e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) 10-K2022 FY Annual report

 

 

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (“e.l.f. Beauty” and together with our subsidiaries, the “Company,” or “we”) is a multi-brand beauty company that offers inclusive, accessible, clean and cruelty-free cosmetics and skincare products.

We believe our ability to deliver 100% cruelty-free, clean, premium-quality products at accessible prices with broad appeal differentiates us in the beauty industry. We believe the combination of our innovation engine, core value proposition, digitally-led strategy, as well as our world-class team’s ability to execute with speed has positioned us well to navigate a rapidly changing landscape in beauty.

Our family of brands includes e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. SKIN, Well People and Keys Soulcare. Our brands are available online and across leading beauty, mass-market and clean-beauty specialty retailers. We have strong relationships with our retail partners such as Walmart, Target, Ulta Beauty and other leading retailers that have enabled us to expand distribution both domestically and internationally.

We operate across beauty categories including face makeup, eye makeup, lip products, nail products, cosmetics sets/kits, beauty tools and accessories, facial skincare, and eye skincare products. Color cosmetics and skincare products are broadly sold through food, drug and mass channels, as well as through department stores and direct and specialty channels.

The beauty industry is relatively concentrated, with a significant portion of retail sales in the United States generated by brands owned by a few large multinational companies, such as L’Oreal, Estee Lauder, Coty, Revlon, Shiseido, Johnson & Johnson, and Procter & Gamble. These large multinational companies typically own multiple brands. In addition to the traditional brands against which we compete, small independent companies continue to enter the market with new brands and customized product offerings.

The following table provides certain statistics of our team as of April 2022:

In the United States, where over 70% of our workforce is located, the benefits for our full-time employees include, among other things:

Outside of the United States, we provide similarly competitive benefit packages to those offered to our United States employees and tailored to market-specific practices.

We are proud to be a 100% cruelty-free company. We do not conduct or tolerate any tests on animals, nor do we use any ingredients that are tested on animals in any of our products. Each of our brands is certified by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as “Global Animal Test-Free”, a credential given to companies and brands who have verified that their own facilities and their suppliers do not conduct, commission, pay for, or allow any tests on animals for their ingredients, formulations, or finished products.

Our results of operations are subject to seasonal fluctuations, with net sales in the third and fourth fiscal quarters typically being higher than in the first and second fiscal quarters. The higher net sales in our third and fourth fiscal quarters are largely attributable to the increased levels of purchasing by retailers for the holiday season and customer shelf reset activity, respectively. Lower holiday purchases or shifts in customer shelf reset activity could have a disproportionate effect on our results of operations for the entire fiscal year. To support anticipated higher sales during the third and fourth fiscal quarters, we make investments in working capital to ensure inventory levels can support demand. Fluctuations throughout the year are also driven by the timing of product restocking or rearrangement by our major retail customers as well as expansion into new retail customers. Because a limited number of our retail customers account for a large percentage of our net sales, a change in the order pattern of one or more of our large retail customers could cause a significant fluctuation of our quarterly results or impact our liquidity.

We and our products are subject to various federal, state and international laws and regulations, including regulation in the United States by the FDA, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (the “CPSC”), the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”), and regulations outside of the United States by Health Canada and the European Commission, among others. These laws and regulations principally relate to the ingredients, proper labeling, advertising, packaging, marketing, manufacture, safety, shipment and disposal of our products. Further, as the vast majority of our products are imported from overseas manufacturers, we are subject to Customs Border Patrol clearance regulations prior to goods being released into the United States market.

In the Unites States, the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”), defines cosmetics as articles or components of articles intended for application to the human body to cleanse, beautify, promote attractiveness, or alter the appearance, with the exception of soap. The labeling of cosmetic products is subject to the requirements of the FDCA, the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, the Poison Prevention Packaging Act and other FDA regulations. Cosmetics are not subject to pre-market approval by the FDA; however, certain ingredients, such as color additives, must be pre-approved for the specific intended use of the product and are subject to certain restrictions on their use. If a company has not adequately substantiated the safety of its products or ingredients by, for example, performing appropriate toxicological tests or relying on already available toxicological test data, then a specific warning label is required. The FDA may, by regulation, require other warning statements on certain cosmetic products for specified hazards associated with such products. FDA regulations also prohibit or otherwise restrict the use of certain types of ingredients in cosmetic products.

In addition, the FDA requires that cosmetic labeling and claims be truthful and not misleading. Moreover, cosmetics may not be marketed or labeled for their use in treating, preventing, mitigating, or curing disease or other conditions or in affecting the structure or function of the body, as such claims would render the products to be a drug and subject to regulation as a drug. The FDA has issued warning letters to cosmetic companies alleging improper drug claims regarding their cosmetic products. In addition to FDA requirements, the FTC as well as state consumer protection laws and regulations can subject a cosmetics company to a range of requirements and theories of liability, including similar standards regarding false and misleading product claims, under which FTC or state enforcement or class-action lawsuits may be brought.

In addition to our cosmetic products, we also market certain non-prescription drug products, including certain products that are intended to treat acne or be used as sunscreens, which are regulated as over-the-counter (“OTC”) drug products by the FDA. Certain OTC drug products are subject to regulation pursuant to the FDA’s “monographs,” which provide rules applicable to each therapeutic category of non-prescription drug, and establishes conditions, such as active ingredients, uses (indications), doses, labeling, and testing procedures, under which an OTC drug within that particular category may be generally recognized as a safe and effective (“GRASE”), and therefore can be marketed without obtaining pre-market approval of an new drug application (“NDA”) or abbreviated new drug application (“ANDA”). To be legally marketed, among other things, OTC drug products marketed under an OTC monograph must be manufactured in compliance with the FDA’s GMP requirements for drug products, and the failure to maintain compliance with these requirements could lead to FDA enforcement action. Moreover, a failure to comply with the OTC monograph requirements could lead the FDA to determine that the drug is not GRASE, and thus is a “new drug” requiring approval in accordance with the NDA or ANDA processes, or to make changes to its manufacturing processes or product formulations or labels.

Moreover, the FTC regulates and can bring enforcement action against cosmetic companies for deceptive advertising and lack of adequate scientific substantiation for claims. The FTC requires that companies have a reasonable basis to support marketing claims. What constitutes a reasonable basis can vary depending on the strength or type of claim made, or the market in which the claim is made, but objective evidence substantiating the claim is generally required.

In the E.U., the sale of cosmetic products is regulated under the E.U. Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 setting out the general regulatory framework for finished cosmetic products placed on the E.U. market. The overarching requirement is that a cosmetic product made available on the E.U. market must be safe for human health when used under normal or reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, taking account, in particular, of the following: (a) presentation including conformity with Directive 87/357/EEC regarding health and safety of consumers; (b) labelling; (c) instructions for use and disposal; (d) any other indication or information provided by the responsible person.

Generally, there is no requirement for pre-market approval of cosmetic products in the E.U. However, centralized notification of all cosmetic products placed on the E.U. market is required. Manufacturers are required to notify their products via the E.U. cosmetic products notification portal. Manufacturers are responsible for safety of their marketed finished cosmetic products, and must ensure that they undergo an appropriate scientific safety assessment before cosmetic products are sold. A special database with information on cosmetic substances and ingredients, known as CosIng, enables easy access to data on cosmetic ingredients, including legal requirements and restrictions. We rely on expert consultants for our E.U. product registrations and review of our labelling for compliance with E.U. regulation.

The E.U. Cosmetics Regulation requires the manufacture of cosmetic products to comply with GMPs, which is presumed where the manufacture is in accordance with the relevant harmonized standards. In addition, in the labelling, making available on the market and advertising of cosmetic products, text, names, trademarks, pictures and figurative or other signs must not be used to imply that these products have characteristics or functions they do not have; any product claims in labelling must be capable of being substantiated.

We are also subject to a number of federal, state and international laws and regulations that affect companies conducting business on the Internet, including regulations related to consumer protection, the promotion and sale of merchandise, privacy, use and protection of consumer and employee personal information and data (including the collection of data from minors), behavioral tracking, and advertising and marketing activities (including sweepstakes, contests and giveaways).

We make available on or through our website certain reports and amendments to those reports that we file with, or furnish to, the SEC in accordance with the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These include our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. We make this information available on or through our website free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file the information with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The information on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report or any other filings we make with the SEC.

Risks factors related to the beauty industry

We face vigorous competition from companies throughout the world, including large multinational consumer products companies that have many beauty brands under ownership and independent beauty brands, including those that may target the latest trends or specific distribution channels. Competition in the beauty industry is based on the introduction of new products, pricing of products, quality of products and packaging, brand awareness, perceived value and quality, innovation, in-store presence and visibility, promotional activities, advertising, editorials, e-commerce and mobile-commerce initiatives and other activities. We must compete with a high volume of new product introductions and existing products by diverse companies across several different distribution channels.

Many multinational consumer companies have greater financial, technical or marketing resources, longer operating histories, greater brand recognition or larger customer bases than we do and may be able to respond more effectively to changing business and economic conditions than we can. Many of these competitors’ products are sold in a wider selection or greater number of retail stores and possess a larger presence in these stores, typically having significantly more inline shelf space than we do. Given the finite space allocated to beauty products by retail stores, our ability to grow the number of retail stores in which our products are sold and expand our space allocation once in these retail stores may require the removal or reduction of the shelf space of these competitors. We may be unsuccessful in our growth strategy in the event retailers do not reallocate shelf space from our competitors to us. Increasing shelf space allocated to our products may be especially challenging in instances when a retailer has its own brand. In addition, our competitors may attempt to gain market share by offering products at prices at or below the prices at which our products are typically offered, including through the use of large percentage discounts and “buy one and get one free” offers. Competitive pricing may require us to reduce our prices, which would decrease our profitability or result in lost sales. Our competitors, many of whom have greater resources than we do, may be better able to withstand these price reductions and lost sales.

It is difficult for us to predict the timing and scale of our competitors’ activities in these areas or whether new competitors will emerge in the beauty industry. In recent years, numerous online, “indie”, celebrity and influencer-backed beauty companies have emerged and garnered significant followings. In addition, further technological breakthroughs, including new and enhanced technologies which increase competition in the online retail market, new product offerings by competitors and the strength and success of our competitors’ marketing programs may impede our growth and the implementation of our business strategy.

Our ability to compete also depends on the continued strength of our brands and products, the success of our marketing, innovation and execution strategies, the continued diversity of our product offerings, the successful management of new product introductions and innovations, strong operational execution, including in order fulfillment, and our success in entering new markets and expanding our business in existing geographies. If we are unable to continue to compete effectively, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The beauty industry is driven in part by fashion and beauty trends, which may shift quickly. Our continued success depends on our ability to anticipate, gauge and react in a timely and cost-effective manner to changes in consumer preferences for beauty products, consumer attitudes toward our industry and brands and where and how consumers shop for those products. We must continually work to develop, produce and market new products, maintain and enhance the recognition of our brands, maintain a favorable mix of products and develop our approach as to how and where we market and sell our products.

We have a process for the development, evaluation and validation of our new product concepts. Nonetheless, each new product launch involves risks, as well as the possibility of unexpected consequences. For example, the acceptance of new product launches and sales to our retail customers may not be as high as we anticipate, due to lack of acceptance of the products themselves or their price, or limited effectiveness of our marketing strategies. In addition, our ability to launch new products may be limited by delays or difficulties affecting the ability of our suppliers or manufacturers to timely manufacture, distribute and ship new products or displays for new products. Sales of new products may be affected by inventory management by our retail customers, and we may experience product shortages or limitations in retail display space by our retail customers. We may also experience a decrease in sales of certain existing products as a result of newly-launched products, the impact of which could be exacerbated by shelf space limitations or any shelf space loss. Any of these occurrences could delay or impede our ability to achieve our sales objectives, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As part of our ongoing business strategy, we expect we will need to continue to introduce new products in the color cosmetics and skincare categories, while also expanding our product launches into adjacent categories in which we may have little to no operating experience. The success of product launches in adjacent product categories could be hampered by our relative inexperience operating in such categories, the strength of our competitors or any of the other risks referred to above. Furthermore, any expansion into new product categories may prove to be an operational and financial constraint which inhibits our ability to successfully accomplish such expansion. Our inability to introduce successful products in our traditional categories or in adjacent categories could limit our future growth and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We believe that developing and maintaining our brands is critical and that our financial success is directly dependent on consumer perception of our brands. Furthermore, the importance of brand recognition may become even greater as competitors offer more products similar to ours.

We have relatively low brand awareness among consumers when compared to other beauty brands and maintaining and enhancing the recognition and reputation of our brands is critical to our business and future growth. Many factors, some of which are beyond our control, are important to maintaining our reputation and brands. These factors include our ability to comply with ethical, social, product, labor and environmental standards. Any actual or perceived failure in compliance with such standards could damage our reputation and brands.

The growth of our brands depends largely on our ability to provide a high-quality consumer experience, which in turn depends on our ability to bring innovative products to the market at competitive prices that respond to consumer demands and preferences. Additional factors affecting our consumer experience include our ability to provide appealing store sets in retail stores, the maintenance and stocking of those sets by our retail customers, the overall shopping experience provided by our retail customers, a reliable and user-friendly website interface and mobile applications for our consumers to browse and purchase products on our e-commerce websites and mobile applications. If we are unable to preserve our reputation, enhance our brand recognition or increase positive awareness of our products and in-store and Internet platforms, it may be difficult for us to maintain and grow our consumer base, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

The success of our brands may also suffer if our marketing plans or product initiatives do not have the desired impact on our brands' image or our ability to attract consumers. Further, our brand value could diminish significantly due to a number of factors, including consumer perception that we have acted in an irresponsible manner, adverse publicity about our products, our failure to maintain the quality of our products, product contamination, the failure of our products to deliver consistently positive consumer experiences, or the products becoming unavailable to consumers.

Any loss of confidence on the part of consumers in the ingredients used in our products, whether related to product contamination or product safety or quality failures, actual or perceived, or inclusion of prohibited ingredients, could tarnish the image of our brands and could cause consumers to choose other products. Allegations of contamination or other adverse effects on product safety or suitability for use by a particular consumer, even if untrue, may require us to expend significant time and resources responding to such allegations and could, from time to time, result in a recall of a product from any or all of the markets in which the affected product was distributed. Any such issues or recalls could negatively affect our profitability and image of our brands.

If our products are found to be, or perceived to be, defective or unsafe, or if they otherwise fail to meet our consumers’ expectations, our relationships with consumers could suffer, the appeal of our brands could be diminished, we may need to recall some of our products and/or become subject to regulatory action, and we could lose sales or market share or become subject to boycotts or liability claims. In addition, safety or other defects in our competitors’ products could reduce consumer demand for our own products if consumers view them to be similar. Any of these outcomes could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks factors related to our growth and profitability

Our future growth, profitability and cash flows depend upon our ability to successfully implement our business strategy, which, in turn, is dependent upon a number of key initiatives, including our ability to:

There can be no assurance that we can successfully achieve any or all of the above initiatives in the manner or time period that we expect. Further, achieving these objectives will require investments which may result in short-term cost increases with net sales materializing on a longer-term horizon and therefore may be dilutive to our earnings. We cannot provide any assurance that we will realize, in full or in part, the anticipated benefits we expect our strategy will achieve. The failure to realize those benefits could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our historical growth should not be considered as indicative of our future performance. We may not be successful in executing our growth strategy, and even if we achieve our strategic plan, we may not be able to sustain profitability. In future periods, our revenue could decline, or grow more slowly than we expect. We also may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including the following risks and the other risks described in this report, and we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors:

Growing our business will place a strain on our management team, financial and information systems, supply chain and distribution capacity and other resources. To manage growth effectively, we must continue to enhance our operational, financial and management systems, including our warehouse management and inventory control; maintain and improve our internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures; maintain and improve our information technology systems and procedures; and expand, train and manage our employee base.

We may not be able to effectively manage this expansion in any one or more of these areas, and any failure to do so could significantly harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Growing our business may make it difficult for us to adequately predict the expenditures we will need to make in the future. If we do not make the necessary overhead expenditures to accommodate our future growth, we may not be successful in executing our growth strategy, and our results of operations would suffer.

We frequently review acquisition and strategic investment opportunities that would expand our current product offerings, our distribution channels, increase the size and geographic scope of our operations or otherwise offer growth and operating efficiency opportunities. There can be no assurance that we will be able to identify suitable candidates or consummate these transactions on favorable terms. The process of integrating an acquired business, product or technology can create unforeseen operating difficulties, expenditures and other challenges such as:

If we are unable to address these difficulties and challenges or other problems encountered in connection with any acquisition or investment, we might not realize the anticipated benefits of that acquisition or investment, and we might incur unanticipated liabilities or otherwise suffer harm to our business generally.

To the extent that we pay the consideration for any acquisitions or investments in cash, it would reduce the amount of cash available to us for other purposes. Acquisitions or investments could also result in dilutive issuances of our equity securities or the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses, increased interest expenses or impairment charges against goodwill on our consolidated balance sheet, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risk factors related to our business operations

As a company engaged in distribution on a global scale, our operations, including those of our third-party manufacturers, suppliers, brokers and delivery service providers, are subject to the risks inherent in such activities, including industrial accidents, environmental events, strikes and other labor disputes, disruptions or delays in shipments, disruptions in information systems, product quality control, safety, licensing requirements and other regulatory issues, as well as natural disasters, pandemics (such as the coronavirus pandemic), border disputes, international conflict, acts of terrorism and other external factors over which we and our third-party manufacturers, suppliers, brokers and delivery service providers have no control. The loss of, or damage to, the manufacturing facilities or distribution centers of our third-party manufacturers, suppliers, brokers and delivery service providers could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to meet the needs of our consumers and retail customers depends on the proper operation of our distribution facilities, where most of our inventory that is not in transit is housed. Although we currently insure our inventory, our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover the full extent of any loss or damage to our inventory or distribution facilities, and any loss, damage or disruption of the facilities, or loss or damage of the inventory stored there, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We use multiple third-party suppliers and manufacturers, primarily based in China, to source and manufacture substantially all of our products. We engage our third-party suppliers and manufacturers on a purchase order basis and are not party to long-term contracts with any of them. The ability of these third parties to supply and manufacture our products may be affected by competing orders placed by other persons and the demands of those persons. Further, we are subject to risks associated with disruptions or delays in shipments whether due to port congestion, container shortages, labor disputes, product regulations and/or inspections or other factors, natural disasters or health pandemics, or other transportation disruptions. If we experience significant increases in demand or need to replace a significant number of existing suppliers or manufacturers, there can be no assurance that additional supply and manufacturing capacity will be available when required on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all, or that any supplier or manufacturer will allocate sufficient capacity to us in order to meet our requirements.

In addition, quality control problems, such as the use of ingredients and delivery of products that do not meet our quality control standards and specifications or comply with applicable laws or regulations could harm our business. These quality control problems could result in regulatory action, such as restrictions on importation, products of inferior quality or product stock outages or shortages, harming our sales and creating inventory write-downs for unusable products.

We have also outsourced significant portions of our distribution process, as well as certain technology-related functions, to third-party service providers. Specifically, we rely on third-party distributors to sell our products in a number of foreign countries, our warehouses and distribution facilities are managed and staffed by third-party service providers, we are dependent on a single third-party vendor for credit card processing and we utilize a third-party hosting and networking provider to host our e-commerce websites and mobile applications. The failure of one or more of these entities to provide the expected services on a timely basis, or at all, or at the prices we expect, or the costs and disruption incurred in changing these outsourced functions to being performed under our management and direct control or that of a third-party, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We are not party to long-term contracts with some of our distributors, and upon expiration of these existing agreements, we may not be able to renegotiate the terms on a commercially reasonable basis, or at all.

Further, our third-party manufacturers, suppliers and distributors may:

The occurrence of any of these events, alone or together, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, such problems may require us to find new third-party suppliers, manufacturers or distributors, and there can be no assurance that we would be successful in finding third-party suppliers, manufacturers or distributors meeting our standards of innovation and quality.

The management and oversight of the engagement and activities of our third-party suppliers, manufacturers and distributors requires substantial time, effort and expense of our employees, and we may be unable to successfully manage and oversee the activities of our third-party manufacturers, suppliers and distributors. If we experience any supply chain disruptions caused by our manufacturing process or by our inability to locate suitable third-party manufacturers or suppliers, or if our manufacturers or raw material suppliers experience problems with product quality or disruptions or delays in the manufacturing process or delivery of the finished products or the raw materials or components used to make such products, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Our business requires us to manage a large volume of inventory effectively. We depend on our forecasts of demand for, and popularity of, various products to make purchase decisions and to manage our inventory of stock-keeping units. Demand for products, however, can change significantly between the time inventory or components are ordered and the date of sale. Demand may be affected by seasonality, new product launches, rapid changes in product cycles and pricing, product defects, promotions, changes in consumer spending patterns, changes in consumer tastes with respect to our products and other factors, and our consumers may not purchase products in the quantities that we expect. It may be difficult to accurately forecast demand and determine appropriate levels of product or components. We generally do not have the right to return unsold products to our suppliers. If we fail to manage our inventory effectively or negotiate favorable credit terms with third-party suppliers, we may be subject to a heightened risk of inventory obsolescence, a decline in inventory values, and significant inventory write-downs or write-offs. In addition, if we are required to lower sale prices in order to reduce inventory level or to pay higher prices to our suppliers, our profit margins might be negatively affected. Any of the above may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. See also “—Our quarterly results of operations fluctuate due to seasonality, order patterns from key retail customers and other factors, and we may not have sufficient liquidity to meet our seasonal working capital requirements.”

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and continues to impact to the United States and other countries. Related government and private sector responsive actions, as well as changes in consumer shopping behaviors, have adversely affected, and will continue to adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

While our suppliers and distribution centers currently remain open, there is risk that any of these facilities may become less productive or encounter disruptions due to employees at the facilities becoming infected with the COVID-19 pandemic and/or may no longer be allowed to operate based on directives from public health officials or government authorities in the United States, China or other jurisdictions.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 60% of our personnel based in the United States are working under our hybrid model of three days in the office and two days remote. It is possible with nearly 40% of our personnel working remotely full time and the remainder of our personnel working remotely two days a week that the execution of our business plans and operations could be negatively impacted. If a natural disaster, power outage, connectivity issue, or other event occurs that impacts our employees’ ability to work remotely, it may be difficult or, in certain cases, impossible, for us to continue our business for a substantial period of time. The increase in remote working may also result in consumer privacy, IT security and fraud concerns as well as increase our exposure to potential wage and hour issues.

COVID-19 vaccines are now broadly distributed and administered, and starting October 1, 2021 we required all U.S. employees to be fully vaccinated and have the same requirement for any vendor and contractors who engage in meetings or business activities in any of our offices. Our vaccine mandate may cause us to have difficulty retaining current employees and recruiting new employees, both of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, we continue to evaluate and refine our work from home policy. Any changes to our remote work policy could also cause us to have difficulty retaining current employees and recruiting new employees, both of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The uncertainty around the duration of business disruptions and the extent of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and to other areas of the world will likely continue to adversely impact the national or global economy and negatively impact consumer spending and shopping behaviors. Any of these outcomes could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information that may emerge concerning the variants of SARS-CoV-2 and the actions taken to contain it or treat its impact, including vaccination effectiveness and rates.

Risk factors related to our financial condition

As of March 31, 2022, we had a total of $97.7 million of indebtedness, consisting of amounts outstanding under our credit facilities and finance lease obligations, and a total availability of $100.0 million under our Amended Revolving Credit Facility (as defined in Part II, Item 7 “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” under the heading “Description of indebtedness”). Our indebtedness could have significant consequences, including:

We may require additional cash resources due to changed business conditions or other future developments, including any marketing initiatives, investments or acquisitions we may decide to pursue. To the extent we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow, we may be forced to cancel, reduce or delay these activities. Alternatively, if our sources of funding are insufficient to satisfy our cash requirements, we may seek to obtain an additional credit facility or sell equity or debt securities. The sale of equity securities would result in dilution of our existing stockholders. The incurrence of additional indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and operating and financing covenants that could restrict our operations.

Our ability to generate cash to meet our operating needs, expenditures and debt service obligations will depend on our future performance and financial condition, which will be affected by financial, business, economic, legislative, regulatory and other factors, including potential changes in costs, pricing, the success of product innovation and marketing, competitive pressure and consumer preferences. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations and other cash needs, we could face substantial liquidity problems and could be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures or to dispose of material assets or operations, seek additional debt or equity capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. Our credit facilities may restrict our ability to take these actions, and we may not be able to affect any such alternative measures on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, the lenders under the Amended Credit Agreement (as defined in Part II, Item 7 “Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations” under the heading “Description of indebtedness”) can terminate their commitments to loan money under the Amended Revolving Credit Facility, and our lenders under the Amended Credit Agreement can declare all outstanding principal and interest to be due and payable and foreclose against the assets securing their borrowings, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

Furthermore, it is uncertain whether financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in law and policy relating to taxes, including changes in administrative interpretations and legal precedence, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, as we continue to expand our business internationally, the application and implementation of existing, new or future international laws, including the introduction of non-traditional indirect taxes (such as the Plastic Packaging Tax enacted by the United Kingdom), could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Exchange rate fluctuations may affect the costs that we incur in our operations. The main currencies to which we are exposed are Euro, British pound, Chinese Renminbi (RMB) and Canadian dollar. The exchange rates between these currencies and the U.S. dollar in recent years have fluctuated significantly and may continue to do so in the future. A depreciation of these currencies against the U.S. dollar will decrease the U.S. dollar equivalent of the amounts derived from foreign operations reported in our consolidated financial statements, and an appreciation of these currencies will result in a corresponding increase in such amounts. The cost of certain items, such as raw materials, manufacturing, employee salaries and transportation and freight, required by our operations may be affected by changes in the value of the relevant currencies. To the extent that we are required to pay for goods or services in foreign currencies, the appreciation of such currencies against the U.S. dollar will tend to negatively affect our business. There can be no assurance that foreign currency fluctuations will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risk factors related to our retail customers, consumers and the seasonality of our business

A limited number of our retail customers account for a large percentage of our net sales. We expect a small number of retailers will, in the aggregate, continue to account for the majority of our net sales for foreseeable future periods. Any changes in the policies or our ability to meet the demands of our retail customers relating to service levels, inventory de-stocking, pricing and promotional strategies or limitations on access to display space could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As is typical in our industry, our business with retailers is based primarily upon discrete sales orders, and we do not have contracts requiring retailers to make firm purchases from us. Accordingly, retailers could reduce their purchasing levels or cease buying products from us at any time and for any reason. If we lose a significant retail customer or if sales of our products to a significant retailer materially decrease, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Because a high percentage of our sales are made through our retail customers, our results are subject to risks relating to the general business performance of our key retail customers. Factors that adversely affect our retail customers’ businesses may also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. These factors may include:

Our results of operations are subject to seasonal fluctuations, with net sales in the third and fourth fiscal quarters typically being higher than in the first and second fiscal quarters. The higher net sales in our third and fourth fiscal quarters are largely attributable to the increased levels of purchasing by retailers for the holiday season and customer shelf reset activity, respectively. Adverse events that occur during either the third or fourth fiscal quarter could have a disproportionate effect on our results of operations for the entire fiscal year. To support anticipated higher sales during the third and fourth fiscal quarters, we make investments in working capital to ensure inventory levels can support demand. Fluctuations throughout the year are also driven by the timing of product restocking or rearrangement by our major customers as well as our expansion into new customers. Because a limited number of our retail customers account for a large percentage of our net sales, a change in the order pattern of one or more of our large retail customers could cause a significant fluctuation of our quarterly results or reduce our liquidity.

Furthermore, product orders from our large retail customers may vary over time due to changes in their inventory or out-of-stock policies. If we were to experience a significant shortfall in sales or profitability, we may not have sufficient liquidity to fund our business. As a result of quarterly fluctuations caused by these and other factors, comparisons of our operating results across different fiscal quarters may not be accurate indicators of our future performance. Any quarterly fluctuations that we report in the future may differ from the expectations of market analysts and investors, which could cause the price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly.

Risk factors related to information technology and cybersecurity

We rely on information technology networks and systems to market and sell our products, to process electronic and financial information, to manage a variety of business processes and activities and to comply with regulatory, legal and tax requirements. We are increasingly dependent on a variety of information systems to effectively process retail customer orders and fulfill consumer orders from our e-commerce business. We depend on our information technology infrastructure for digital marketing activities and for electronic communications among our personnel, retail customers, consumers, manufacturers and suppliers around the world. These information technology systems, some of which are managed by third parties, may be susceptible to damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to failures during the process of upgrading or replacing software, databases or components, power outages, hardware failures, computer viruses, attacks by computer hackers, telecommunication failures, user errors or catastrophic events. Any material disruption of our systems, or the systems of our

third-party service providers, could disrupt our ability to track, record and analyze the products that we sell and could negatively impact our operations, shipment of goods, ability to process financial information and transactions and our ability to receive and process retail customer and e-commerce orders or engage in normal business activities. If our information technology systems suffer damage, disruption or shutdown, we may incur substantial cost in repairing or replacing these systems, and if we do not effectively resolve the issues in a timely manner, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected, and we could experience delays in reporting our financial results.

Our e-commerce operations are important to our business. Our e-commerce websites and mobile applications serve as an extension of our marketing strategies by introducing potential new consumers to our brand, product offerings and enhanced content. Due to the importance of our e-commerce operations, we are vulnerable to website downtime and other technical failures. Our failure to successfully respond to these risks in a timely manner could reduce e-commerce sales and damage our brands' reputation.

To remain competitive, we must continue to enhance and improve the responsiveness, functionality and features of our information technology, including our e-commerce websites and mobile applications. Our competitors are continually innovating and introducing new products to increase their consumer base and enhance user experience. As a result, in order to attract and retain consumers and compete against our competitors, we must continue to invest resources to enhance our information technology and improve our existing products and services for our consumers. The Internet and the online retail industry are characterized by rapid technological evolution, changes in consumer requirements and preferences, frequent introductions of new products and services embodying new technologies and the emergence of new industry standards and practices, any of which could render our existing technologies and systems obsolete. Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to identify, develop, acquire or license leading technologies useful in our business, and respond to technological advances and emerging industry standards and practices in a cost-effective and timely way. The development of our e-commerce websites, mobile applications and other proprietary technology entails significant technical and business risks. There can be no assurance that we will be able to properly implement or use new technologies effectively or adapt our e-commerce websites, mobile applications and systems to meet consumer requirements or emerging industry standards. If we are unable to adapt in a cost-effective and timely manner in response to changing market conditions or consumer requirements, whether for technical, legal, financial or other reasons, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

We collect, maintain, transmit and store data about our consumers, suppliers and others, including personal data, financial information, including consumer payment information, as well as other confidential and proprietary information important to our business. We also employ third-party service providers that collect, store, process and transmit personal data, and confidential, proprietary and financial information on our behalf.

We have in place technical and organizational measures to maintain the security and safety of critical proprietary, personal, employee, customer and financial data which we continue to maintain and upgrade to industry standards. However, advances in technology, the pernicious ingenuity of criminals, new exposures via cryptography, acts or omissions by our employees, contractors or service providers or other events or developments could result in a compromise or breach in the security of confidential or personal data. We and our service providers may not be able to prevent third parties, including criminals, competitors or others, from breaking into or altering our systems, disrupting business operations or communications infrastructure through denial-of-service attacks, attempting to gain access to our systems, information or monetary funds through phishing or social engineering campaigns, installing viruses or malicious software on our e-commerce websites or mobile applications or devices used by our employees or contractors, or carrying out other activity intended to disrupt our systems or gain access to confidential or sensitive information in our or our service providers’ systems. We are not aware of any breach or compromise of the personal data of consumers, but we have been subject to attacks (e.g. phishing, denial of service) in the past and cannot guarantee that our security measures will be sufficient to prevent a material breach or compromise in the future.

Furthermore, such third parties may engage in various other illegal activities using such information, including credit card fraud or identity theft, which may cause additional harm to us, our consumers and our brands. We also may be vulnerable to error or malfeasance by our own employees or other insiders. Third parties may attempt to fraudulently induce our or our service providers’ employees to misdirect funds or to disclose information in order to gain access to personal data we maintain about our consumers or website users. In addition, we have limited control or influence over the security policies or measures adopted by third-party providers of online payment services through which some of our consumers may elect to make payment for purchases at our e-commerce websites and mobile applications. Contracted third-party delivery service providers may also violate their confidentiality or data processing obligations and disclose or use information about our consumers inadvertently or illegally.

If a material security breach were to occur, our reputation and brands could be damaged, and we could be required to expend significant capital and other resources to alleviate problems caused by such breaches including exposure of litigation or regulatory action and a risk of loss and possible liability. Actual or anticipated attacks may cause us to incur increasing costs, including costs to deploy additional personnel and protection technologies, train employees and engage third-party experts and consultants. In addition, any party who is able to illicitly obtain a subscriber’s password could access the subscriber’s financial, transaction or personal information. Any compromise or breach of our security measures, or those of our third-party service providers, may violate applicable privacy, data security, financial, cyber and other laws and cause significant legal and financial exposure, adverse publicity, and a loss of confidence in our security measures, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may be subject to post-breach review of the adequacy of our privacy and security controls by regulators and other third parties, which could result in post-breach regulatory investigation, fines and consumer litigation as well as regulatory oversight, at significant expense and risking reputational harm.

Furthermore, we are subject to diverse laws and regulations in the United States, the European Union, and other international jurisdictions that require notification to affected individuals in the event of a breach involving personal information. These required notifications can be time-consuming and costly. Furthermore, failure to comply with these laws and regulations could subject us to regulatory scrutiny and additional liability. Although we maintain relevant insurance, we cannot be certain that our insurance coverage will be adequate for all breach related liabilities, that insurance will continue to be available to us on economically reasonable terms, or at all, or that the insurer will not deny coverage as to any future claim. The successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceed available insurance coverage, or the occurrence of changes in our insurance policies, including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements, could adversely affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations. We may need to devote significant resources to protect against security breaches or to address problems caused by breaches, diverting resources from the growth and expansion of our business.

We accept payments from our consumers using a variety of methods, including online payments with credit cards and debit cards issued by major banks, payments made with gift cards processed by third-party providers and payment through third-party online payment platforms such as PayPal, Afterpay and Apple Pay. We also rely on third parties to provide payment processing services. For certain payment methods, including credit and debit cards, we pay interchange and other fees, which may increase over time and raise our operating costs and lower our profit margins. We may also be subject to fraud and other illegal activities in connection with the various payment methods we offer, including online payment options and gift cards. Transactions on our e-commerce websites and mobile applications are card-not-present transactions, so they present a greater risk of fraud. Criminals are using increasingly sophisticated methods to engage in illegal activities such as unauthorized use of credit or debit cards and bank account information. Requirements relating to consumer authentication and fraud detection with respect to online sales are complex. We may ultimately be held liable for the unauthorized use of a cardholder’s card number in an illegal activity and be required by card issuers to pay charge-back fees. Charge-backs result not only in our loss of fees earned with respect to the payment, but also leave us liable for the underlying money transfer amount. If our charge-back rate becomes excessive, card associations also may require us to pay fines or refuse to process our transactions. In addition, we may be subject to additional fraud risk if third-party service providers or our employees fraudulently use consumer information for their own gain or facilitate the fraudulent use of such information. Overall, we may have little recourse if we process a criminally fraudulent transaction.

We are subject to payment card association operating rules, certification requirements and various rules, regulations and requirements governing electronic funds transfers, which could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. As our business changes, we may also be subject to different rules under existing standards, which may require new assessments that involve costs above what we currently pay for compliance. If we fail to comply with the rules or requirements of any provider of a payment method we accept, or if the volume of fraud in our transactions limits or terminates our rights to use payment methods we currently accept, or if a data breach occurs relating to our payment systems, among other things, we may be subject to fines and higher transaction fees and lose our ability to accept credit and debit card payments from our consumers, process electronic funds transfers or facilitate other types of online payments, and our reputation and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Risk factors related to conducting business internationally

Operating in China exposes us to political, legal and economic risks. In particular, the political, legal and economic climate in China, both nationally and regionally, is fluid and unpredictable. Our ability to operate in China may be adversely affected by changes in the United States and Chinese laws and regulations such as those related to, among other things, taxation, import and export tariffs, environmental regulations, land use rights, intellectual property, currency controls, network security, employee benefits, hygiene supervision and other matters. For example, the U.S. Congress recently passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in an effort to prevent what it views as forced labor and human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). If it is determined that our third-party suppliers and manufacturers mine, produce or manufacture our products wholly or in part from the XUAR, then we could be prohibited from importing such products into the U.S. In addition, we may not obtain or retain the requisite legal permits to continue to operate in China, and costs or operational limitations may be imposed in connection with obtaining and complying with such permits. In addition, Chinese trade regulations are in a state of flux, and we may become subject to other forms of taxation, tariffs and duties in China. Furthermore, the third parties we rely on in China may disclose our confidential information or intellectual property to competitors or third parties, which could result in the illegal distribution and sale of counterfeit versions of our products. If

any of these events occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Consumer spending on beauty products is influenced by general economic conditions and the availability of discretionary income. Adverse economic conditions in the United States, Europe, China or any of the other countries in which we do significant business, or periods of inflation or high energy prices may contribute to higher unemployment levels, decreased consumer spending, reduced credit availability and declining consumer confidence and demand, each of which poses a risk to our business. A decrease in consumer spending or in retailer and consumer confidence and demand for our products could have a significant negative impact on our net sales and profitability, including our operating margins and return on invested capital. These economic conditions could cause some of our retail customers or suppliers to experience cash flow or credit problems and impair their financial condition, which could disrupt our business and adversely affect product orders, payment patterns and default rates and increase our bad debt expense.

We sell some of our products to customers located outside the United States. In addition, substantially all of our third-party suppliers and manufacturers are located in China and certain other foreign countries. We intend to continue to sell to customers outside the United States and maintain our relationships in China and other foreign countries where have suppliers and manufacturers. Further, we may establish additional relationships in other countries to grow our operations. The substantial up-front investment required, the lack of consumer awareness of our products in jurisdictions outside of the United States, differences in consumer preferences and trends between the United States and other jurisdictions, the risk of inadequate intellectual property protections and differences in packaging, labeling and related laws, rules and regulations are all substantial matters that need to be evaluated prior to doing business in new territories. We cannot be assured that our international efforts will be successful. International sales and increased international operations may be subject to risks such as:

The occurrence of any of these risks could negatively affect our international business and consequently our overall business, financial condition and results of operations.

On February 24, 2022, Russian military forces launched a military action in Ukraine, and sustained conflict and disruption in the region is likely. Although the length, impact and outcome of the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine is highly unpredictable, this conflict could lead to significant market and other disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices and supply of energy resources, instability in financial markets, supply chain interruptions, political and social instability, changes in consumer or purchaser preferences as well as increase in cyberattacks and espionage.

Russia’s recognition of two separatist republics in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine and subsequent military action against Ukraine have led to an unprecedented expansion of sanction programs imposed by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, Japan and other countries against Russia, Belarus, the Crimea Region of Ukraine, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, including, among others:

In retaliation against new international sanctions and as part of measures to stabilize and support the volatile Russian financial and currency markets, Russian authorities imposed significant currency control measures aimed at restricting the outflow of foreign currency and capital from Russia, imposed various restrictions on transacting with non-Russian parties, banned exports of various products and other economic and financial restrictions. The situation is rapidly evolving as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, and the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and other countries may implement additional sanctions, export controls or other measures against Russia, Belarus and other countries, regions, officials, individuals or industries in the respective territories. Such sanctions and other measures, as well as the existing and potential further responses from Russia or other countries to such sanctions, tensions and military actions, could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are actively monitoring the situation in Ukraine and assessing its impact on our business, including our business partners and customers. We do not sell our products in Russia and to date we have not experienced any material interruptions in our infrastructure, supplies, technology systems or networks needed to support our operations. We have no way to predict the progress or outcome of the conflict in Ukraine or its impacts in Ukraine, Russia or Belarus as the conflict, and any resulting government reactions, are rapidly developing and beyond our control. The extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions could be significant and could potentially have substantial impact on the global economy and our business for an unknown period of time. Any of the above mentioned factors could affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risk factors related to evolving laws and regulations and compliance with laws and regulations

There has been an increase in regulatory activity and activism in the United States and abroad, and the regulatory landscape is becoming more complex with increasingly strict requirements. If this trend continues, we may find it necessary to alter some

of the ways we have traditionally manufactured and marketed our products in order to stay in compliance with a changing regulatory landscape, and this could add to the costs of our operations and have an adverse impact on our business. To the extent federal, state, local or foreign regulatory changes regarding consumer protection, or the ingredients, claims or safety of our products occur in the future, they could require us to reformulate or discontinue certain of our products, revise the product packaging or labeling, or adjust operations and systems, any of which could result in, among other things, increased costs, delays in product launches, product returns or recalls and lower net sales, and therefore could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Noncompliance with applicable regulations could result in enforcement action by the FDA or other regulatory authorities within or outside the United States, including but not limited to product seizures, injunctions, product recalls and criminal or civil monetary penalties, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In the United States, with the exception of color additives, the FDA does not currently require pre-market approval for products intended to be sold as cosmetics. However, the FDA may in the future require pre-market approval, clearance or registration/notification of cosmetic products, establishments or manufacturing facilities. Moreover, such products could also be regulated as both drugs and cosmetics simultaneously, as the categories are not mutually exclusive. The statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to drugs are extensive and require significant resources and time to ensure compliance. For example, if any of our products intended to be sold as cosmetics were to be regulated as drugs, we might be required to conduct, among other things, clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of these products. We may not have sufficient resources to conduct any required clinical trials or to ensure compliance with the manufacturing requirements applicable to drugs. If the FDA determines that any of our products intended to be sold as cosmetics should be classified and regulated as drug products and we are unable to comply with applicable drug requirements, we may be unable to continue to market those products. Any inquiry into the regulatory status of our cosmetics and any related interruption in the marketing and sale of these products could damage our reputation and image in the marketplace.

In recent years, the FDA has issued warning letters to several cosmetic companies alleging improper claims regarding their cosmetic products. If the FDA determines that we have disseminated inappropriate drug claims for our products intended to be sold as cosmetics, we could receive a warning or untitled letter, be required to modify our product claims or take other actions to satisfy the FDA. In addition, plaintiffs’ lawyers have filed class action lawsuits against cosmetic companies after receipt of these types of FDA warning letters. There can be no assurance that we will not be subject to state and federal government actions or class action lawsuits, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Additional state and federal requirements may be imposed on consumer products as well as cosmetics, cosmetic ingredients, or the labeling and packaging of products intended for use as cosmetics. For example, in recent years, certain lawmakers have proposed giving the FDA additional authority to regulate cosmetics and their ingredients. This increased authority could require the FDA to impose increased testing and manufacturing requirements on cosmetic manufacturers or cosmetics or their ingredients before they may be marketed. We are unable to ascertain what, if any, impact any increased statutory or regulatory requirements may have on our business.

We sell a number of products as over-the-counter (“OTC”) drug products, which are subject to the FDA OTC drug regulatory requirements because they are intended to be used as sunscreen or to treat acne. The FDA regulates the formulation, manufacturing, packaging and labeling of OTC drug products. Our sunscreen and acne drug products are regulated pursuant to FDA OTC drug monographs that specify acceptable active drug ingredients and acceptable product claims that are generally recognized as safe and effective for particular uses. If any of these products that are marketed as OTC drugs are not in compliance with the applicable FDA monograph, we may be required to reformulate the product, stop making claims relating to such product or stop selling the product until we are able to obtain costly and time-consuming FDA approvals. We are also required to submit adverse event reports to the FDA for our OTC drug products, and failure to comply with this requirement may subject us to FDA regulatory action.

We also sell a number of consumer products, which are subject to regulation by the CPSC in the United States under the provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Act, as amended by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. These statutes and the related regulations ban from the market consumer products that fail to comply with applicable product safety laws, regulations and standards. The CPSC has the authority to require the recall, repair, replacement or refund of any such banned products or products that otherwise create a substantial risk of injury and may seek penalties for regulatory noncompliance under certain circumstances. The CPSC also requires manufacturers of consumer products to report certain types of information to the CPSC regarding products that fail to comply with applicable regulations. Certain state laws also address the safety of consumer products, and mandate reporting requirements, and noncompliance may result in penalties or other regulatory action.

Our products are also subject to state laws and regulations, such as the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, also known as “Prop 65,” and failure to comply with such laws may also result in lawsuits and regulatory enforcement that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our facilities and those of our third-party manufacturers are subject to regulation under the FDCA and FDA implementing regulations. The FDA may inspect all of our facilities and those of our third-party manufacturers periodically to determine if we and our third-party manufacturers are complying with provisions of the FDCA and FDA regulations. In addition, third-party manufacturer’s facilities for manufacturing OTC drug products must comply with the FDA’s current good manufacturing practices (“cGMP”) requirements for drug products that require us and our manufacturers to maintain, among other things, good manufacturing processes, including stringent vendor qualifications, ingredient identification, manufacturing controls and record keeping.

Our operations could be harmed if regulatory authorities make determinations that we, or our vendors, are not in compliance with these regulations. If the FDA finds a violation of cGMPs, it may enjoin our manufacturer’s operations, seize product, restrict importation of goods, and impose administrative, civil or criminal penalties. If we or our third-party manufacturers fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, we could be required to take costly corrective actions, including suspending manufacturing operations, changing product formulations, suspending sales, or initiating product recalls. In addition, compliance with these regulations has increased and may further increase the cost of manufacturing certain of our products as we work with our vendors to ensure they are qualified and in compliance. Any of these outcomes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Government authorities regulate advertising and product claims regarding the performance and benefits of our products. These regulatory authorities typically require a reasonable basis to support any marketing claims. What constitutes a reasonable basis for substantiation can vary widely from market to market, and there is no assurance that the efforts that we undertake to support our claims will be deemed adequate for any particular product or claim. A significant area of risk for such activities relates to improper or unsubstantiated claims about our products and their use or safety. If we are unable to show adequate substantiation for our product claims, or our promotional materials make claims that exceed the scope of allowed claims for the classification of the specific product, whether cosmetics, OTC drug products or other consumer products that we offer, the FDA, the FTC or other regulatory authorities could take enforcement action or impose penalties, such as monetary consumer redress, requiring us to revise our marketing materials, amend our claims or stop selling certain products, all of which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Any regulatory action or penalty could lead to private party actions, or private parties could seek to challenge our claims even in the absence of formal regulatory actions which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”) requires new disclosures to California consumers, imposes new rules for collecting or using information about minors, affords California consumers new abilities to opt out of certain disclosures of personal information and also establishes significant penalties for noncompliance. Additionally, in November 2020, California voters passed the California Privacy Rights Act (the “CPRA”). The CPRA, which is expected to take effect on January 1, 2023, significantly expands the CCPA, including by introducing additional obligations such as data minimization and storage limitations, granting additional rights to consumers such as correction of personal information and additional opt-out rights, and creates a new entity, the California Privacy Protection Agency, to implement and enforce the law. The effects of the CPRA are potentially significant and may require us to modify our data collection or processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and expenses in an effort to comply, and increase our potential exposure to regulatory enforcement and/or litigation.

In addition, on June 28, 2021, the European Commission adopted an adequacy decision in favor of the UK, enabling data transfers from EEA member states to the UK without additional safeguards. However, the UK adequacy decision will automatically expire in June 2025 unless the European Commission re-assesses and renews/ extends that decision, and remains under review by the Commission during this period. The relationship between the UK and the EEA in relation to certain aspects of data protection law remains unclear, and it is unclear how UK data protection laws and regulations will develop in the medium to longer term, and how data transfers to and from the UK will be regulated in the long term. These changes may lead to additional costs and increase our overall risk exposure.

Data privacy continues to remain a matter of interest to lawmakers and regulators. A number of proposals are pending before federal, state and foreign legislative and regulatory bodies and additional laws and regulations have been passed but are not yet effective, all of which could significantly affect our business. Some U.S. states have enacted or are considering enacting stricter data privacy laws, some modeled on the GDPR, some modeled on the CCPA, and others potentially imposing completely distinct requirements. For example, on March 2, 2021, Virginia enacted the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (“CDPA”), a comprehensive privacy statute that shares similarities with the CCPA, CPRA, and legislation proposed in other states. Additionally, the United States is considering comprehensive federal privacy legislation, such as the Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act, which would significantly expand elements of the data protection rights and obligations existing within the GDPR and the CCPA to all U.S. consumers.

We are also subject to evolving EU and UK privacy laws on cookies, tracking technologies and e-marketing. In the EU and the UK under national laws derived from the ePrivacy Directive, informed consent is required for the placement of a cookie or similar technologies on a user’s device and for direct electronic marketing. Consent is strictly defined, and includes a prohibition on pre-checked consents and a requirement to ensure separate consents are sought for each type of cookie or similar technology. The current national laws that implement the ePrivacy Directive may be replaced across the EU (but not directly in the UK) by an EU regulation known as the ePrivacy Regulation which will significantly increase fines for non-compliance. While the text of the ePrivacy Regulation is still under development, a recent European court decision and regulators’ recent guidance are driving increased attention to cookies, web beacons and similar technology. These decisions and guidance, as well as the implementation of the ePrivacy Regulation, could affect our ability to use our consumer’s data for

personalized advertising, and alter our ability to place advertisements across social media and the web. Furthermore, the current European Union member states’ and the UK local guidance has significantly increased the risk of penalties for breach of the GDPR, the UK GDPR, and law implementing the ePrivacy Directive. If regulators start to enforce the strict approach outlined in recent guidance, this could lead to substantial costs, require significant systems changes, broader restrictions on the way we market our products on a global basis and increase our risk of regulatory oversight our ability to reach our consumers, and our capability to provide our consumers with personalized services and experiences.

Several countries in Europe have also recently issued guidance on the use of cookies and similar tracking technologies which require an additional layer of consent from, and disclosure to, website users for third party advertising, social media advertising and analytics. Regulation of cookies and similar technologies may lead to broader restrictions on our marketing and personalization activities and may negatively impact our efforts to understand users’ Internet usage, online shopping and other relevant online behaviors, as well as the effectiveness of our marketing and our business generally. Such regulations, including uncertainties about how well the advertising technology ecosystem can adapt to legal changes around the use of tracking technologies, may have a negative effect on businesses, including ours, that collect and use online usage information for consumer acquisition and marketing. The decline of cookies or other online tracking technologies as a means to identify and target potential purchasers, may increase the cost of operating our business and lead to a decline in revenues. In addition, legal uncertainties about the legality of cookies and other tracking technologies may increase regulatory scrutiny and increase potential civil liability under data protection or consumer protection laws.

Compliance with existing, not yet effective, and proposed privacy and data protection laws and regulations can be costly and can delay or impede our ability to market and sell our products, impede our ability to conduct business through websites and mobile applications we and our partners may operate, require us to modify or amend our information practices and policies, change and limit the way we use consumer information in operating our business, cause us to have difficulty maintaining a single operating model, result in negative publicity, increase our operating costs, require significant management time and attention, or subject us to inquiries or investigations, claims or other remedies, including significant fines and penalties, or demands that we modify or cease existing business practices. In addition, if our privacy or data security measures fail to comply with applicable current or future laws and regulations, we may be subject to litigation, regulatory investigations, enforcement notices requiring us to change the way we use personal data or our marketing practices, fines or other liabilities, as well as negative publicity and a potential loss of business. We may also face civil claims including representative actions and other class action type litigation (where individuals have suffered harm), potentially amounting to significant compensation or damages liabilities, as well as associated costs, and diversion of internal resources. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We currently source and manufacture a substantial number of our products from third-party suppliers and manufacturers located outside of the United States, and we have an office in China from which we manage our international supply chain. We sell our products in several countries outside of the United States, including through distributors. Our operations are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”), as well as the anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws in the countries where we do business. The FCPA prohibits covered parties from offering, promising, authorizing or giving anything of value, directly or indirectly, to a “foreign government official” with the intent of improperly influencing the official’s act or decision, inducing the official to act or refrain from acting in violation of lawful duty, or obtaining or retaining an improper business advantage. The FCPA also requires publicly traded companies to maintain records that accurately and fairly represent their transactions, and to have an adequate system of internal accounting controls. In addition, other applicable anti-corruption laws prohibit bribery of domestic government officials, and some laws that may apply to our operations prohibit commercial bribery, including giving or receiving improper payments to or from non-government parties, as well as so-called “facilitation” payments. In addition, we are subject to United States and other applicable trade control regulations that restrict with whom we may transact business, including the trade sanctions enforced by the U.S. Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control.

While we have implemented policies, internal controls and other measures reasonably designed to promote compliance with applicable anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws and regulations, and certain safeguards designed to ensure compliance with U.S. trade control laws, our employees or agents may engage in improper conduct for which we might be held responsible. Any violations of these anti-corruption or trade controls laws, or even allegations of such violations, can lead to an investigation and/or enforcement action, which could disrupt our operations, involve significant management distraction, and lead to significant costs and expenses, including legal fees. If we, or our employees or agents acting on our behalf, are found to have engaged in practices that violate these laws and regulations, we could suffer severe fines and penalties, profit

disgorgement, injunctions on future conduct, securities litigation, bans on transacting government business, delisting from securities exchanges and other consequences that may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our brands and reputation, our sales activities or our stock price could be adversely affected if we become the subject of any negative publicity related to actual or potential violations of anti-corruption, anti-bribery or trade control laws and regulations.

We are subject to general business regulations and laws as well as regulations and laws specifically governing the Internet and e-commerce. Existing and future regulations and laws could impede the growth of the Internet, e-commerce or mobile commerce. These regulations and laws may involve taxes, tariffs, privacy and data security, anti-spam, content protection, electronic contracts and communications, consumer protection, social media marketing, third-party cookies, web beacons and similar technology for online behavioral advertising and gift cards. It is not clear how existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, sales taxes and other taxes and consumer privacy apply to the Internet as the vast majority of these laws were adopted prior to the advent of the Internet and do not contemplate or address the unique issues raised by the Internet or e-commerce. It is possible that general business regulations and laws, or those specifically governing the Internet or e-commerce, may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other rules or our practices. We cannot be sure that our practices have complied, comply or will comply fully with all such laws and regulations. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with any of these laws or regulations could result in damage to our reputation, a loss in business and proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others. Any such proceeding or action could hurt our reputation, force us to spend significant amounts in defense of these proceedings, distract our management, increase our costs of doing business and decrease the use of our sites by consumers and suppliers and may result in the imposition of monetary liability. We may also be contractually liable to indemnify and hold harmless third parties from the costs or consequences of non-compliance with any such laws or regulations. In addition, it is possible that governments of one or more countries may seek to censor content available on our sites or may even attempt to completely block access to our sites. Adverse legal or regulatory developments could substantially harm our business. In particular, in the event that we are restricted, in whole or in part, from operating in one or more countries, our ability to retain or increase our consumer base may be adversely affected, and we may not be able to maintain or grow our net sales and expand our business as anticipated.

Risk factors related to legal and regulatory proceedings

We are, and may in the future become, party to litigation, regulatory proceedings or other disputes. In general, claims made by or against us in disputes and other legal or regulatory proceedings can be expensive and time consuming to bring or defend against, requiring us to expend significant resources and divert the efforts and attention of our management and other personnel from our business operations. These potential claims include, but are not limited to, personal injury claims, class action lawsuits, intellectual property claims, employment litigation and regulatory investigations and causes of action relating to the advertising and promotional claims about our products. Any adverse determination against us in these proceedings, or even the allegations contained in the claims, regardless of whether they are ultimately found to be without merit, may also result in settlements, injunctions or damages that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We sell products for human use. Our products intended for use as cosmetics or skincare are not generally subject to pre-market approval or registration processes, so we cannot rely upon a government safety panel to qualify or approve our products for use. A product may be safe for the general population when used as directed but could cause an adverse reaction for a person who has a health condition or allergies, or who is taking a prescription medication. While we include what we believe are adequate instructions and warnings and we have historically had low numbers of reported adverse reactions, previously unknown adverse reactions could occur. If we discover that any of our products are causing adverse reactions, we could suffer adverse publicity or regulatory/government sanctions.

Potential product liability risks may arise from the testing, manufacture and sale of our products, including that the products fail to meet quality or manufacturing specifications, contain contaminants, include inadequate instructions as to their proper use, include inadequate warnings concerning side effects and interactions with other substances or for persons with health conditions or allergies, or cause adverse reactions or side effects. Product liability claims could increase our costs, and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. As we continue to offer an increasing number of new products, our product liability risk may increase. It may be necessary for us to recall products that do not meet approved specifications or because of the side effects resulting from the use of our products, which would result in adverse publicity, potentially significant costs in connection with the recall and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, plaintiffs in the past have received substantial damage awards from other cosmetic and drug companies based upon claims for injuries allegedly caused by the use of their products. Although we currently maintain general liability insurance, any claims brought against us may be subject to policy exclusions or exceed our existing or future insurance policy coverage or limits. Any judgment against us that is not covered or in excess of our policy coverage or limits would have to be paid from our cash reserves, which would reduce our capital resources. In addition, we may be required to pay higher premiums and accept higher deductibles in order to secure adequate insurance coverage in the future. Further, we may not have sufficient capital resources to pay a judgment, in which case our creditors could levy against our assets. Any product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could harm our business significantly, particularly if a claim were to result in adverse publicity or damage awards outside or in excess of our insurance policy limits.

Risk factors related to intellectual property

We have limited patent protection, which limits our ability to protect our products from competition. We primarily rely on know-how to protect our products. It is possible that others will independently develop the same or similar know-how, which may allow them to sell products similar to ours. If others obtain access to our know-how, our confidentiality agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of our proprietary information, technologies and processes and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized use of such information, which could harm our competitive position.

The efforts we have taken to protect our proprietary rights may not be sufficient or effective. In addition, effective trademark, copyright, patent and trade secret protection may be unavailable or limited for certain of our intellectual property in some foreign countries. Other parties may infringe our intellectual property rights and may dilute our brands in the marketplace. We may need to engage in litigation or other activities to enforce our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets or to determine the validity and scope of proprietary rights of others. Any such activities could require us to expend significant resources and divert the efforts and attention of our management and other personnel from our business operations. If we fail to protect our intellectual property or other proprietary rights, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Our commercial success depends in part on our ability to operate without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the trademarks, patents, copyrights, trade secrets and other proprietary rights of others. We cannot be certain that the

conduct of our business does not and will not infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate such rights. From time to time we receive allegations of intellectual property infringement and third parties have filed claims against us with allegations of intellectual property infringement. In addition, third parties may involve us in intellectual property disputes as part of a business model or strategy to gain competitive advantage.

To the extent we gain greater visibility and market exposure as a public company or otherwise, we may also face a greater risk of being the subject of such claims and litigation. For these and other reasons, third parties may allege that our products or activities infringe, misappropriate, dilute or otherwise violate their trademark, patent, copyright or other proprietary rights. Defending against allegations and litigation could be expensive, occupy significant amounts of time, divert management’s attention from other business concerns and have an adverse impact on our ability to bring products to market. In addition, if we are found to infringe, misappropriate, dilute or otherwise violate third-party trademark, patent, copyright or other proprietary rights, our ability to use brands to the fullest extent we plan may be limited, we may need to obtain a license, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, or we may need to redesign or rebrand our marketing strategies or products, which may not be possible.

We may also be required to pay substantial damages or be subject to an order prohibiting us and our retail customers from importing or selling certain products or engaging in certain activities. Our inability to operate our business without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the trademarks, patents, copyrights and proprietary rights of others could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have an agreement with Alicia Keys regarding our Keys Soulcare brand, which, among other things, includes a license for her likeness and imposes various obligations on us. If we breach our obligations, our rights under the agreement could be terminated by Alicia Keys and we could, among other things, have to pay damages, lose our ability to associate the Keys Soulcare brand with her, lose our ability to sell products branded as Keys Soulcare, lose any upfront investments made in connection with the Keys Soulcare brand, and sustain reputational damage. Each of these risks could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We rely to a large extent on our online presence to reach consumers, and we offer consumers the opportunity to rate and comment on our products on our e-commerce websites and mobile applications. Negative commentary or false statements regarding us or our products may be posted on our e-commerce websites, mobile applications, or social media platforms and may be adverse to our reputation or business. Our target consumers often value readily available information and often act on such information without further investigation and without regard to its accuracy. The harm may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction. In addition, we may face claims relating to information that is published or made available through the interactive features of our e-commerce websites and mobile applications. For example, we may receive third-party complaints that the comments or other content posted by users on our platforms infringe third-party intellectual property rights or otherwise infringe the legal rights of others. While the Communications Decency Act ("CDA") and Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") generally protect online service providers from claims of copyright infringement or other legal liability for the self-directed activities of its users, if it were determined that we did not meet the relevant safe harbor requirements under either law, we could be exposed to claims related to advertising practices, defamation, intellectual property rights, rights of publicity and privacy, and personal injury torts. We could incur significant costs investigating and defending such claims and, if we are found liable, significant damages. If any of these events occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We also use third-party social media platforms as marketing tools. For example, we maintain Snapchat, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube accounts. As e-commerce and social media platforms continue to rapidly evolve, we must continue to maintain a presence on these platforms and establish presences on new or emerging popular social media platforms. If we are unable to cost-effectively use social media platforms as marketing tools, our ability to acquire new consumers and our financial condition may suffer. Furthermore, as laws and regulations rapidly evolve to govern the use of these platforms and devices, the failure by us, our employees or third parties acting at our direction to abide by applicable laws and regulations in the use of these platforms and devices could subject us to regulatory investigations, class action lawsuits, liability, fines or other penalties and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and result of operations.

In addition, an increase in the use of social media for product promotion and marketing may cause an increase in the burden on us to monitor compliance of such materials and increase the risk that such materials could contain problematic product or marketing claims in violation of applicable regulations.

Our business is highly dependent upon email and other messaging services for promoting our brands, products and e-commerce platforms. We provide emails and “push” communications to inform consumers of new products, shipping specials and other promotions. We believe these messages are an important part of our consumer experience. If we are unable to successfully deliver emails or other messages to our subscribers, or if subscribers decline to open or read our messages, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. Changes in how web and mail services block, organize and prioritize email may reduce the number of subscribers who receive or open our emails. For example, Google’s Gmail service has a feature that organizes incoming emails into categories (for example, primary, social and promotions). Such categorization or similar inbox organizational features may result in our emails being delivered in a less prominent location in a subscriber’s inbox or viewed as “spam” by our subscribers and may reduce the likelihood of that subscriber reading our emails. Actions by third parties to block, impose restrictions on or charge for the delivery of emails or other messages could also adversely impact our business. From time to time, Internet service providers or other third parties may block bulk email transmissions or otherwise experience technical difficulties that result in our inability to successfully deliver emails or other messages to consumers.

Changes in the laws or regulations that limit our ability to send such communications or impose additional requirements upon us in connection with sending such communications would also materially adversely impact our business. For example, electronic marketing and privacy requirements in the European Union and the United Kingdom are highly restrictive and differ greatly from those in the United States, which could cause fewer of individuals in the European Union or the United Kingdom to subscribe to our marketing messages and drive up our costs and risk of regulatory oversight and fines if we are found to be non-compliant.

Our use of email and other messaging services to send communications to consumers may also result in legal claims against us, which may cause us increased expenses, and if successful might result in fines and orders with costly reporting and compliance obligations or might limit or prohibit our ability to send emails or other messages. We also rely on social networking messaging services to send communications and to encourage consumers to send communications. Changes to the terms of these social networking services to limit promotional communications, any restrictions that would limit our ability or our consumers’ ability to send communications through their services, disruptions or downtime experienced by these social networking services or decline in the use of or engagement with social networking services by consumers could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

There is an increased focus from certain investors, customers, consumers, employees, and other stakeholders concerning corporate citizenship and sustainability matters. From time to time, we may announce certain initiatives, including goals, regarding our focus areas, which include environmental matters, packaging, responsible sourcing and social investments. We could fail, or be perceived to fail, in our achievement of such initiatives or goals, or we could fail in accurately reporting our progress on such initiatives and goals. In addition, we could be criticized for the scope of such initiatives or goals or perceived as not acting responsibly in connection with these matters. Any such matters, or related corporate citizenship and sustainability matters, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, a variety of organizations measure the performance of companies on environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) topics, and the results of these assessments are widely publicized. Investment in funds that specialize in companies that perform well in such assessments are increasingly popular, and major institutional investors have publicly emphasized the importance of such ESG measures to their investment decisions. Topics taken into account in such assessments include, among others, the company’s efforts and impacts on climate change and human rights, ethics and compliance with law, and the role of the company’s board of directors in supervising various sustainability issues.

We take into consideration the expected impact of ESG matters on the sustainability of our business over time and the potential impact of our business on society and the environment. However, in light of investors’ increased focus on ESG matters, and in light of increased and evolving legislation and regulation regarding ESG matters, there can be no certainty that we will manage such issues successfully, or that we will successfully meet our customers’ or society’s expectations as to our proper role. If we fail to meet the ESG values, standards and metrics that we set for ourselves, or our articulated public benefit purposes, or fail to align to regulatory or market expectations or standards regarding such matters, we may experience negative publicity and a loss of customers as a result, which will adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

While we value open dialogue and input from our stockholders, activist stockholders could take actions that could be costly and time-consuming to us, disrupt our operations, and divert the attention of our board of directors, management, and employees, such as public proposals and requests for potential nominations of candidates for election to our board of directors, requests to pursue a strategic combination or other transaction, or other special requests. As a result, we have retained, and may in the future retain additional services of various professionals to advise us in these matters, including legal, financial and communications advisers, the costs of which may negatively impact our future financial results. In addition, perceived uncertainties as to our future direction, strategy, or leadership created as a consequence of activist stockholder initiatives may result in the loss of potential business opportunities, harm our ability to attract new or retain existing investors, customers, directors, employees or other partners, and cause our stock price to experience periods of volatility or stagnation.

We have no current plans to pay cash dividends on our common stock. The declaration, amount and payment of any future dividends will be at the sole discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may take into account general and economic conditions, our financial condition and results of operations, our available cash and current and anticipated cash needs, capital requirements, contractual, legal, tax and regulatory restrictions and implications on the payment of dividends by us to our stockholders or by our subsidiaries to us, including restrictions under the Amended Credit Agreement and other indebtedness we may incur, and such other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant.

We had approximately 197.7 million shares of common stock authorized but unissued and 52,272,764 shares of common stock outstanding as of May 18, 2022. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue these shares of common stock and stock options exercisable for common stock (and other equity awards) for the consideration and on the terms and conditions established by our board of directors in its sole discretion, whether in connection with acquisitions or otherwise. Any common stock that we issue, including under our existing equity incentive plans or any additional equity incentive plans that we may adopt in the future, would dilute the percentage ownership held by existing investors.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of our company more difficult without the approval of our board of directors. Among other things:

established and the shares of which may be issued without stockholder approval, and which may include super voting, special approval, dividend or other rights or preferences superior to the rights of the holders of common stock;

Further, as a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, which may impair a takeover attempt that our stockholders may find beneficial. These anti-takeover provisions and other provisions under Delaware law could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our company, including actions that our stockholders may deem advantageous, or negatively affect the trading price of our common stock. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for other stockholders to elect directors of their choosing and to cause us to take other corporate actions they may desire.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors, without the approval of our stockholders, to issue up to 30 million shares of our preferred stock, subject to limitations prescribed by applicable law, rules and regulations and the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as shares of preferred stock in series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each such series and to fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each such series and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof. The powers, preferences and rights of these additional series of preferred stock may be senior to or on parity with our common stock, which may reduce its value.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty, any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws, or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. This provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Although our common stock is listed on the NYSE, there can be no assurances that an active trading market for our common stock will be sustained. In the absence of an active trading market for our common stock, stockholders may not be able to sell their common stock at the time or price they would like to sell.

Even if an active trading market is sustained, the market price of our common stock may be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations. Securities markets often experience significant price and volume fluctuations. This market volatility, as well as general economic, market or political conditions, could reduce the market price of shares of our common stock in spite of our operating performance. In addition, our results of operations could be below the expectations of public market analysts and investors due to a number of potential factors, including variations in our quarterly results of operations, additions or departures of key management personnel, changes in consumer preferences or beauty trends, announcements of new products or significant price reductions by our competitors, failure to meet analysts’ earnings estimates, publication of research reports about our industry, litigation and government investigations, changes or proposed changes in laws or regulations or differing interpretations or enforcement thereof affecting our business, adverse market reaction to any indebtedness we may incur or securities we may issue in the future, changes in market valuations of similar companies or speculation in the press or investment community, announcements by our competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions, dispositions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments, adverse publicity about our industry, the level of success of releases of new products and in response the market price of shares of our common stock could decrease significantly.

In addition, in May 2019, we announced that our board of directors authorized a share repurchase program allowing us to repurchase up to $25 million of our outstanding shares of common stock (“Share Repurchase Program”). Purchases under the Share Repurchase Program may be made from time to time in the open market, in privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. The timing and amount of any repurchases pursuant to the Share Repurchase Program will be determined based on market conditions, share price and other factors. The Share Repurchase Program may be suspended or discontinued at any time and there is no guarantee that any shares will be purchased under the Share Repurchase Program.

In the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against these companies. This litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.

The sale of substantial amounts of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur could harm the prevailing market price of shares of our common stock. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.

The holders of up to 3,656,711 shares of our common stock, or approximately 7% of our outstanding common stock based on shares outstanding as of May 18, 2022, are entitled to rights with respect to registration of such shares under the Securities Act pursuant to a registration rights agreement. In addition, certain family trusts of our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tarang Amin, have the right, subject to certain conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering its or their shares.

In addition, all the shares of common stock subject to stock options and restricted stock units and shares of restricted stock awards outstanding and reserved under our 2014 Equity Incentive Plan, our 2016 Equity Incentive Award Plan and our 2016 Employee Stock Purchase Plan have been registered on Form S-8 under the Securities Act and such shares, once the underlying equity award vests, will be eligible for sale in the public markets, subject to Rule 144 limitations applicable to affiliates. We intend to file one or more registration statements on Form S-8 to cover additional shares of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our common stock pursuant to automatic increases in the number

of shares reserved under our 2016 Equity Incentive Award Plan and our 2016 Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Accordingly, shares registered under these registration statements on Form S-8 will be available for sale in the open market.

The trading market for our common stock depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.

All of our properties are leased. The leases expire at various times through 2030, subject to renewal options. We consider our properties to be generally in good condition and believe that our existing facilities are adequate to support our existing operations.

In May 2019, we announced that our board of directors authorized the Share Repurchase Program, which authorizes us to repurchase up to $25 million of our outstanding shares of common stock. The Share Repurchase Plan remains in effect through the earlier of (i) the date that $25 million of our outstanding common stock has been purchased under the Share Repurchase Plan or (ii) the date that our board of directors cancels the Share Repurchase Plan.

For additional information regarding our business, see Part I, Item 1, “Business.”

Year over year changes in net sales is driven by a number of factors, including color cosmetics and skincare category performance, levels of consumer spending, and our ability to drive awareness of and demand for our products. Within our existing retailer accounts, we are able to drive growth by increasing sales per linear foot supported by marketing investments and continued innovation, as well as through expanding space and door penetration. While we have distribution with a number of key retail accounts, we expect to continue to grow through improved sales per linear foot in our existing space, expanded space allocation with our current retail accounts, as well as adding new retail customers.

We are exposed to periodic currency fluctuations given our purchasing and selling activities in various countries. Other income (expense), net is primarily related to foreign exchange rate movements.

Gross profit increased $45.5 million, or 22%, to $251.7 million in the year ended March 31, 2022, compared to $206.2 million in the year ended March 31, 2021. Gross margin decreased from 65% in the year ended March 31, 2021 to 64% in the year ended March 31, 2022. Increased volume accounted for approximately $48.0 million of the increase in gross profit, offset by a $2.5 million decline related to the decrease in gross margin rate. The decrease in gross margin rate was primarily driven by unfavorable foreign exchange rates and elevated transportation costs. These items were partially offset by price increases, cost savings and margin accretive mix.

SG&A expenses were $221.9 million in the year ended March 31, 2022, an increase of $27.8 million, or 14%, from $194.2 million in the year ended March 31, 2021. SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales decreased to 57% for the year ended March 31, 2022 from 61% in the year ended March 31, 2021. The increase on a dollar basis was primarily related to increased marketing and digital spend of $15.1 million along with increased compensation and benefits of $5.7 million and increased software subscription costs of $2.8 million.

For the year ended March 31, 2022, net cash used in financing activities was $29.1 million, driven by $54.5 million of repayment of the revolving line of credit and the term loan facility, and $25.6 million of cash received from net of proceeds from the amended revolving line of credit and the Amended term loan facility.

On April 30, 2021, we amended and restated the prior credit agreement (the "Amended Credit Agreement"), amended and restated the prior term loan facility and the prior revolving credit facility, and refinanced all loans under the prior credit agreement.

The Amended Credit Agreement has a five year term and consists of (i) a $100 million revolving credit facility (the “Amended Revolving Credit Facility”) and (ii) a $100 million term loan facility (the "Amended Term Loan Facility").

All amounts under the Amended Revolving Credit Facility are available for draw until the maturity date on April 30, 2026. The Amended Revolving Credit Facility is collateralized by substantially all of our assets and requires payment of an unused fee ranging from 0.10% to 0.30% (based on our consolidated total net leverage ratio (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement)) times the average daily amount of unutilized commitments under the Amended Revolving Credit Facility. The Amended Revolving Credit Facility also provides for sub-facilities in the form of a $7 million letter of credit and a $5 million swing line loan; however, all amounts under the Amended Revolving Credit Facility cannot exceed $100 million. The unused balance of the Amended Revolving Credit Facility as of March 31, 2022 was $100.0 million.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in the Exchange Act. Internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements prepared for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements.

Under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, our management conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based upon the framework in “Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013)” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on that evaluation, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of March 31, 2022.

There were no changes to our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended March 31, 2022 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. We have not experienced any material impact to our internal controls over financial reporting despite the fact that many of our employees are working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are continually monitoring and assessing the impact of

the COVID-19 pandemic on our internal controls to minimize the impact on the design and operating effectiveness of our controls.

The required certification of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer under Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are included as exhibits to this Annual Report (See Exhibits 31 and 32 under Part IV, Item 15. "Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules").

To the stockholders and the Board of Directors of e.l.f. Beauty, Inc.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended March 31, 2022, of the Company and our report dated May 26, 2022, expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the 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 audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process 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. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, 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 because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

San Francisco, California

May 26, 2022

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. and subsidiaries (the "Company") as of March 31, 2022 and 2021, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income, stockholders' equity, and cash flows, for the three years in the period ended March 31, 2022, 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 March 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended March 31, 2022, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

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 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. 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 matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current-period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relates 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 audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

The Company offers various incentives to customers such as sales discounts, markdown support and other incentives and allowances, which give rise to variable consideration. The amount of variable consideration is estimated at the time of sale based on either the expected amount or the most likely amount, depending on the nature of the variability. The Company regularly reviews and revises, when deemed necessary, its estimates of variable consideration based on both customer-specific expectations as well as historical rates of realization. A provision for customer incentives and allowances is included on the consolidated balance sheet, net against accounts receivable. The provision for customer incentives and allowances was $16.3 million and $11.9 million as of March 31, 2022 and March 31, 2021, respectively.

Auditing the Company’s provision for customer incentives and allowances was complex and judgmental as the provision for customer incentives and allowances is determined based on significant management estimates. Changes in these estimates

can have a material impact on revenue recognized. Additionally, given the subjectivity of estimating the provision for customer incentives and allowances, performing audit procedures to evaluate whether the provision for customer incentives and allowances is appropriately recorded required a high degree of auditor judgment.

Our audit procedures related to the Company’s provision of unclaimed customer incentives and allowances included the following, among others:

· We obtained an understanding, evaluated the design, and tested the operating effectiveness of controls over the Company’s provision of unclaimed customer incentives and allowances, including controls over management’s review of the significant assumptions, such as the historical rate of customer deductions and management’s review of the completeness and accuracy of the data used.

· We tested customer deduction data underlying the estimate to validate the nature, timing, and amount of deductions taken.

· We evaluated the Company’s historical ability to accurately estimate its provision by performing a retrospective analysis on the prior period reserve, based on current period deductions.

· We evaluated period-over-period comparisons of the Company’s provision for customer incentives and allowances and deductions claimed by customers by allowance type to identify unusual trends.

· We evaluated management’s methodologies and tested the significant assumptions used by the Company to calculate the provision for customer incentives and allowances and verified they were in agreement with the terms of underlying customer contracts.