term of the lease is 3.17 years.
In March 2020, the Company entered another new office lease agreement with a 3-year lease term starting in March 2020 and ending in February 2023. The Company recognized lease liabilities of approximately $279,000, with a corresponding right-of-use (“ROU”) asset in the same amount based on the present value of the future minimum rental payments of the new lease, using an effective interest rate of 4.78%, which was determined using the Company’s incremental borrowing rate. As of December 31, 2020, the remaining term of the lease is 2.17 years
The Company also leases factory space on a month-to-month basis, which it classifies as an operating lease. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet.
The Company’s lease agreements do not contain any material residual value guarantees or material restrictive covenants.
For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, lease expenses amounted to $264,479 and $157,955, respectively, of which, $42,000 and $42,000 are short-term lease expenses, respectively.
The five-year maturity of the Company’s lease obligations is presented below:
Year ended December 31,
2021
$
247,107
2022
242,932
2023
163,885
2024
24,656
Total lease payments
678,580
Less: interest
(45,177
)
Present value of lease liabilities
$
633,403
Note 10 – Contingencies
Contingencies
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
At the end of 2019, there was an outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) which has spread rapidly to many parts of China and other parts of the world, including the United States. The epidemic has resulted in quarantines, travel restrictions, and the temporary closure of stores and facilities in China, United States, and elsewhere around the world.
Substantially all of the Company’s revenues are concentrated in China and the United States. Consequently, the COVID-19 outbreak has and may continue to materially adversely affect the Company’s business operations, financial condition and operating results for 2021, including but not limited to the material negative impact to the Company’s production and delivery, total revenues, slower collection of accounts receivables and additional allowances for doubtful accounts. The situation remains highly uncertain for any further outbreak or resurgence of COVID-19. It is therefore difficult for the Company to estimate the impact on our business or operating results that might be adversely affected by any further outbreak or resurgence of COVID-19.
In addition, due to the of COVID-19 going around the world and some of the Company’s raw materials are sourced from outside of the United States, the raw material supplies have been and might continue to be negatively impacted due to increases of shipping costs and shortages of raw materials around the world. Consequently, COVID-19 has and may continue to materially adversely affect the Company’s business operations, financial condition and operating results for 2021, including but not limited to the shortage, delay of shipment, and increased price of raw materials for the Company’s products.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, the financial impact for 2021 cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. Our total revenues in 2020 were lower as compared to the same period of 2019.
Note 11 – Equity
Private placements
During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company entered into a series of Securities Purchase Agreements with various unrelated third party purchasers, pursuant to which the Company sold in private placements an aggregate of 140,400 shares of the Company’s common stock, at a purchase price of $1.00 per share for an aggregate offering price of $140,400. The sales were completed pursuant to the exemption from registration provided by Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
On November 28, 2019, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with TBS Capital Management Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong (“TBS”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell to TBS in a private placement, 2,000,000 shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, at a $1.00 per Share for an aggregate of $2,000,000. As of the date of this report, no shares have been issued to TBS as the closing conditions required by this Securities Purchase Agreement have not been met.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company entered into a series of Securities Purchase Agreements with various unrelated third party purchasers, pursuant to which the Company sold in private placements an aggregate of 1,700,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, at a $1.00 per share for an aggregate of $1,700,000.
In connection with the private placements, the Company issued an aggregate of 12,000 shares of Common Stock to various unrelated third-parties outside of the U.S. as compensation for introducing private placement investors outside of the U.S. to the Company. These shares were valued at $12,000, which was determined by using the associated average private placement purchase price of $1.00 per share. The value of the shares was accounted for as a reduction of additional paid-in capital because the issuances were made as compensation for financing-related services in connection with the Company’s private placement.
As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, $1,735,695 and $1,140,695, respectively, were unpaid and recognized as stock subscription receivables in the accompanying statements of changes in shareholders’ deficit. During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company received $50,000 and $109,305 of the stock subscription receivables, respectively.
On March 19, 2019, the Company entered into two Debt Repayment Agreements with two creditors of the Company (the “Creditors”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to repay $135,851 owed to the Creditors in the form of 295,480 shares of Company’s common stock at an average of $0.46 per share (the “Debt Repayment”). The Debt Repayment was completed pursuant to the exemption from registration provided by Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The closing price of the Company’s common stock on March 19, 2019 was $0.60 per share, which resulted in a loss on settlement of debt of $41,437.
On March 30, 2019, the Company entered into four Debt Repayment Agreements with four creditors of the Company (the “Creditors”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to repay $868,682 owed to the Creditors in the form of 976,364 shares of Company’s common stock at an average of $0.89 per share (the “Debt Repayment”). The Debt Repayment was completed pursuant to the exemption from registration provided by Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The closing price of the Company’s common stock on March 30, 2019 was $0.60 per share, which resulted in a gain on settlement of debt of $282,863.
On December 11, 2020, the Company entered into a Debt Repayment Agreement with Mr. Dinghua Wang and DW Food, a company that is owned by him, pursuant to which the Company agreed to repay $5,243,839 of debt owed to Mr. Dinghua Wang and his Company in the form of shares of Common Stock of the Company for an aggregate of 5,243,839 shares at a price of $1.00 per share, which was determined by using the latest private placement purchase price of $1.00 per share. As a result, there was no gain/loss recorded in these transactions. The Debt Repayment was completed pursuant to the exemption from registration provided by Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Common stock issued for consulting services
On August 30, 2018, the Company entered into two advisory agreements with two advisors (the “Financial Advisors”), pursuant to which the Company engaged the Financial Advisors to provide certain financial advisory services for a service period of six months. As compensation for the services, the Company agreed to issue the Financial Advisors an aggregate of 67,916 shares of its common stock, par value $0.001. These shares were valued at $20,375, determined using the closing price of the Company’s common stock on August 30, 2018 of $0.30 per share. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, amortization of deferred stock compensation of these shares amounted to $0 and $6,792, respectively.
On January 23, 2019, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with Redfield Management Service Limited for business, finance and investor relations services. The consultant is due a monthly consulting fee of $7,000 and 50,000 shares, to be paid every three months. The term of the agreement was for one year. The service agreement was terminated at the end of April 2019 and the Company issued a total of 200,000 shares of its common stock. For the year ended December 2019, amortization of deferred stock compensation of these shares was $120,000.
On March 13, 2019, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with Global Merchants Union (“GMU”), pursuant to which GMU was to provide business and financial operation and planning consultation services to the Company for consideration of $7,500 per month and a one-time stock payment of 1,000,000 shares of common stock of the Company (the “Share Payment”). The cash payments required of $7,500 per month in the agreement were cancelled in May 2019. However, GMU was required to provide services in respect to the stock compensation for the remaining term of the agreement until March 12, 2020. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, amortization of deferred compensation of these shares amounted to $125,000 and $475,000, respectively.
Issuance of restricted common stock
On July 13, 2018, the Board of Directors of the Company approved the grant of 2,300,000 restricted stock units (the “RSUs”) to three employees of the Company, pursuant to the Merion, Inc. 2018 Omnibus Equity Plan. The RSUs vested 30% on both July 13, 2019 and 2020 and the remaining 40% of the RSUs will vest on July 13, 2021, in each case provided that the employee remains employed, in good standing, by the Company. These shares were valued at $851,000, determined using the closing price of the Company’s common stock on July 13, 2018 of $0.37 per share, and are being amortized ratably over the term of the vesting period of three years on a straight line basis. The Company accounts for the restricted common stock as equity-settled awards in accordance with ASC 718. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, amortization of deferred stock compensation of these shares amounted to $296,101 and $255,300, respectively. Deferred stock compensation of $179,992 and $476,093 has been recognized as a reduction of shareholders’ deficit as the services have not been performed as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
The following table summarizes unvested restricted common stock activity for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:
Number of
shares
Weighted average grant-date fair value per share
Outstanding as of December 31, 2018
2,300,000
$
-
Granted
-
0.37
Vested
690,000
-
Forfeited
-
-
Outstanding as of December 31, 2019
1,610,000
$
0.37
Granted
-
-
Vested
690,000
-
Forfeited
-
-
Outstanding as of December 31, 2020
920,000
$
0.37
Note 12 – Subsequent Events
Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”)
On January 31, 2021, the Company received approval for loan proceeds of $137,792 under the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) second round of Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).
The Company evaluated all events and transactions that occurred after December 31, 2020 up through the date the Company issued these financial statements on March 30, 2021.
The Company’s Chief Executive Office/Chief Financial Officer has evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2020. Based upon such evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer/Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of December 31, 2020, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were not effective. This conclusion by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer/Chief Financial Officer does not relate to reporting periods after December 31, 2020.
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Under the supervision of our Chief Executive Officer/ Chief Financial Officer, and with the participation of our management, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on the framework stated by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Our internal control system was designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Because of inherent limitations, a system of internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate due to change in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Based on its evaluation as of December 31, 2020, our management concluded that our internal controls over financial reporting were not effective as of December 31, 2020. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of control deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
The material weakness relates to the following:
Lack of Accounting and Finance Expertise – Our current accounting staff is relatively small, and we do not have the required infrastructure of meeting the higher demands of being a U.S. public company. This material weakness also relates to a lack of personnel with expertise in preparing financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
Remediation
Our management has dedicated resources to correct the control deficiencies and to ensuring that we take proper steps to improve our internal control over financial reporting in the area of financial statement preparation and disclosure.
We have taken a number of remediation actions that we believe will improve the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, including the following:
·
Hired a consulting firm with expertise in U.S. GAAP financial reporting and accounting.
·
Implemented an internal review process over financial reporting to continue to improve our ongoing review and supervision of our internal control over financial reporting;
This annual report does not and is not required to include an attestation report of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
No change in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2020, that materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting.
The board of directors appoints our executive officers. Any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders at a special meeting called for that purpose or by the board of directors. Each director is elected by the Company’s shareholders, to serve until his successor is elected and qualified, or until his earlier resignation or removal. Our directors and executive officers are as follows:
Name
Age
Position
Ding Hua Wang
57
Chairman, CEO, CFO, President and Director
Xun Zhang
59
Director
Vickie Ho
39
Executive Vice President
Ding Hua Wang joined our predecessor company in January 2007 as a product consultant. In November 2007, he became CEO, CFO, President and Chairman of our predecessor company and has been CEO, CFO, President, Chairman and Director of our Company since March 2011. From August 2005 to December 2006, Mr. Dinghua Wang was CEO of Ansheng Company International Products, a nutrition products manufacturing and wholesale company. From January 1999 to August 2005, Mr. Dinghua Wang was CEO of Ansheng Company, a Chinese herbal medicine imports and store sales company. Mr. Dinghua Wang studied at Zhejiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 1986 to February 1991. He attended American Global University in alternative medicine from August 2001 to September 2003 but did not receive a degree. As a member of the board, Mr. Dinghua Wang contributes significant industry-specific experience and expertise on our products and services. Mr. Dinghua Wang also contributes his knowledge of the Company and a deep understanding of all aspects of our business, products and markets, as well as substantial experience developing corporate strategy, assessing emerging industry trends, and business operations.
Xun Zhang has served as a member of our Board of Directors since March 2011. From 2003 to date, Mr. Zhang has been Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. From 1988 to date, he has been Assistant in Biochemistry as well as Director, Neuroendocrine Research Laboratory Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Zhang received a PhD in 1994 from the State University of New York at Albany. With responsibility for product development guidance, Mr. Zhang brings his educational and research knowledge and experience to the Board.
Vickie Ho has served as the Company’s Executive Vice President since May 2017. From September 2010 until her appointment as Executive Vice President, Ms. Ho served as Assistant to the Company’s President, Public Relations Manager and Human Resources Director. From April 2009 to August 2010, Ms. Ho was Assistant to the Company’s President and provided English interpretation services. Ms. Ho originally joined the Company in March 2008 in the Company’s stock department. Ms. Ho received her Bachelor’s degree in English with International Business from Shenyang Engineering Institution in 2006.
Family Relationships
There are no family relationships between our officers and directors.
No officer, director, or persons nominated for such positions or significant employee has been involved in the last ten years in any of the following, except as noted below:
·
Any bankruptcy petition filed by or against any business of which such person was a general partner or executive officer either at the time of the bankruptcy or within two years prior to that time,
·
Any conviction in a criminal proceeding or being subject to a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offenses),
·
Being subject to any order, judgment, or decree, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any court of competent jurisdiction, permanently or temporarily enjoining, barring, suspending or otherwise limiting his involvement in any type of business, securities or banking activities.
·
Being found by a court of competent jurisdiction (in a civil action), the Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have violated a federal or state securities or commodities law, and the judgment has not been reversed, suspended, or vacated.
·
Having any government agency, administrative agency, or administrative court impose an administrative finding, order, decree, or sanction against them as a result of their involvement in any type of business, securities, or banking activity.
·
Being the subject of a pending administrative proceeding related to their involvement in any type of business, securities, or banking activity.
·
Having any administrative proceeding been threatened against them related to their involvement in any type of business, securities, or banking activity.
Because the Chinese legal system is different from that in the U.S., please refer to the Complaint filed as noted in “Legal Proceedings” and filed as an Exhibit 10.1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 as it affects Dinghua Wang. Although not being named a defendant personally, the Complaint discussed Mr. Dinghua Wang’s activities and indicated that the following order had been issued against Mr. Dinghua Wang: “After the case was discovered, Dinghua Wang’s special accounts for sales under the Company’s DSA model in China were blocked and the funds in the amount of RMB 22,848,737.5 and $1,320.87 in the accounts were frozen.” At the date of filing of this report, the status of this Order was still open. Accordingly, Mr. Dinghua Wang may be considered to have been involved in one or more of the above named activities in the last 10 years
Code of Ethics
We do not currently have a Code of Ethics applicable to our principal executive, financial or accounting officer given the limited scope of our operations.
The table below summarizes all compensation awarded to, earned by, or paid to our Principal Executive Officer (“PEO”) and Principal Financial Officer (“PFO”), our three most highly compensated executive officers other than our PEO and PFO, who occupied such position at the end of our latest fiscal year and up to two additional individuals who would have been included in the table below except for the fact that they were not executive officers at the end of our latest fiscal year, by us, or by any third-party where the purpose of a transaction was to furnish compensation, for all services rendered in all capacities to us or our subsidiary for the latest two fiscal years ended December 31, 2020, and 2019.
OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT FISCAL YEAR-END DECEMBER 31, 20120
The following table sets forth information regarding all unexercised, unvested, outstanding equity awards held, as of December 31, 2020, by those individuals who served as our named executive officers during any part of fiscal year 2020.
Name
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Exercisable
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Unexercisable
Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Unearned
Options (#)
Option
Exercise
Price
($)
Option
Expiration
Date
Number of
Shares or
Units of
Stock That
Have Not
Vested
(#)
Market
Value of
Shares or
Units of
Stock That
Have Not
Vested
($)
Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Number
Of
Unearned
Shares,
Units or
Other
Rights That
Have Not
Vested
(#)
Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Market or
Payout
Value of
Unearned
Shares,
Units or
Other
Rights
That Have
Not
Vested
($)
Ding Hua Wang
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Xun Zhang
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Vickie Ho
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
400,000
78,261
No option awards, unexercised options, unvested stock awards or equity incentive plan awards were granted to our named executive officers during fiscal year ended at December 31, 2020.
The following table summarizes the compensation paid to our directors for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020:
Name
Fees
Earned
or
Paid in
Cash
Stock
Awards
($)
Option
Awards
($)
Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)
All Other
Compensation
($)
Total
($)
Ding Hua Wang
-
-
-
-
-
-
Xun Zhang
-
-
-
-
-
-
No director was paid any form of compensation for acting as a Director for year ended December 31, 2019. See Executive Compensation table above for salaries paid to these Directors for their role as officers.
The following tables set forth the ownership of our common stock by each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock, our directors, and our executive officers and directors as a group as of March 25, 2021. To the best of our knowledge, the persons named have sole voting and investment power with respect to such shares, except as otherwise noted. There are not any pending or anticipated arrangements that may cause a change in control.
The information presented below regarding beneficial ownership of our voting securities has been presented in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and is not necessarily indicative of ownership for any other purpose. Under these rules, a person is deemed to be a “beneficial owner” of a security if that person has or shares the power to vote or direct the voting of the security or the power to dispose or direct the disposition of the security. A person is deemed to own beneficially any security as to which such person has the right to acquire sole or shared voting or investment power within 60 days of March 25, 2021 through the conversion or exercise of any convertible security, warrant, option or other right. More than one person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of the same securities. The percentage of beneficial ownership by any person as of a particular date is calculated by dividing the number of shares beneficially owned by such person, which includes the number of shares as to which such person has the right to acquire voting or investment power within 60 days of March 25, 2021, by the sum of the number of shares outstanding as of such date plus the number of shares as to which such person has the right to acquire voting or investment power within 60 days of March 25, 2021. Consequently, the denominator used for calculating such percentage may be different for each beneficial owner. Except as otherwise indicated below and under applicable community property laws, we believe that the beneficial owners of our common stock listed below have sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares shown. The business address for these shareholders is 100 N Barranca Street #1000, West Covina, CA 91791.
Name
Number of
Shares of
Common stock
Percentage
Ding Hua Wang
94,711,912
50.9
%
Xun Zhang
500,000
0.3
%
Vickie Ho*
600,000
0.3
%
All officers and directors as a group [3 persons]
95,811,912
51.5
%
*600,000 shares were vested but have not been issued as of March 25, 2021.
This table is based upon information derived from our stock records. Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes to this table and subject to community property laws where applicable, each of the shareholders named in this table has sole or shared voting and investment power with respect to the shares indicated as beneficially owned. Except as set forth above, applicable percentages are based upon 185,935,937 shares of common stock outstanding as of March 25, 2021, which includes 1,380,000 vested shares but have not been issued.
In January 2016, Mr. Dinghua Wang, a major shareholder, director, Chief Executive and Financial Officer of the Company, pledged certain of his personal assets and obtained a personal loan from which he provided funds for the operations of the Company. In consideration for the funds the Company received, the Company agreed to pay the interest on this loan on Mr. Dinghua Wang’s behalf. The loan had interest of 9.99%. The loan was repaid in October 2019.
Interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2019 for the above loan was $38,849.
Due to shareholder, non-interest bearing
From time to time, Mr. Dinghua Wang, a major shareholder, director, Chief Executive and Financial Officer of the Company, advances monies to the Company and the Company repays such advances. Such business transactions are recorded as due to or from Mr. Dinghua Wang at the time of the transaction. During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, advances totaled $27,927 and $242,335, respectively, and payments to Mr. Dinghua Wang totaled $410,375 and $312,331, respectively. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the balance due to Mr. Dinghua Wang, non-interest bearing, amounted to $55,607 and $2,438,055, respectively. This balance is unsecured.
In December 2020, the Company entered into a debt repayment agreement with Mr. Dinghua Wang, and DW Food in which the Company repaid $5,243,839 of debt, of which $2,000,000 was owed to Mr. Dinghua Wang and $3,243,839 was owed to DW Food, in exchange for shares of Common Stock of the Company for an aggregate of 5,243,839 shares at a price of $1.00 per share
Due to employee
The Company has borrowed money from Vickie Ho, Executive Vice President of the Company, to fund operations. These advances do not bear interest and are unsecured. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company owed $0 and $95,000 to such employee. The full balance of the advances of $95,000 was transferred to DW Food, a related party, through a debt sale agreement in December 2020. This balance due to DW Food was subsequently paid with shares of the Company’s common stock.
Advances from related parties, interest bearing
The Company borrowed $30,000 from a related party to fund operations in July 2016. This related party is the son of the Company’s Chief Executive and Financial Officer, Mr. Dinghua Wang. The advance had an annual interest rate of 10%, was unsecured and was due on March 20, 2024. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company owed $0 and $30,000 to this related party, respectively. The full balance of the advances of $30,000 was transferred to DW Food, a related party, through a debt sale agreement in December 2020. This balance due to DW Food was subsequently paid with shares of the Company’s common stock.
Interest expense for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 for the above loans amounted to $2,753 and $3,000, respectively.
Advances from related parties, non-interest bearing
The Company has borrowed money from certain related parties to fund operations. The related parties consist of the Chief Executive and Financial Officer, Mr. Dinghua Wang’s immediate family members and relatives. These advances do not bear interest, are unsecured and are due on March 20, 2024. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company owed $0 and $518,839 to these related parties, respectively. The full balance of the advances of $518,839 was transferred to DW Food, a related party, through a debt sale agreement in December 2020. This balance due to DW Food was subsequently paid with shares of the Company’s common stock.
Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Xun Zhang is qualified as “independent” as the term is defined by Rule 5605(a)(2) of the NASDAQ Stock Market.
The Company incurred audit fees in the total of $134,000 and $118,000 for fiscal years 2020 and 2019, respectively.
The following table shows the aggregate fees paid or accrued by us for the audit and other services provided by our auditors for fiscal 2020 and 2019.
2020
2019
Audit Fees
$
134,000
$
118,000
Audit-Related Fees
-
-
Tax Fees
-
-
All Other Fees
-
-
Total
$
134,000
$
118,000
As defined by the SEC, (i) “audit fees” are fees for professional services rendered by our principal accountant for the audit of our annual financial statements and review of financial statements included in our Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, or for services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for those fiscal years; (ii) “audit-related fees” are fees for assurance and related services by our principal accountant that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “audit fees;” (iii) “tax fees” are fees for professional services rendered by our principal accountant for tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning; and (iv) “all other fees” are fees for products and services provided by our principal accountant, other than the services reported under “audit fees,” “audit-related fees,” and “tax fees.”
Under applicable SEC rules, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is required to pre-approve the audit and non-audit services performed by the independent auditors in order to ensure that they do not impair the auditors’ independence. The SEC’s rules specify the types of non-audit services that an independent auditor may not provide to its audit client and establish the Audit Committee’s responsibility for administration of the engagement of the independent auditors. Currently, we don’t have an Audit Committee under our Board of Director. Until such time as we have an Audit Committee in place, our Board of Directors pre-approves the audit and non-audit services performed by the independent auditors.
* This exhibit shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, whether made before or after the date hereof and irrespective of any general incorporation language in any filings.
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Merion, Inc.,
a Nevada corporation
Title
Name
Date
Signature
Principal Executive Officer
Ding Hua Wang
March 30, 2021
/s/ Ding Hua Wang
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated:
SIGNATURE
NAME
TITLE
DATE
/s/ Ding Hua Wang
Ding Hua Wang
Principal Executive Officer,
March 30, 2021
Principal Financial Officer,
Principal Accounting Officer and Director
/s/ Xun Zhang
Xun Zhang
Director
March 30, 2021
36
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