BIG 5 SPORTING GOODS Corp - Annual Report: 2010 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 

 

Form 10-K

 

 

Commission file number: 000-49850

 

BIG 5 SPORTING GOODS CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(310) 536-0611

 

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

 

 

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

None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes o     No þ

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.  Yes o     No þ

 

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

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).  Yes o     No o

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 on Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or in any amendment to this Form 10-K.  þ

 

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

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).  Yes o     No þ

 

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $108,409,216 as of June 28, 2009 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) based upon the closing price of the registrant’s common stock on the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC reported for June 28, 2009. Shares of common stock held by each executive officer and director and by each person who, as of such date, may be deemed to have beneficially owned more than 5% of the outstanding voting stock have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates of the registrant under certain circumstances. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination of affiliate status for any other purpose.

 

The registrant had 21,567,266 shares of common stock outstanding at February 26, 2010.

 

Documents Incorporated by Reference

 

Part III of this Form 10-K incorporates by reference certain information from the registrant’s 2010 definitive proxy statement (the “Proxy Statement”) to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission no later than 120 days after the end of the registrant’s fiscal year.

 

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

This document includes certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, our financial condition, our results of operations, our growth strategy and the business of our company generally. In some cases, you can identify such statements by terminology such as “may”, “could”, “project”, “estimate”, “potential”, “continue”, “should”, “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends” or other such terminology. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, continued or worsening weakness in the consumer spending environment and the U.S. financial and credit markets, the competitive environment in the sporting goods industry in general and in our specific market areas, inflation, product availability and growth opportunities, seasonal fluctuations, weather conditions, changes in cost of goods, operating expense fluctuations, disruption in product flow, changes in interest rates, credit availability, higher costs associated with current and new sources of credit resulting from uncertainty in financial markets and economic conditions in general. Those and other risks and uncertainties are more fully described in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors, in this report. We caution that the risk factors set forth in this report are not exclusive. In addition, we conduct our business in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment. Accordingly, new risk factors may arise. It is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor to assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any individual risk factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.

PART I

 

 

General

 

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (“we”, “our”, “us” or the “Company”) is a leading sporting goods retailer in the western United States, operating 384 stores in 11 states under the “Big 5 Sporting Goods” name at January 3, 2010. We provide a full-line product offering in a traditional sporting goods store format that averages approximately 11,000 square feet. Our product mix includes athletic shoes, apparel and accessories, as well as a broad selection of outdoor and athletic equipment for team sports, fitness, camping, hunting, fishing, tennis, golf, snowboarding and in-line skating.

 

We believe that over our 55-year history we have developed a reputation with the competitive and recreational sporting goods customer as a convenient neighborhood sporting goods retailer that consistently delivers value on quality merchandise. Our stores carry a wide range of products at competitive prices from well-known brand name manufacturers, including adidas, Coleman, Easton, New Balance, Nike, Reebok, Spalding, Under Armour and Wilson. We also offer brand name merchandise produced exclusively for us, private label merchandise and specials on quality items we purchase through opportunistic buys of vendor over-stock and close-out merchandise. We reinforce our value reputation through weekly print advertising in major and local newspapers and mailers designed to generate customer traffic, drive net sales and build brand awareness.

 

Robert W. Miller co-founded our company in 1955 with the establishment of five retail locations in California. We sold World War II surplus items until 1963, when we began focusing exclusively on sporting goods and changed our trade name to “Big 5 Sporting Goods”. In 1971, we were acquired by Thrifty Corporation, which was subsequently purchased by Pacific Enterprises. In 1992, management bought our company in conjunction with Green Equity Investors, L.P., an affiliate of Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. In 1997, Robert W. Miller, Steven G. Miller and Green Equity Investors, L.P. recapitalized our company so that the majority of our common stock would be owned by our management and employees.

 

In 2002, we completed an initial public offering of our common stock and used the proceeds from that offering, together with credit facility borrowings, to repurchase outstanding high-yield debt and preferred stock, fund management bonuses and repurchase common stock from non-executive employees.

 

Our accumulated management experience and expertise in sporting goods merchandising, advertising, operations and store development have enabled us to historically generate profitable growth. We believe our historical success can be attributed to one of the most experienced management teams in the sporting goods industry, a value-based and execution-driven operating philosophy, a controlled growth strategy and a proven business model. Additional information regarding our management experience is available in Item 1, Business, under the sub-heading “Management Experience”, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In fiscal 2009, we generated net sales of $895.5 million, operating income of $37.7 million, net income of $21.8 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.01.

 

We are a holding company incorporated in Delaware on October 31, 1997. We conduct our business through Big 5 Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary incorporated in Delaware on October 27, 1997. We conduct our gift card operations through Big 5 Services Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Big 5 Corp. incorporated in Virginia on December 19, 2003.

 

Our corporate headquarters are located at 2525 East El Segundo Boulevard, El Segundo, California 90245. Our Internet address is www.big5sportinggoods.com. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments, if any, to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available on our website, free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Expansion and Store Development

 

Throughout our operating history, we have sought to expand our business with the addition of new stores through a disciplined strategy of controlled growth. Our expansion within the western United States has been systematic and designed to capitalize on our name recognition, economical store format and economies of scale related to distribution and advertising. Over the past five fiscal years, we have opened 82 stores, an average of approximately 16 new stores annually, of which 66% were outside of California. Uncertainty resulting from the economic recession slowed our store expansion efforts in fiscal 2009. The following table illustrates the results of our expansion program during the periods indicated:

 

						Other								Stores				Stores				Number of Stores
Year		California				Markets				Total				Relocated(1)				Closed				at Period End
2005			7				11				18				(2	)			(1	)			324
2006			7				12				19				−				−				343
2007			6				17				23				(3	)			−				363
2008			7				12				19				(1	)			−				381
2009			1				2				3				−				−				384

 

 

 

Our store format enables us to have substantial flexibility regarding new store locations. We have successfully operated stores in major metropolitan areas and in areas with as few as 50,000 people. Our 11,000 average square foot store format differentiates us from superstores that typically average over 35,000 square feet, require larger target markets, are more expensive to operate and require higher net sales per store for profitability.

 

New store openings represent attractive investment opportunities due to the relatively low investment required and the relatively short time necessary before our stores typically become profitable. Our store format typically requires investments of approximately $0.5 million in fixtures, equipment and leasehold improvements, and approximately $0.4 million in net working capital with limited pre-opening and real estate expense related to leased locations that are built to our specifications. We seek to maximize new store performance by staffing new store management with experienced personnel from our existing stores.

 

Our in-house store development personnel analyze new store locations with the assistance of real estate firms that specialize in retail properties. We have identified numerous expansion opportunities to further penetrate our established markets, develop recently entered markets and expand into new, contiguous markets with attractive demographic, competitive and economic profiles.

 

Management Experience

 

We believe the experience, commitment and tenure of our professional staff drive our strong execution and historical operating performance and give us a substantial competitive advantage. The table below indicates the tenure of our professional staff in some of our key functional areas as of January 3, 2010:

 

						Average
		Number of				Number of
		Employees				Years With Us
Senior Management			7				28
Vice Presidents			10				21
Buyers			16				22
Store District/Regional Supervisors			42				21
Store Managers			384				10

 

Merchandising

 

We target the competitive and recreational sporting goods customer with a full-line product offering at a wide variety of price points. We offer a product mix that includes athletic shoes, apparel and accessories, as well as a broad selection of outdoor and athletic equipment for team sports, fitness, camping, hunting, fishing, tennis, golf,

snowboarding and in-line skating. We believe we offer consistent value to consumers by offering a distinctive merchandise mix that includes a combination of well-known brand name merchandise, merchandise produced exclusively for us under a manufacturer’s brand name, private label merchandise and specials on quality items we purchase through opportunistic buys of vendor over-stock and close-out merchandise.

 

We believe we enjoy significant advantages in making opportunistic buys of vendor over-stock and close-out merchandise because of our strong vendor relationships, purchasing volume and rapid decision-making process. Vendor over-stock and close-out merchandise typically represent approximately 10% of our net sales. Our strong vendor relationships and purchasing volume also enable us to purchase merchandise produced exclusively for us under a manufacturer’s brand name which allows us to differentiate our product selection from competition, obtain volume pricing discounts from vendors and offer unique value to our customers. Our weekly advertising highlights our opportunistic buys together with merchandise produced exclusively for us in order to reinforce our reputation as a retailer that offers attractive values to our customers.

 

The following table illustrates our mix of soft goods, which are non-durable items such as shirts and shoes, and hard goods, which are durable items such as fishing rods and golf clubs, as a percentage of net sales:

 

		Fiscal Year
		2009				2008				2007				2006				2005
Soft goods
Athletic and sport apparel			16.3	%			17.3	%			16.8	%			17.1	%			16.1	%
Athletic and sport footwear			29.1				29.2				29.8				29.9				30.4
Total soft goods			45.4				46.5				46.6				47.0				46.5
Hard goods			54.6				53.5				53.4				53.0				53.5
Total			100.0	%			100.0	%			100.0	%			100.0	%			100.0	%

 

We purchase our popular branded merchandise from an extensive list of major sporting goods equipment, athletic footwear and apparel manufacturers. Below is a selection of some of the brands we carry:

 

adidas		Everlast		Impex		Rawlings		Spalding
Asics		Fila		JanSport		Razor		Speedo
Browning		Footjoy		K2		Reebok		Timex
Bushnell		Franklin		Lifetime		Remington		Titleist
Coleman		Head		Mizuno		Rollerblade		Under Armour
Converse		Heelys		New Balance		Russell Athletic		Wilson
Crosman		Hillerich & Bradsby		Nike		Saucony		Zebco
Easton		Icon (Proform)		Prince		Shimano

 

We also offer a variety of private label merchandise to complement our branded product offerings, which represents approximately 3% of our net sales. Our sale of private label merchandise enables us to provide our customers with a broader selection of quality merchandise at a wider range of price points and allows us the opportunity to achieve higher margins than on sales of comparable name brand products. Our private label items include shoes, apparel, golf equipment, binoculars, camping equipment, fishing supplies and snowsport equipment. Private label merchandise is sold under trademarks owned by us or licensed by us from third parties. Our owned trademarks include Court Casuals, Golden Bear, Harsh, Pacifica, Rugged Exposure and Triple Nickel, all of which are registered as federal trademarks. The renewal dates for these trademark registrations range from 2013 to 2019. Our licensed trademarks include Avet, Body Glove, Hi-Tec, Maui & Sons, Realm and The Realm. The expiration dates for these license agreements range from 2010 to 2012. We intend to renew these trademark registrations and license agreements if we are still using the trademarks in commerce and they continue to provide value to us at the time of renewal.

 

Through our 55 years of experience across different demographic, economic and competitive markets, we have refined our merchandising strategy to increase net sales by offering a selection of products that meets customer demands while effectively managing inventory levels. In terms of category selection, we believe our merchandise

offering compares favorably to our competitors, including the superstores. Our edited selection of products enables customers to comparison shop without being overwhelmed by a large number of different products in any one category. We further tailor our merchandise selection on a store-by-store basis in order to satisfy each region’s specific needs and seasonal buying habits.

 

We experience seasonal fluctuations in our net sales and operating results and typically generate higher net sales in the fourth fiscal quarter, which includes the holiday selling season. Accordingly, in the fourth fiscal quarter we experience normally higher purchase volumes and increased expense for staffing and advertising. Seasonality influences our buying patterns which directly impacts our merchandise and accounts payable levels and cash flows. We purchase merchandise for seasonal activities in advance of a season. If we miscalculate the demand for our products generally or for our product mix during the fourth fiscal quarter, our net sales can decline, resulting in excess inventory, which can harm our financial performance. A shortfall from expected fourth fiscal quarter net sales can negatively impact our annual operating results.

 

Our buyers, who average 22 years of experience with us, work closely with senior management to determine and enhance product selection, promotion and pricing of our merchandise mix. Management utilizes integrated merchandising, distribution, point-of-sale and financial information systems to continuously refine our merchandise mix, pricing strategy, advertising effectiveness and inventory levels to best serve the needs of our customers.

 

Advertising

 

Through years of targeted advertising, we have solidified our reputation for offering quality products at attractive prices. We have advertised almost exclusively through weekly print advertisements since 1955. We typically utilize four-page color advertisements to highlight promotions across our merchandise categories. We believe our print advertising, which includes an average weekly distribution of over 18 million newspaper inserts or mailers, consistently reaches more households in our established markets than that of our full-line sporting goods competitors. The consistency and reach of our print advertising programs drive sales and create high customer awareness of the name Big 5 Sporting Goods.

 

We use our own professional in-house advertising staff to generate our advertisements, including design, layout, production and media management. Our in-house advertising department provides management with the flexibility to react quickly to merchandise trends and to maximize the effectiveness of our weekly inserts and mailers. We are able to effectively target different population zones for our advertising expenditures. We place inserts in approximately 200 newspapers throughout our markets, supplemented in many areas by mailer distributions to create market saturation.

 

We offer an email marketing program that enables our customers, upon subscribing on our website, to download discount coupons, sign up to receive our weekly advertisements through email and enjoy other promotional offers.

 

Vendor Relationships

 

We have developed strong vendor relationships over the past 55 years. We currently purchase merchandise from over 700 vendors. In fiscal 2009, only one vendor represented greater than 5% of total purchases, at 6.0%. We believe current relationships with our vendors are good. We benefit from the long-term working relationships with vendors that our senior management and our buyers have carefully nurtured throughout our history.

 

Management Information Systems

 

We have fully integrated management information systems that report aggregated sales information throughout the day, support merchandise management, inventory receiving and distribution functions and provide pertinent information for financial reporting. The management information systems also include networks that connect all system users to the main host system, electronic mail and other related enterprise applications. The main host system and our stores’ point-of-sale registers are linked by a network that provides satellite communications for purchasing card (i.e., credit and debit card) authorization and processing, as well as daily polling of sales and merchandise movement at the store level. This wide area network also provides stable communications for the

stores to access valuable tools for collaboration, workforce management and corporate communications. We believe our management information systems are effectively supporting our current operations and provide a foundation for future growth.

 

Distribution

 

We operate a distribution center located in Riverside, California, that services all of our stores. The facility has approximately 953,000 square feet of storage and office space. The distribution center warehouse management system is fully integrated with our management information systems and provides improved warehousing and distribution capabilities. We distribute merchandise from our distribution center to our stores at least once per week, using our fleet of leased tractors, as well as contract carriers. Our lease for the distribution center, which was entered into on April 14, 2004, has an initial term of 10 years and includes three additional five-year renewal options.

 

Industry and Competition

 

The retail market for sporting goods is highly competitive. In general, competition tends to fall into the following five basic categories:

 

Sporting Goods Superstores.  Stores in this category typically are larger than 35,000 square feet and tend to be free-standing locations. These stores emphasize high volume sales and a large number of stock-keeping units. Examples include Academy Sports & Outdoors, Dick’s Sporting Goods, The Sports Authority and Sport Chalet.

 

Traditional Sporting Goods Stores.  This category consists of traditional sporting goods chains, including us. These stores range in size from 5,000 to 20,000 square feet and are frequently located in regional malls and multi-store shopping centers. The traditional chains typically carry a varied assortment of merchandise and attempt to position themselves as convenient neighborhood stores. Sporting goods retailers operating stores within this category include Hibbett Sports and Modell’s.

 

Specialty Sporting Goods Stores.  Specialty sporting goods retailers are stores that typically carry a wide assortment of one specific product category, such as athletic shoes, golf, or outdoor equipment. Examples of these retailers include Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Foot Locker, Gander Mountain, Golfsmith and REI. This category also includes pro shops that often are single-store operations.

 

Mass Merchandisers.  This category includes discount retailers such as Kmart, Target and Wal-Mart and department stores such as JC Penney, Kohl’s and Sears. These stores range in size from 50,000 to 200,000 square feet and are primarily located in regional malls, shopping centers or on free-standing sites. Sporting goods merchandise and apparel represent a small portion of the total merchandise in these stores and the selection is often more limited than in other sporting goods retailers.

 

Catalog and Internet-based Retailers.  This category consists of numerous retailers that sell a broad array of new and used sporting goods products via catalogs or the Internet.

 

We believe we compete successfully with each of the competitors discussed above by focusing on what we believe are the primary factors of competition in the sporting goods retail industry. These factors include experienced and knowledgeable personnel; customer service; breadth, depth, price and quality of merchandise offered; advertising; purchasing and pricing policies; effective sales techniques; direct involvement of senior officers in monitoring store operations; management information systems and store location and format.

 

Employees

 

We manage our stores through regional, district and store-based personnel. Field supervision is led by six regional supervisors who report directly to the Vice President of Store Operations and who oversee 36 district supervisors. The district supervisors are each responsible for an average of 11 stores. Each of our stores has a store manager who is responsible for all aspects of store operations and who reports directly to a district supervisor. In addition, each store has at least two assistant managers and a complement of appropriate full and part-time associates to match the store’s sales volume.

As of January 3, 2010, we had over 8,600 active full and part-time employees, reduced from over 8,900 employees as of December 28, 2008. This reduction in the number of employees during fiscal 2009 was due largely to a three percent reduction in the number of full-time employees, which we achieved through managed attrition, and our alignment of part-time store labor to sales levels. The Miscellaneous Warehousemen Drivers and Helpers, Local Union 986, affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, represents approximately 450 hourly employees in our distribution center and select stores. The collective bargaining agreements covering both our distribution center and select store employees expire on August 31, 2012. We have not had a strike or work stoppage in over 28 years, although such a disruption could have a significant negative impact on our business operations and financial results. We believe we provide working conditions and wages that are comparable to those offered by other retailers in the sporting goods industry and that employee relations are good.

 

Employee Training

 

We have developed a comprehensive training program that is tailored for each store position. All employees are given an orientation and reference materials that stress excellence in customer service and selling skills. All full-time employees, including salespeople, cashiers and management trainees, receive additional training specific to their job responsibilities. Our tiered curriculum includes seminars, individual instruction and performance evaluations to promote consistency in employee development. The manager trainee schedule provides seminars on operational responsibilities such as merchandising strategy, loss prevention and inventory control. Moreover, each manager trainee must complete a progressive series of outlines and evaluations in order to advance to the next successive level. Ongoing store management training includes topics such as advanced merchandising, delegation, personnel management, scheduling, payroll control, harassment prevention and loss prevention. We also provide unique opportunities for our employees to gain knowledge about our products, through periodic “hands-on” training seminars.

 

Description of Service Marks and Trademarks

 

We use the Big 5 and Big 5 Sporting Goods names as service marks in connection with our business operations and have registered these names as federal service marks. The renewal dates for these service mark registrations are in 2015 and 2013, respectively. We have also registered the names Court Casuals, Golden Bear, Harsh, Pacifica, Rugged Exposure and Triple Nickel as federal trademarks under which we sell a variety of merchandise. The renewal dates for these trademark registrations range from 2013 to 2019. We intend to renew these service mark and trademark registrations if we are still using the marks in commerce and they continue to provide value to us at the time of renewal.

 

 

An investment in the Company entails risks and uncertainties including the following. You should carefully consider these risk factors when evaluating any investment in the Company. Any of these risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements set forth herein, and could otherwise have a significant adverse impact on our business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations or on the price of our common stock.

 

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

 

Disruptions in the overall economy and the financial markets may adversely impact our business and results of operations, as well as our lenders.

 

The retail industry can be greatly affected by macroeconomic factors, including changes in national, regional and local economic conditions, as well as consumers’ perceptions of such economic factors. In general, sales represent discretionary spending by our customers. Discretionary spending is affected by many factors, including, among others, general business conditions, interest rates, inflation, consumer debt levels, the availability of consumer credit, currency exchange rates, taxation, gasoline prices, income, unemployment trends and other matters that influence consumer confidence and spending. Many of these factors are outside of our control. We may also experience increased inflationary pressure on our product costs. Our customers’ purchases of discretionary

items, including our products, generally decline during periods when disposable income is lower, when prices increase in response to rising costs, or in periods of actual or perceived unfavorable economic conditions.

 

As discussed in this and prior reports, the consumer environment has been particularly challenging over the last few years. The economic recession and long-term weakness and instability in the financial markets have deteriorated the consumer spending environment and reduced consumer income, liquidity, credit and confidence in the economy, and have resulted in substantial reductions in consumer spending. Continued weakness or further deterioration of the consumer spending environment would be harmful to our financial position and results of operations, could adversely affect our ability to comply with covenants under our credit facility and, as a result, may negatively impact our ability to continue payment of our quarterly dividend, to repurchase our stock and to open additional stores in the manner that we have in the past. Government responses to the disruptions in the financial markets may not restore consumer confidence, stabilize such markets or increase liquidity and the availability of credit to consumers and businesses.

 

Worldwide capital and credit markets experienced nearly unprecedented volatility and disruption in fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009, which has impacted the ability of several financial institutions to meet their obligations. As a consequence, the parent company of our principal lender, the CIT Group/Business Credit, Inc. (“CIT”), recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and has since emerged from those proceedings. Based on information available to us, all of the lenders under our financing agreement are currently able to fulfill their commitments thereunder. However, circumstances could arise that may impact their ability to fund their obligations in the future. Although we believe the commitments from our lenders under the credit facility, together with our cash on hand and anticipated operating cash flows, should be sufficient to meet our near-term borrowing requirements, if CIT, or any other lender, is for any reason unable to perform its lending or administrative commitments under the facility then disruptions to our business could result and may require us to replace this facility with a new facility or to raise capital from alternative sources on less favorable terms, including higher rates of interest.

 

Intense competition in the sporting goods industry could limit our growth and reduce our profitability.

 

The retail market for sporting goods is highly fragmented and intensely competitive. We compete directly or indirectly with the following categories of companies:

 

 

Some of our competitors have a larger number of stores and greater financial, distribution, marketing and other resources than we have. If our competitors reduce their prices, it may be difficult for us to reach our net sales goals without reducing our prices. As a result of this competition, we may also need to spend more on advertising and promotion than we anticipate. If we are unable to compete successfully, our operating results will suffer.

 

If we fail to anticipate changes in consumer preferences, we may experience lower net sales, higher inventory, higher inventory markdowns and lower margins.

 

Our products must appeal to a broad range of consumers whose preferences cannot be predicted with certainty. These preferences are also subject to change. Our success depends upon our ability to anticipate and respond in a timely manner to trends in sporting goods merchandise and consumers’ participation in sports. If we fail to identify and respond to these changes, our net sales may decline. In addition, because we often make commitments to purchase products from our vendors up to six months in advance of the proposed delivery, if we misjudge the market for our merchandise, we may over-stock unpopular products and be forced to take inventory markdowns that could have a negative impact on profitability.

Our quarterly net sales and operating results, reported and expected, can fluctuate substantially, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

 

Our net and same store sales and results of operations, reported and expected, have fluctuated in the past and will vary from quarter to quarter in the future. These fluctuations may adversely affect our financial condition and the market price of our common stock. A number of factors, many of which are outside our control, have historically caused and will continue to cause variations in our quarterly net and same store sales and operating results, including changes in consumer demand for our products, competition in our markets, changes in pricing or other actions taken by our competitors, weather conditions in our markets, natural disasters, litigation, political events, changes in accounting standards, changes in management’s accounting estimates or assumptions and economic conditions, including those specific to our western markets.

 

If we are unable to successfully implement our controlled growth strategy or manage our growing business, our future operating results could suffer.

 

One of our strategies includes opening profitable stores in new and existing markets. As a result, at the end of fiscal 2009 we operated approximately 24% more stores than we did at the end of fiscal 2004. During fiscal 2009, we slowed our store growth efforts as a result of the economic recession. Our ability to successfully implement and capitalize on our growth strategy could be negatively affected by various factors including:

 

 

In addition, our expansion in new and existing markets may present competitive, distribution and merchandising challenges that differ from our current challenges. These potential new challenges include competition among our stores, added strain on our distribution center, additional information to be processed by our management information systems, diversion of management attention from ongoing operations and challenges associated with managing a substantially larger enterprise. We face additional challenges in entering new markets, including consumers’ lack of awareness of us, difficulties in hiring personnel and problems due to our unfamiliarity with local real estate markets and demographics. New markets may also have different competitive conditions, consumer tastes, responsiveness to print advertising and discretionary spending patterns than our existing markets. To the extent that we are not able to meet these new challenges, our net sales could decrease and our operating costs could increase.

 

Increased costs or declines in the effectiveness of print advertising, or a reduction in publishers of print advertising, could cause our operating results to suffer.

 

Our business relies heavily on print advertising. We utilize print advertising programs that include newspaper inserts, direct mailers and courier-delivered inserts in order to effectively deliver our message to our targeted markets. Newspaper circulation and readership has been declining, which could limit the number of people who receive or read our advertisements. Additionally, declining newspaper demand and the weak macroeconomic environment are adversely impacting newspaper publishers and could jeopardize their ability to operate, which could restrict our ability to advertise in the manner we have in the past. If we are unable to develop other effective strategies to reach potential customers within our desired markets, awareness of our stores, products and promotions could decline and our net sales could suffer. In addition, an increase in the cost of print advertising, paper or postal or other delivery fees could increase the cost of our advertising and adversely affect our operating results.

 

Because our stores are concentrated in the western United States, we are subject to regional risks.

 

Our stores are located in the western United States. Because of this, we are subject to regional risks, such as the economy, including downturns in the housing market, state financial conditions and unemployment, weather

conditions, power outages, earthquakes and other natural disasters specific to the states in which we operate. For example, particularly in southern California where we have a high concentration of stores, seasonal factors such as unfavorable snow conditions, inclement weather or other localized conditions such as flooding, fires (such as those that occurred in fiscal 2009, 2008 and 2007), earthquakes or electricity blackouts could harm our operations. State and local regulatory compliance also can impact our financial results. Economic downturns or other adverse regional events could have an adverse impact upon our net sales and profitability and our ability to implement our planned expansion program.

 

If we lose key management or are unable to attract and retain the talent required for our business, our operating results could suffer.

 

Our future success depends to a significant degree on the skills, experience and efforts of Steven G. Miller, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and other key personnel with longstanding tenure who are not obligated to stay with us. The loss of the services of any of these individuals could harm our business and operations. In addition, as our business grows, we will need to attract and retain additional qualified personnel in a timely manner and develop, train and manage an increasing number of management-level sales associates and other employees. Competition for qualified employees could require us to pay higher wages and benefits to attract a sufficient number of employees, and increases in the minimum wage or other employee benefit costs could increase our operating expense. If we are unable to attract and retain personnel as needed in the future, our net sales growth and operating results may suffer.

 

Our hardware and software systems are vulnerable to damage, theft or intrusion that could harm our business.

 

Our success, in particular our ability to successfully manage inventory levels and process customer transactions, largely depends upon the efficient operation of our computer hardware and software systems. We use management information systems to track inventory at the store level and aggregate daily sales information, communicate customer information and process purchasing card transactions, process shipments of goods and report financial information. These systems and our operations are vulnerable to damage or interruption from:

 

 

Any failure of our computer hardware or software systems that causes an interruption in our operations or a decrease in inventory tracking could result in reduced net sales and profitability. Additionally, if any data intrusion, security breach, misappropriation or theft were to occur, we could incur significant costs in responding to such event, including responding to any resulting claims, litigation or investigations, which could harm our operating results.

 

If our suppliers do not provide sufficient quantities of products, our net sales and profitability could suffer.

 

We purchase merchandise from over 700 vendors. Although only one vendor represented more than 5.0% of our total purchases during fiscal 2009, our dependence on principal suppliers involves risk. Our 20 largest vendors collectively accounted for 35.2% of our total purchases during fiscal 2009. If there is a disruption in supply from a principal supplier or distributor, we may be unable to obtain merchandise that we desire to sell and that consumers desire to purchase. A vendor could discontinue selling products to us at any time for reasons that may or may not be within our control. Our net sales and profitability could decline if we are unable to promptly replace a vendor who is unwilling or unable to satisfy our requirements with a vendor providing equally appealing products. Moreover, many of our suppliers provide us with incentives, such as return privileges, volume purchase allowances and co-operative advertising. A decline or discontinuation of these incentives could reduce our profits.

Because many of the products that we sell are manufactured abroad, we may face delays, increased cost or quality control deficiencies in the importation of these products, which could reduce our net sales and profitability.

 

Like many other sporting goods retailers, a significant portion of the products that we purchase for resale, including those purchased from domestic suppliers, is manufactured abroad in countries such as China, Taiwan and South Korea. In addition, we believe most, if not all, of our private label merchandise is manufactured abroad. Foreign imports subject us to the risks of changes in import duties or quotas, new restrictions on imports, loss of “most favored nation” status with the United States for a particular foreign country, work stoppages, delays in shipment, freight cost increases, product cost increases due to foreign currency fluctuations or revaluations and economic uncertainties (including the United States imposing antidumping or countervailing duty orders, safeguards, remedies or compensation and retaliation due to illegal foreign trade practices). If any of these or other factors were to cause a disruption of trade from the countries in which the suppliers of our vendors are located, we may be unable to obtain sufficient quantities of products to satisfy our requirements or our cost of obtaining products may increase. In addition, to the extent that any foreign manufacturers which supply products to us directly or indirectly utilize quality control standards, labor practices or other practices that vary from those legally allowed or commonly accepted in the United States (such as the high lead content found in several products manufactured abroad during the past few years), we could be hurt by any resulting negative publicity or, in some cases, face potential liability. Historically, instability in the political and economic environments of the countries in which our vendors or we obtain our products has not had a material adverse effect on our operations. However, we cannot predict the effect that future changes in economic or political conditions in such foreign countries may have on our operations. In the event of disruptions or delays in supply due to economic or political conditions in foreign countries, such disruptions or delays could adversely affect our results of operations unless and until alternative supply arrangements could be made. In addition, merchandise purchased from alternative sources may be of lesser quality or more expensive than the merchandise we currently purchase abroad.

 

Disruptions in transportation, including disruptions at shipping ports through which our products are imported, could prevent us from timely distribution and delivery of inventory, which could reduce our net sales and profitability.

 

A substantial amount of our inventory is manufactured abroad. From time to time, shipping ports experience capacity constraints, labor strikes, work stoppages or other disruptions that may delay the delivery of imported products. In addition, acts of terrorism could significantly disrupt operations at shipping ports or otherwise impact transportation of the imported merchandise we sell.

 

Future disruptions at a shipping port at which our products are received may result in delays in the transportation of such products to our distribution center and may ultimately delay the stocking of our stores with the affected merchandise. As a result, our net sales and profitability could decline.

 

All of our stores rely on a single distribution center. Any disruption or other operational difficulties at this distribution center could reduce our net sales or increase our operating costs.

 

We rely on a single distribution center to service our business. Any natural disaster or other serious disruption to the distribution center due to fire, earthquake or any other cause could damage a significant portion of our inventory and could materially impair both our ability to adequately stock our stores and our net sales and profitability. If the security measures used at our distribution center do not prevent inventory theft, our gross margin may significantly decrease. Further, in the event that we are unable to grow our net sales sufficiently to allow us to leverage the costs of this facility in the manner we anticipate, our financial results could be negatively impacted.

 

Increases in transportation costs due to rising fuel costs, climate change regulation and other factors may negatively impact our operating results.

 

We rely upon various means of transportation, including sea and truck, to deliver products from vendors to our distribution center and from our distribution center to our stores. Consequently, our results can vary depending upon the price of fuel. The price of oil has fluctuated drastically over the last few years, and may rapidly increase again, which would sharply increase our fuel costs. In addition, efforts to combat climate change through reduction of greenhouse gases may result in higher fuel costs through taxation or other means. Any such future increases in fuel

costs would increase our transportation costs for delivery of product to our distribution center and distribution to our stores, as well as our vendors’ transportation costs, which could decrease our operating profits.

 

In addition, labor shortages in the transportation industry could negatively affect transportation costs and our ability to supply our stores in a timely manner. In particular, our business is highly dependent on the trucking industry to deliver products to our distribution center and our stores. Our operating results may be adversely affected if we or our vendors are unable to secure adequate trucking resources at competitive prices to fulfill our delivery schedules to our distribution center or stores.

 

Terrorism and the uncertainty of war may harm our operating results.

 

Terrorist attacks or acts of war may cause damage or disruption to us and our employees, facilities, information systems, vendors and customers, which could significantly impact our net sales, profitability and financial condition. Terrorist attacks could also have a significant impact on ports or international shipping on which we are substantially dependent for the supply of much of the merchandise we sell. Our corporate headquarters is located near Los Angeles International Airport and the Port of Los Angeles, which have been identified as potential terrorism targets. The potential for future terrorist attacks, the national and international responses to terrorist attacks and other acts of war or hostility may cause greater uncertainty and cause our business to suffer in ways that we currently cannot predict. Military action taken in response to such attacks could also have a short or long-term negative economic impact upon the financial markets, international shipping and our business in general.

 

Our costs may change as a result of currency exchange rate fluctuations.

 

We source goods from various countries, including China, and thus changes in the value of the U.S. dollar compared to other currencies may affect the costs of goods that we purchase.

 

Risks Related to Our Capital Structure

 

We are leveraged, future cash flows may not be sufficient to meet our obligations and we might have difficulty obtaining more financing or refinancing our existing indebtedness on favorable terms.

 

As of January 3, 2010, the aggregate amount of our outstanding indebtedness, including capital lease obligations, was $59.1 million. Our leveraged financial position means:

 

 

If our business declines, our future cash flow might not be sufficient to meet our obligations and commitments.

 

If we fail to make any required payment under our financing agreement, our debt payments may be accelerated under this instrument. In addition, in the event of bankruptcy, insolvency or a material breach of any covenant contained in our financing agreement, our debt may be accelerated. This acceleration could also result in the acceleration of other indebtedness that we may have outstanding at that time.

 

The level of our indebtedness, and our ability to service our indebtedness, is directly affected by our cash flow from operations. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow from operations to meet our obligations, commitments and covenants of our financing agreement, we may be required to refinance or restructure our indebtedness, raise additional debt or equity capital, sell material assets or operations, delay or forego expansion opportunities, or cease or curtail our quarterly dividends or share repurchase plans. These alternative strategies might not be effected on satisfactory terms, if at all.

 

In addition, our current credit agreement expires in March 2011, and we expect to renegotiate or refinance this facility in fiscal 2010. Due to the disruptions in the financing markets and resulting tightening of credit markets in fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009, we expect that any new facility will be on less favorable terms, including less favorable

interest rates, which would negatively impact our financial results. Further, if our debt levels return to historical levels, any increase in interest rates would have a proportionately greater effect on our financial results.

 

The terms of our financing agreement impose operating and financial restrictions on us, which may impair our ability to respond to changing business and economic conditions.

 

The terms of our financing agreement impose operating and financial restrictions on us, including, among other things, covenants that require us to maintain a fixed-charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.0 to 1.0 in certain circumstances, restrictions on our ability to incur additional indebtedness, create or allow liens, pay dividends, repurchase stock, engage in mergers, acquisitions or reorganizations or make specified capital expenditures. For example, our ability to engage in the foregoing transactions will depend upon, among other things, our level of indebtedness at the time of the proposed transaction and whether we are in default under our financing agreement. As a result, our ability to respond to changing business and economic conditions and to secure additional financing, if needed, may be significantly restricted, and we may be prevented from engaging in transactions that might further our growth strategy or otherwise benefit us and our stockholders without obtaining consent from our lenders. In addition, our financing agreement is secured by a first priority security interest in our accounts receivable, merchandise inventories, service marks and trademarks and other general intangible assets, including trade names. In the event of our insolvency, liquidation, dissolution or reorganization, the lenders under our financing agreement would be entitled to payment in full from our assets before distributions, if any, were made to our stockholders.

 

Risks Related to Regulatory, Legislative and Legal Matters

 

Current and future government regulation may negatively impact demand for our products and increase our cost of conducting business.

 

The conduct of our business, and the distribution, sale, advertising, labeling, safety, transportation and use of many of our products are subject to various laws and regulations administered by federal, state and local governmental agencies in the United States. These laws and regulations may change, sometimes dramatically, as a result of political, economic or social events. Changes in laws, regulations or governmental policy may alter the environment in which we do business and the demand for our products and, therefore, may impact our financial results or increase our liabilities. Some of these laws and regulations include:

 

 

Changes in these and other laws and regulations or additional regulation could cause the demand for and sales of our products to decrease. Moreover, complying with increased or changed regulations could cause our operating expense to increase. This could adversely affect our net sales and profitability.

 

The sale of firearms and ammunition is subject to strict regulation, which could affect our operating results.

 

Because we sell firearms and ammunition, we are required to comply with federal, state and local laws and regulations pertaining to the purchase, storage, transfer and sale of firearms and ammunition. These laws and regulations require us, among other things, to ensure that all purchasers of firearms are subjected to a pre-sale background check, to record the details of each firearm sale on appropriate government-issued forms, to record each receipt or transfer of a firearm at our distribution center or any store location on acquisition and disposition records,

and to maintain these records for a specified period of time. We also are required to timely respond to traces of firearms by law enforcement agencies. Over the past several years, the purchase and sale of firearms and ammunition has been the subject of increased federal, state and local regulation, and this may continue in our current markets and other markets into which we may expand. If we fail to comply with existing or newly enacted laws and regulations relating to the purchase and sale of firearms and ammunition, our licenses to sell firearms at our stores or maintain inventory of firearms at our distribution center may be suspended or revoked. If this occurs, our net sales and profitability could suffer. Further, complying with increased regulation relating to the sale of firearms and ammunition could cause our operating expense to increase and this could adversely affect our operating results.

 

We may be subject to periodic litigation that may adversely affect our business and financial performance, including litigation related to products we sell and employment matters.

 

From time to time, we may be involved in lawsuits and regulatory actions relating to our business, certain of which may be maintained in jurisdictions with reputations for aggressive application of laws and procedures against corporate defendants. Due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation and regulatory proceedings, we cannot accurately predict the ultimate outcome of any such proceedings. An unfavorable outcome could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, regardless of the outcome of any litigation or regulatory proceedings, these proceedings could result in substantial costs and may require that we devote substantial resources to defend against these claims, which could impact our operating results.

 

In particular, we sell products manufactured by third parties, some of which may or may not be defective. Many such products are manufactured overseas, particularly in China, Taiwan and South Korea, which may increase our risk that such products may be defective (such as, for example, in the cases of products reported over the past few years to have high lead content). If any products that we sell were to cause physical injury or injury to property, the injured party or parties could bring claims against us as the retailer of the products based upon strict product liability. In addition, our products are subject to the federal Consumer Product Safety Act and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which empower the Consumer Product Safety Commission to protect consumers from hazardous products. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has the authority to exclude from the market and recall certain consumer products that are found to be hazardous. Similar laws exist in some states and cities in the United States. If we fail to comply with government and industry safety standards, we may be subject to claims, lawsuits, product recalls, fines and negative publicity that could harm our financial condition and operating results.

 

In addition, we sell firearms and ammunition, products associated with an increased risk of injury and related lawsuits. We may incur losses due to lawsuits relating to our performance of background checks on firearms purchases as mandated by state and federal law or the improper use of firearms sold by us, including lawsuits by municipalities or other organizations attempting to recover costs from firearms manufacturers and retailers relating to the misuse of firearms. Commencement of these lawsuits against us could reduce our net sales and decrease our profitability.

 

From time to time we may also be involved in lawsuits related to employment and other matters, including class action lawsuits brought against us for alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage and hour laws as well as other laws. An unfavorable outcome or settlement in any such proceeding could, in addition to requiring us to pay any settlement or judgment amount, increase our operating expense as a consequence of any resulting changes we might be required to make in employment or other business practices.

 

Our insurance coverage may not be adequate to cover claims that could be asserted against us. If a successful claim were brought against us in excess of our insurance coverage, it could harm our business. Even unsuccessful claims could result in the expenditure of funds and management time and could have a negative impact on our business.

 

Changes in accounting standards and subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments by management related to complex accounting matters could significantly affect our financial results.

 

Generally accepted accounting principles and related accounting pronouncements, implementation guidelines and interpretations with regard to a wide range of matters that are relevant to our business, such as revenue recognition; lease accounting; the carrying amount of property and equipment and goodwill; valuation allowances for receivables, sales returns, inventories and deferred income tax assets; estimates related to the valuation of stock

options; and obligations related to asset retirements, litigation, workers’ compensation and employee benefits are highly complex and may involve many subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments by our management. Changes in these rules or their interpretation or changes in underlying assumptions, estimates or judgments by our management could significantly change our reported or expected financial performance.

 

Risks Related to Investing in Our Common Stock

 

The declaration of discretionary dividend payments may not continue.

 

We currently pay quarterly dividends subject to capital availability and periodic determinations that cash dividends are in the best interest of us and our stockholders. Our dividend policy may be affected by, among other items, business conditions, our views on potential future capital requirements, the terms of our debt instruments, legal risks, changes in federal income tax law and challenges to our business model. For example, as discussed elsewhere herein, due to the economic recession, we reduced our quarterly cash dividend to $0.05 per share of outstanding common stock, for an annual rate of $0.20 per share. Our dividend policy may change from time to time and we may or may not continue to declare discretionary dividend payments. A change in our dividend policy could have a negative effect on our stock price.

 

Our anti-takeover provisions could prevent or delay a change in control of our company, even if such change of control would be beneficial to our stockholders.

 

Provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws as well as provisions of Delaware law could discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of our company, even if such change in control would be beneficial to our stockholders. These provisions include:

 

 

In addition, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporations Law limits business combination transactions with 15% stockholders that have not been approved by the Board of Directors. These provisions and other similar provisions make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us without negotiation. These provisions may apply even if the transaction may be considered beneficial by some stockholders.

 

 

None.

 

 

Properties

 

Our corporate headquarters are located at 2525 East El Segundo Boulevard, El Segundo, California 90245, where we lease approximately 55,000 square feet of office and adjoining retail space. The lease is scheduled to expire on February 28, 2011 and provides us with one five-year renewal option.

 

Our distribution facility is located in Riverside, California and has approximately 953,000 square feet of warehouse and office space. Our lease for the distribution center is scheduled to expire on August 31, 2015, and includes three additional five-year renewal options.

We lease all but one of our retail store sites. Most of our store leases contain multiple fixed-price renewal options and the average lease expiration term from inception of our store leases, taking into account renewal options, is approximately 32 years. Of the total store leases, 29 leases are due to expire in the next five years without renewal options.

 

Our Stores

 

Throughout our history, we have focused on operating traditional, full-line sporting goods stores. Our stores generally range from 8,000 to 15,000 square feet and average approximately 11,000 square feet. Our typical store is located in either a free-standing street location or a multi-store shopping center. Our numerous convenient locations and accessible store format encourage frequent customer visits, resulting in approximately 27.8 million sales transactions and an average transaction size of approximately $32 in fiscal 2009. The following table details our store locations by state as of January 3, 2010:

 

		Year				Number				Percentage of Total
State		Entered				of Stores				Number of Stores
California			1955				195				50.8	%
Washington			1984				43				11.2
Arizona			1993				34				8.8
Oregon			1995				22				5.7
Colorado			2001				21				5.4
Utah			1997				16				4.2
Nevada			1978				15				3.9
New Mexico			1995				15				3.9
Idaho			1994				11				2.9
Texas			1995				11				2.9
Oklahoma			2007				1				0.3
Total							384				100.0	%

 

Our store format has resulted in productivity levels that we believe are among the highest of any full-line sporting goods retailer, with same store sales per square foot of approximately $210 for fiscal 2009. Our high same store sales per square foot combined with our efficient store-level operations and low store maintenance costs have allowed us to historically generate strong store-level returns.

 

 

On August 6, 2009, the Company was served with a complaint filed in the California Superior Court for the County of San Diego, entitled Shane Weyl v. Big 5 Corp., et al., Case No. 37-2009-00093109-CU-OE-CTL, alleging violations of the California Labor Code and the California Business and Professions Code. The complaint was brought as a purported class action on behalf of the Company’s hourly employees in California for the four years prior to the filing of the complaint. The plaintiff alleges, among other things, that the Company failed to provide hourly employees with meal and rest periods and failed to pay wages within required time periods during employment and upon termination of employment. The plaintiff seeks, on behalf of the class members, an award of one hour of pay (wages) for each workday that a meal or rest period was not provided; restitution of unpaid wages; actual, consequential and incidental losses and damages; pre-judgment interest; statutory penalties including an additional thirty days’ wages for each hourly employee in California whose employment terminated in the four years preceding the filing of the complaint; civil penalties; an award of attorneys’ fees and costs; and injunctive and declaratory relief. On December 14, 2009, the parties engaged in mediation and agreed to settle the lawsuit. On February 4, 2010, the parties filed a joint settlement and a motion to preliminarily approve the settlement with the court. The court has scheduled a hearing for June 11, 2010, to consider the parties’ request to preliminarily approve the proposed settlement. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the Company agreed to pay up to a maximum amount of $2.0 million, which includes payments to class members who submit valid and timely claim forms, plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees and expenses, an enhancement payment to the class representative, claims administrator

fees and payment to the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Under the proposed settlement, in the event that fewer than all class members submit valid and timely claims, the total amount required to be paid by the Company will be reduced, subject to a minimum payment amount calculated in the manner provided in the settlement agreement. The Company’s anticipated total payments pursuant to this settlement have been reflected in a legal settlement accrual recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. The Company admitted no liability or wrongdoing with respect to the claims set forth in the lawsuit. Once final approval is granted, the settlement will constitute a full and complete settlement and release of all claims related to the lawsuit. If the court does not grant preliminary or final approval of the settlement, the Company intends to defend the lawsuit vigorously. If the settlement is not finally approved by the court and the lawsuit is resolved unfavorably to the Company, this litigation could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition, and any required change in the Company’s labor practices, as well as the costs of defending this litigation, could have a negative impact on the Company’s results of operations.

 

The Company is involved in various other claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business. In the opinion of management, the ultimate disposition of these matters is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

 

PART II

 

 

Our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, trades on The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC under the symbol “BGFV”. The following table sets forth the high and low closing sale prices for our common stock as reported by The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC during fiscal 2009 and 2008:

 

		2009								2008
Fiscal Period		High				Low				High				Low
First Quarter		$	7.42			$	4.46			$	14.42			$	7.83
Second Quarter		$	13.23			$	5.74			$	9.59			$	7.70
Third Quarter		$	15.95			$	10.49			$	10.91			$	6.93
Fourth Quarter		$	17.95			$	14.53			$	10.41			$	3.30

 

As of February 26, 2010, the closing price for our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC was $15.28.

 

As of February 26, 2010, there were 21,567,266 shares of common stock outstanding held by approximately 200 holders of record.

 

Performance Graph

 

Set forth below is a graph comparing the cumulative total stockholder return for our common stock with the cumulative total return of (i) the NASDAQ Composite Stock Market Index and (ii) the NASDAQ Retail Trade Index. The information in this graph is provided at annual intervals for the fiscal years ended 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. This graph shows historical stock price performance (including reinvestment of dividends) and is not necessarily indicative of future performance:

 

 

 

Dividend Policy

 

Dividends are paid at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors authorized dividends at an annual rate of $0.36 per share of outstanding common stock and quarterly dividend payments of $0.09 per share were paid in fiscal 2007 and 2008. In the first quarter of fiscal 2009, our Board of Directors reduced the quarterly dividend payment to $0.05 per share of outstanding common stock for an annual rate of $0.20 per share, and

quarterly dividend payments of $0.05 per share were paid in fiscal 2009. This decision was consistent with our objective to utilize capital to maintain a healthy financial condition during the economic recession. In the first quarter of fiscal 2010, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share of outstanding common stock, which will be paid on March 22, 2010 to stockholders of record as of March 8, 2010.

 

The financing agreement governing our revolving credit facility imposes restrictions on our ability to make dividend payments. For example, our ability to pay cash dividends on our common stock will depend upon, among other things, our level of indebtedness at the time of the proposed dividend or distribution, whether we are in default under the financing agreement and the amount of dividends or distributions made in the past. Our future dividend policy will also depend on the requirements of any future financing agreements to which we may be a party and other factors considered relevant by our Board of Directors, including the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, which provides that dividends are only payable out of surplus or current net profits.

 

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans as of January 3, 2010

 

See Item 12, Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

The “Statement of Operations Data” and the “Balance Sheet Data” for all years presented below have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. Selected consolidated financial data under the captions “Store Data” and “Other Financial Data” have been derived from the unaudited internal records of our operations. The information contained in these tables should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

 

(See notes on following page:)

(Notes to table on previous page)

 

 

 

Throughout this section, our fiscal years ended January 3, 2010, December 28, 2008 and December 30, 2007 are referred to as fiscal 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations for fiscal 2009, 2008 and 2007 includes information with respect to our plans and strategies for our business and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes, the risk factors and the cautionary statement regarding forward-looking information included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Our fiscal year ends on the Sunday nearest December 31. Fiscal 2009 included 53 weeks, while fiscal 2008 and 2007 each included 52 weeks.

 

Overview

 

We are a leading sporting goods retailer in the western United States, operating 384 stores in 11 states under the name “Big 5 Sporting Goods” at January 3, 2010. We provide a full-line product offering in a traditional sporting goods store format that averages approximately 11,000 square feet. Our product mix includes athletic shoes, apparel and accessories, as well as a broad selection of outdoor and athletic equipment for team sports, fitness, camping, hunting, fishing, tennis, golf, snowboarding and in-line skating.

 

We believe that over our 55-year history we have developed a reputation with the competitive and recreational sporting goods customer as a convenient neighborhood sporting goods retailer that consistently delivers value on quality merchandise. Our stores carry a wide range of products at competitive prices from well-known brand name manufacturers, including adidas, Coleman, Easton, New Balance, Nike, Reebok, Spalding, Under Armour and Wilson. We also offer brand name merchandise produced exclusively for us, private label merchandise and specials on quality items we purchase through opportunistic buys of vendor over-stock and close-out merchandise. We reinforce our value reputation through weekly print advertising in major and local newspapers and mailers designed to generate customer traffic, drive net sales and build brand awareness.

 

Throughout our history, we have emphasized controlled growth. Our fiscal 2009 growth was slowed substantially in response to the economic recession. We anticipate opening between 10 and 15 net new stores in fiscal 2010 compared to three net new stores in fiscal 2009. The following table summarizes our store count for the periods presented:

 

		Fiscal Year
		2009				2008				2007
Big 5 Sporting Goods stores:
Beginning of period			381				363				343
New stores(1)			3				19				23
Stores relocated			—				(1	)			(3	)
Stores closed			—				—				—
End of period			384				381				363
New stores opened per year, net			3				18				20

 

 

 

Executive Summary

 

The economic recession and uncertainty in the financial sector have resulted in a difficult environment for retailers. If measures implemented, or to be implemented, by the federal and state governments or private sector spending fail to stimulate an economic recovery, this economic recession could continue. While our results for fiscal 2009, 2008 and 2007 reflect this recession, our results improved in fiscal 2009 compared with fiscal 2008.

 

Results of Operations

 

The following table sets forth selected items from our consolidated statements of operations by dollar and as a percentage of our net sales for the periods indicated:

 

 

 

 

 

Fiscal 2009 Compared to Fiscal 2008

 

Net Sales.  Net sales increased by $30.8 million, or 3.6%, to $895.5 million for fiscal 2009 from $864.7 million for fiscal 2008. The change in net sales was primarily attributable to the following:

 

 

Store count at the end of fiscal 2009 was 384 versus 381 at the end of fiscal 2008. We opened three new stores in fiscal 2009, and opened 18 new stores, net of closures and relocations, in fiscal 2008. Our fiscal 2009 store growth was slowed substantially in response to the economic recession. We anticipate opening between 10 and 15 net new stores in fiscal 2010.

 

Gross Profit.  Gross profit increased by $12.3 million, or 4.3%, to $297.8 million, or 33.2% of net sales, in fiscal 2009 from $285.5 million, or 33.0% of net sales, in fiscal 2008. The change in gross profit was primarily attributable to the following:

 

 

Selling and Administrative Expense.  Selling and administrative expense increased by $2.2 million, or 0.8%, to $260.1 million, or 29.0% of net sales, in fiscal 2009 from $257.9 million, or 29.8% of net sales, in fiscal 2008. The change in selling and administrative expense was primarily attributable to the following:

 

 

 

Interest Expense.  Interest expense decreased by $2.7 million, or 52.6%, to $2.5 million in fiscal 2009 from $5.2 million in fiscal 2008. The decrease in interest expense primarily reflects a reduction in average debt levels of approximately $23.8 million in fiscal 2009 combined with a reduction in average interest rates of approximately 230 basis points to 2.2% during fiscal 2009 from 4.5% in fiscal 2008.

 

Income Taxes.  The provision for income taxes was $13.4 million for fiscal 2009 compared with $8.5 million for fiscal 2008. This increase was primarily due to higher pre-tax income in fiscal 2009 compared to the prior year. Our effective tax rate was 38.1% for fiscal 2009 compared with 37.9% for fiscal 2008.

 

Fiscal 2008 Compared to Fiscal 2007

 

Net Sales.  Net sales decreased by $33.6 million, or 3.7%, to $864.7 million for fiscal 2008 from $898.3 million for fiscal 2007. The decline in net sales was primarily attributable to the following:

 

 

Store count at the end of fiscal 2008 was 381 versus 363 at the end of fiscal 2007. We opened 18 new stores, net of closures and relocations, in fiscal 2008, and opened 20 new stores, net of closures and relocations, in fiscal 2007.

 

Gross Profit.  Gross profit decreased by $23.6 million, or 7.7%, to $285.5 million, or 33.0% of net sales, in fiscal 2008 from $309.1 million, or 34.4% of net sales, in fiscal 2007. The decrease in gross profit was primarily attributable to the following:

 

 

Selling and Administrative Expense.  Selling and administrative expense increased by $1.7 million, or 0.7%, to $257.9 million, or 29.8% of net sales, in fiscal 2008 from $256.2 million, or 28.5% of net sales, in fiscal 2007. The increase in selling and administrative expense was primarily attributable to the following:

 

 

Interest Expense.  Interest expense decreased by $1.4 million, or 21.4%, to $5.2 million in fiscal 2008 from $6.6 million in fiscal 2007. The decrease in interest expense primarily reflected a reduction in average interest rates of 215 basis points to 4.5% during fiscal 2008, offset by higher average debt levels of approximately $14.1 million in fiscal 2008.

 

Income Taxes.  The provision for income taxes was $8.5 million for fiscal 2008 compared with $18.3 million for fiscal 2007, reflecting our lower pre-tax income. Our effective tax rate was 37.9% for fiscal 2008 compared with 39.4% for fiscal 2007. Our lower effective tax rate for fiscal 2008 compared to the prior year primarily reflects the impact of lower pre-tax income on income tax credits for fiscal 2008.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Our principal liquidity requirements are for working capital, capital expenditures and cash dividends. We fund our liquidity requirements primarily through cash on hand, cash flow from operations and borrowings from our revolving credit facility. We believe our cash on hand, future funds from operations and borrowings from our revolving credit facility will be sufficient to fund our cash requirements for at least the next twelve months. There is no assurance, however, that we will be able to generate sufficient cash flow or that we will be able to maintain our ability to borrow under our revolving credit facility.

 

We ended fiscal 2009 with $5.8 million of cash and cash equivalents compared with $9.1 million in fiscal 2008. We reduced our long-term debt by $41.5 million, or 43%, during fiscal 2009 to $55.0 million from $96.5 million at the end of fiscal 2008. The following table summarizes our cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities for each of the past three fiscal years:

 

		Fiscal Year
		2009				2008				2007
		(Dollars in thousands)
Total cash provided by (used in):
Operating activities		$	54,087			$	39,503			$	24,664
Investing activities			(5,764	)			(20,400	)			(20,769	)
Financing activities			(51,616	)			(19,786	)			701
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents		$	(3,293	)		$	(683	)		$	4,596

 

The seasonality of our business historically provides greater cash flow from operations during the holiday and winter selling season, with fourth fiscal quarter net sales traditionally generating the strongest profits of our fiscal year. Typically, we use operating cash flow and borrowings under our revolving credit facility to fund inventory increases in anticipation of the holidays and our inventory levels are at their highest in the months leading up to Christmas. As holiday sales significantly reduce inventory levels, this reduction, combined with net income, historically provides us with strong cash flow from operations at the end of our fiscal year.

Our improved earnings contributed to higher cash flow from operations for fiscal 2009 compared to fiscal 2008, which enabled us to continue to reduce our long-term debt levels year over year. Because of the economic recession, in fiscal 2009 we significantly reduced our capital spending for new store openings from historical levels. For fiscal 2008 we purchased lower quantities of inventory during the year to reduce our overall inventory levels in anticipation of weaker consumer demand resulting from the economic recession. For fiscal 2007 we purchased larger quantities of inventory earlier in the year to insure adequate product availability for the holiday and winter selling season. The higher inventory levels and timing of purchases combined with lower than anticipated sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 resulted in reduced operating cash flow for the year.

 

Operating Activities.  Net cash provided by operating activities for fiscal 2009, 2008 and 2007 was $54.1 million, $39.5 million and $24.7 million, respectively. The increase in cash provided by operating activities for fiscal 2009 compared to fiscal 2008 primarily reflects higher net income for the year, lower receivables due to the timing of settlement of credit card receivables and increases in accrued expenses, offset by a reduced cash flow benefit resulting from lowered inventory levels. The increase in cash provided by operating activities for fiscal 2008 compared to fiscal 2007 primarily reflects lower levels of merchandise inventory purchases to better align our inventory balances with weaker sales resulting from the economic recession, offset by lower net income in fiscal 2008, reductions in accounts payable related to reduced inventory purchases and reduced accrued expenses primarily related to employee compensation and benefits and advertising expense.

 

Investing Activities.  Net cash used in investing activities for fiscal 2009, 2008 and 2007 was $5.8 million, $20.4 million and $20.8 million, respectively. Capital expenditures, excluding non-cash acquisitions, represented substantially all of the net cash used in investing activities for each period. Capital expenditures were lower in fiscal 2009 due to substantially fewer new store openings. Our capital spending is primarily for new store openings, store-related remodeling, distribution center and corporate headquarters’ costs and computer hardware and software purchases. Capital expenditures by category for each of the last three fiscal years are as follows:

 

		Fiscal Year
		2009				2008				2007
		(Dollars in thousands)
New stores		$	2,227			$	10,344			$	12,254
Store-related remodels			2,575				4,744				3,636
Distribution center			384				708				2,557
Computer hardware, software and other			578				4,651				2,321
Total		$	5,764			$	20,447			$	20,769

 

Capital spending in fiscal 2009 was lower than prior years as we conserved capital in response to the economic recession. Our capital expenditures for new stores included three new stores in fiscal 2009; 18 new stores, net of closures and relocations, in fiscal 2008; and 20 new stores, net of closures and relocations, in fiscal 2007. Capital expenditures in fiscal 2009, 2008 and 2007 included amounts related to the implementation of computer system improvements and enhanced security measures to support our infrastructure.

 

Financing Activities.  Net cash used in financing activities for fiscal 2009 and 2008 was $51.6 million and $19.8 million, respectively, while net cash provided by financing activities for fiscal 2007 was $0.7 million. For fiscal 2009, cash provided by operating activities was used to pay down a significant portion of borrowings under our revolving credit facility. We reduced our quarterly dividend payments to $0.05 per share and did not repurchase stock in fiscal 2009, in order to preserve capital during this economic recession. For fiscal 2008, cash provided by operating activities was used to pay down borrowings under our revolving credit facility, repurchase stock and pay dividends. For fiscal 2007, cash provided by borrowings under our revolving credit facility was used primarily to repurchase stock, pay dividends and fund working capital.

 

As of January 3, 2010, we had revolving credit borrowings of $55.0 million and letter of credit commitments of $2.7 million outstanding under our financing agreement. These balances compare to borrowings of $96.5 million and letter of credit commitments of $3.0 million outstanding under our financing agreement as of December 28, 2008.

Our revolving credit facility balances have historically increased from the end of the first quarter to the end of the second quarter and from the end of the third quarter to the week of Thanksgiving. The historical increases in our revolving credit facility balances reflect the build-up of inventory in anticipation of our summer and winter selling seasons. Revolving credit facility balances typically fall from the week of Thanksgiving to the end of the fourth quarter, reflecting inventory sales during the holiday and winter selling season. Our revolving credit borrowings in fiscal 2009 were consistently below fiscal 2008 due primarily to improved operating results and substantially reduced cash used for new store openings in fiscal 2009. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, our revolving credit facility balance declined in line with our historical trends after increasing in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 due to lower than anticipated sales levels.

 

Quarterly dividend payments of $0.09 per share were paid in fiscal 2007 and 2008. Due to the economic recession, in the first quarter of fiscal 2009 our Board of Directors reduced the quarterly cash dividend to $0.05 per share of outstanding common stock for an annual rate of $0.20 per share, and quarterly dividend payments of $0.05 per share were paid in fiscal 2009. This decision was consistent with our objective to utilize capital to maintain a healthy financial condition during the economic recession. In the first quarter of fiscal 2010, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share of outstanding common stock, which will be paid on March 22, 2010 to stockholders of record as of March 8, 2010.

 

Periodically, we repurchase our common stock in the open market pursuant to programs approved by our Board of Directors. Depending on business conditions, we may repurchase our common stock for a variety of reasons, including the current market price of our stock, to offset dilution related to equity-based compensation plans and to optimize our capital structure.

 

During the second quarter of fiscal 2006, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program for the purchase of up to $15.0 million of our common stock. Under this program, we repurchased 672,433 and 64,310 shares of our common stock for $13.7 million and $1.3 million during fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2006, respectively, at which time the program was completed.

 

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, our Board of Directors authorized an additional share repurchase program for the purchase of up to $20.0 million of our common stock. Under the authorization, we may purchase shares from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). However, the timing and amount of such purchases, if any, would be at the discretion of management, and would depend upon market conditions and other considerations. In light of the economic climate, we did not repurchase any shares of our common stock under this program during fiscal 2009. We repurchased 600,999 and 31,343 shares of our common stock under this program for $5.3 million and $0.5 million in fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2007, respectively.

 

Since the inception of our initial share repurchase program in May 2006 through January 3, 2010, we have repurchased a total of 1,369,085 shares for $20.8 million, leaving a total of $14.2 million available for share repurchases under our current share repurchase program. We expect limited, if any, share repurchases in fiscal 2010.

 

Our dividend payments and stock repurchases are generally funded by distributions from our subsidiary, Big 5 Corp. Generally, as long as there is no default or event of default under our financing agreement, Big 5 Corp. may make distributions to us of up to $15.0 million per year (and up to $5.0 million per quarter) for any purpose (including dividend payments or stock repurchases) and may make additional distributions for the purpose of paying our dividends or repurchasing our common stock if Big 5 Corp. will have post-dividend liquidity (as defined in the financing agreement) of at least $30 million.

 

Financing Agreement.  On December 15, 2004, we entered into a $160.0 million financing agreement with The CIT Group/Business Credit, Inc. (“CIT”) and a syndicate of other lenders. On May 24, 2006, we amended the financing agreement to, among other things, increase the line of credit to $175.0 million. In 2007 and 2008 the agreement was further amended to, among other things, adjust various definitions relating to borrowing availability under the agreement and revise certain covenants, including the fixed-charge coverage ratio requirement.

 

The initial termination date of the revolving credit facility under the financing agreement is March 20, 2011 (subject to annual extensions thereafter). The revolving credit facility may be terminated by the lenders by giving at least 90 days prior written notice before any anniversary date, commencing with its anniversary date on March 20,

2011. We may terminate the revolving credit facility by giving at least 30 days prior written notice, provided that if we terminate prior to March 20, 2011, we must pay an early termination fee. Unless it is terminated, the revolving credit facility will continue on an annual basis from anniversary date to anniversary date beginning on March 21, 2011.

 

Under the revolving credit facility, our maximum eligible borrowing capacity is limited to 72.16% of the aggregate value of eligible inventory during October, November and December and 66.38% during the remainder of the year. An annual fee of 0.325%, payable monthly, is assessed on the unused portion of the revolving credit facility. As of January 3, 2010 and December 28, 2008, our total remaining borrowing capacity under the revolving credit facility, after subtracting letters of credit, was $94.3 million and $69.1 million, respectively.

 

The revolving credit facility bears interest at various rates based on our overall borrowings, with a floor of LIBOR plus 1.00% or the JP Morgan Chase Bank prime lending rate and a ceiling of LIBOR plus 1.50% or the JP Morgan Chase Bank prime lending rate.

 

The following table provides information about borrowings under our revolving credit facility as of and for the periods indicated:

 

		Fiscal Year
		2009				2008
		(Dollars in thousands)
Fiscal year-end balance		$	54,955			$	96,499
Average interest rate			2.22	%			4.49	%
Maximum outstanding during the year		$	114,543			$	144,825
Average outstanding during the year		$	83,627			$	107,475

 

Our financing agreement is secured by a first priority security interest in substantially all of our assets. Our financing agreement contains various financial and other covenants, including covenants that require us to maintain a fixed-charge coverage ratio of not less than 1.0 to 1.0 in certain circumstances, restrict our ability to incur indebtedness or to create various liens and restrict the amount of capital expenditures that we may incur. Our financing agreement also restricts our ability to engage in mergers or acquisitions, sell assets, repurchase our stock or pay dividends. We may repurchase our stock or declare a dividend only if, among other things, no default or event of default exists on the stock repurchase date or dividend declaration date, as applicable, and a default is not expected to result from the repurchase of stock or payment of the dividend and certain other criteria are met, as more fully described in Part II, Item 5, Market For Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters And Issuer Purchases Of Equity Securities, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The requirements are described in more detail in the financing agreement and the amendments thereto, which have been filed as exhibits to our previous filings with the SEC. We are in compliance with all financial covenants under our financing agreement. If we fail to make any required payment under our financing agreement or if we otherwise default under this instrument, the lenders may (i) require us to agree to less favorable interest rates and other terms under the agreement in exchange for a waiver of any such default or (ii) accelerate our debt under this agreement. This acceleration could also result in the acceleration of other indebtedness that we may have outstanding at that time.

 

During the second half of fiscal 2010, we intend to negotiate a new revolving credit financing agreement to replace our current financing agreement which has an initial termination date of March 20, 2011. We expect that our interest expense and amortization associated with financing fees will be higher in fiscal 2011 as a result of entering into a new financing agreement. Under our current financing agreement, the LIBOR base borrowing option includes an interest rate range of LIBOR plus 1.00% to 1.50%. Based on current market conditions, under a new revolving credit financing agreement the interest rate range is expected to increase by approximately 150 basis points or more. In addition, beginning in the first quarter of 2010, our outstanding debt associated with our existing revolving credit facility will be classified as a current liability.

 

Future Capital Requirements.  We had cash on hand of $5.8 million at January 3, 2010. We expect capital expenditures for fiscal 2010, excluding non-cash acquisitions, to range from approximately $14.0 million to $17.0 million, primarily to fund the opening of new stores, store-related remodeling, distribution center equipment and computer hardware and software purchases. In light of the economic recession experienced in fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2008, we slowed our store expansion efforts substantially in fiscal 2009 in comparison to previous years. We anticipate opening between 10 and 15 net new stores in fiscal 2010 compared to three net new stores in fiscal 2009.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2009, our Board of Directors reduced our quarterly cash dividend to $0.05 per share of outstanding common stock, for an annual rate of $0.20 per share. In the first quarter of fiscal 2010, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share of outstanding common stock, which will be paid on March 22, 2010 to stockholders of record as of March 8, 2010.

 

As of February 26, 2010, a total of $14.2 million remained available for share repurchases under our share repurchase program. We consider several factors in determining when and if we make share repurchases including, among other things, our alternative cash requirements, existing business conditions and the market price of our stock. Due to the economic recession, we discontinued share repurchases in fiscal 2009 and expect limited, if any, share repurchases in fiscal 2010.

 

We believe we will be able to fund our cash requirements, for at least the next twelve months, from cash on hand, operating cash flows and borrowings from our revolving credit facility. However, our ability to satisfy our cash requirements depends upon our future performance, which in turn is subject to general economic conditions and regional risks, and to financial, business and other factors affecting our operations, including factors beyond our control. There is no assurance that we will be able to generate sufficient cash flow or that we will be able to maintain our ability to borrow under our revolving credit facility.

 

If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow from operations to meet our obligations and commitments, or if we are unable to maintain our ability to borrow sufficient amounts under our existing revolving credit facility, or successfully negotiate and enter into a new revolving credit facility to replace our current facility, which has an initial termination date of March 20, 2011, we will be required to refinance or restructure our indebtedness or raise additional debt or equity capital. Additionally, we may be required to sell material assets or operations, suspend or further reduce dividend payments or delay or forego expansion opportunities. We might not be able to implement successful alternative strategies on satisfactory terms, if at all.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Contractual Obligations.  Our material off-balance sheet arrangements are operating lease obligations and letters of credit. We excluded these items from the balance sheet in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”). A summary of our operating lease obligations and letter of credit commitments by fiscal year is included in the table below. Additional information regarding our operating leases is available in Item 2, Properties and Note 6, Lease Commitments, of the notes to consolidated financial statements included in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Our future obligations and commitments as of January 3, 2010, include the following:

 

		Payments Due by Period
		Total				Less Than 1 Year				1-3 Years				3-5 Years				After 5 Years
		(In thousands)
Capital lease obligations		$	4,557			$	2,107			$	2,103			$	347			$	—
Lease commitments:
Operating lease commitments			311,180				58,470				99,923				78,252				74,535
Other occupancy costs			67,617				12,528				21,647				17,036				16,406
Other liabilities			8,713				2,455				2,818				1,528				1,912
Revolving credit facility			54,955				—				54,955				—				—
Letters of credit			2,749				2,749				—				—				—
Total		$	449,771			$	78,309			$	181,446			$	97,163			$	92,853

 

Capital lease obligations, which include imputed interest, consist principally of leases for our distribution center delivery tractors and management information systems hardware. Payments for these lease obligations are provided by cash flows generated from operations or through borrowings from our revolving credit facility.

 

Operating lease commitments consist principally of leases for our retail store facilities, distribution center and corporate office. These leases frequently include options which permit us to extend the terms beyond the initial fixed lease term. With respect to most of those leases, we intend to renegotiate those leases as they expire.

Other occupancy costs include estimated property maintenance fees and property taxes for our stores, distribution center and corporate headquarters.

 

Other liabilities consist principally of actuarially-determined reserve estimates related to workers’ compensation claims, a contractual obligation for the surviving spouse of Robert W. Miller, our co-founder, and an asset retirement obligation related to the removal of leasehold improvements from our stores upon termination of our store leases.

 

Periodic interest payments on the revolving credit facility are not included in the preceding table because interest expense is based on variable indices, both LIBOR and the JP Morgan Chase Bank prime lending rates, and the balance of our revolving credit facility fluctuates daily depending on operating, investing and financing cash flows. Assuming no changes in our revolving credit facility debt or interest rates as of the fiscal 2009 year-end, our projected annual interest payments would be approximately $1.1 million.

 

Letters of credit are related primarily to importing merchandise and funding insurance program liabilities.

 

In the ordinary course of business, we enter into arrangements with vendors to purchase merchandise in advance of expected delivery. Because most of these purchase orders do not contain any termination payments or other penalties if cancelled, they are not included as outstanding contractual obligations.

 

Critical Accounting Estimates

 

Our critical accounting estimates are included in our significant accounting policies as described in Note 2 of the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Those consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP. Critical accounting estimates are those that we believe are most important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expense. Our estimates are evaluated on an ongoing basis and drawn from historical experience, current trends and other factors that management believes to be relevant at the time our consolidated financial statements are prepared. Actual results may differ from our estimates. Management believes that the following accounting estimates reflect the more significant judgments and estimates we use in preparing our consolidated financial statements.

 

Valuation of Merchandise Inventories

 

Our merchandise inventories are made up of finished goods and are valued at the lower of cost or market using the weighted-average cost method that approximates the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) method. Average cost includes the direct purchase price of merchandise inventory, net of vendor allowances and cash discounts, and allocated overhead costs associated with our distribution center.

 

We record valuation reserves on a quarterly basis for merchandise damage and defective returns, merchandise items with slow-moving or obsolescence exposure and merchandise that has a carrying value that exceeds market value. These reserves are estimates of a reduction in value to reflect inventory valuation at the lower of cost or market. The reserve for merchandise returns is based upon the determination of the historical net realizable value of products sold from our returned goods inventory or returned to vendors for credit. Our reserve for merchandise returns includes amounts for returned product on-hand as well as for new merchandise on-hand that we estimate will ultimately become returned goods inventory after being sold, based on historical return rates. Factors included in determining slow-moving or obsolescence reserve estimates include current and anticipated demand or customer preferences, merchandise aging, seasonal trends and decisions to discontinue certain products. Because of our merchandise mix, we have not historically experienced significant occurrences of obsolescence. Our inventory valuation reserves for merchandise returns, slow-moving or obsolescent merchandise and for lower of cost or market provisions totaled $2.6 million and $2.5 million as of January 3, 2010 and December 28, 2008, respectively, representing approximately 1% of our merchandise inventory for both periods.

 

Inventory shrinkage is accrued as a percentage of merchandise sales based on historical inventory shrinkage trends. We perform physical inventories at each of our stores at least once per year and cycle count inventories encompassing all inventory items at least once every quarter at our distribution center. The reserve for inventory shrinkage represents an estimate for inventory shrinkage for each store since the last physical inventory date through

the reporting date. Inventory shrinkage can be impacted by internal factors such as the level of investment in employee training and loss prevention and external factors such as the health of the overall economy, and shrink reserve estimates can vary from actual results. Our reserve for inventory shrinkage was $2.0 million and $1.9 million as of January 3, 2010 and December 28, 2008, respectively, representing approximately 1% of our merchandise inventory for both periods.

 

A 10% change in our inventory reserves estimate in total at January 3, 2010, would result in a change in reserves of approximately $0.5 million and a change in pre-tax earnings by the same amount. Our reserves are estimates, which could vary significantly, either favorably or unfavorably, from actual results if future economic conditions, consumer demand and competitive environments differ from our expectations. At this time, we do not believe that there is a reasonable likelihood that there will be a material change in the future estimates or assumptions that we use to calculate our inventory reserves.

 

Valuation of Long-Lived Assets

 

We review our long-lived assets for impairment annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable.

 

Long-lived assets are reviewed for recoverability at the lowest level in which there are identifiable cash flows, usually at the store level. We determine which stores to review based upon their profitability. Each store typically requires investments of approximately $0.5 million in long-lived assets to be held and used, subject to recoverability testing. The carrying amount of a long-lived asset is not considered recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset. If the asset is determined not to be recoverable, then it is considered to be impaired and the impairment to be recognized is the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset, determined using discounted cash flow valuation techniques, as defined in the impairment provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) No. 360, Property, Plant, and Equipment.

 

We determine the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of an asset by projecting future revenue and operating expense for each store under consideration for impairment. The estimates of future cash flows involve management judgment and are based upon assumptions about expected future operating performance. Assumptions used in these forecasts are consistent with internal planning, and include assumptions about sales, margins, operating expense and advertising expense in relation to the current economic environment and our future expectations, competitive factors in our various markets and inflation. The actual cash flows could differ from management’s estimates due to changes in business conditions, operating performance and economic conditions.

 

Our evaluation resulted in no long-lived asset impairment charges during fiscal 2009 and 2008, while fiscal 2007 resulted in long-lived asset impairment charges that were not material.

 

A 10% change in the sum of our undiscounted cash flow estimates resulting from different assumptions used at January 3, 2010, would not result in a change in long-lived asset impairment charges for fiscal 2009.

 

Self-Insurance Liabilities

 

We maintain self-insurance programs for our estimated commercial general liability risk and, in certain states, our estimated workers’ compensation liability risk. In addition, effective January 1, 2010, we have a self-insurance program for a portion of our employee medical benefits. Under these programs, we maintain insurance coverage for losses in excess of specified per-occurrence amounts. Estimated costs under the workers’ compensation program, including incurred but not reported claims, are recorded as expense based upon historical experience, trends of paid and incurred claims, and other actuarial assumptions. If actual claims trends under these programs, including the severity or frequency of claims, differ from our estimates, our financial results may be significantly impacted. Our estimated self-insurance liabilities are classified in our balance sheet as accrued expenses or other long-term liabilities based upon whether they are expected to be paid during or beyond our normal operating cycle of

12 months from the date of our consolidated financial statements. As of January 3, 2010 and December 28, 2008, our self-insurance liabilities totaled $6.8 million and $7.0 million, respectively.

 

A 10% change in our estimated self-insurance liabilities estimate as of January 3, 2010, would result in a change in our liability of approximately $0.7 million and a change in pre-tax earnings by the same amount.

 

Seasonality and Impact of Inflation

 

We experience seasonal fluctuations in our net sales and operating results and typically generate higher net sales in the fourth fiscal quarter, which includes the holiday selling season. Accordingly, in the fourth fiscal quarter we experience normally higher purchase volumes and increased expense for staffing and advertising. Seasonality influences our buying patterns which directly impacts our merchandise and accounts payable levels and cash flows. We purchase merchandise for seasonal activities in advance of a season. If we miscalculate the demand for our products generally or for our product mix during the fourth fiscal quarter, our net sales can decline, resulting in excess inventory, which can harm our financial performance. A shortfall from expected fourth fiscal quarter net sales can negatively impact our annual operating results.

 

We do not believe that inflation had a material impact on our operating results for the three preceding fiscal years. In fiscal 2008 we experienced increasing inflation in the purchase cost of certain products, which continued into the first half of fiscal 2009. During the last half of fiscal 2009, the trend of inflation in product purchase costs generally appeared to stabilize. If we are unable to adjust our selling prices for purchase cost increases then our merchandise margins will decline, which could adversely impact our operating results.

 

Recently Issued Accounting Guidance

 

See Note 2 to consolidated financial statements included in Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

This document includes certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, our financial condition, our results of operations, our growth strategy and the business of our company generally. In some cases, you can identify such statements by terminology such as “may”, “could”, “project”, “estimate”, “potential”, “continue”, “should”, “expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends” or other such terminology. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, continued or worsening weakness in the consumer spending environment and the U.S. financial and credit markets, the competitive environment in the sporting goods industry in general and in our specific market areas, inflation, product availability and growth opportunities, seasonal fluctuations, weather conditions, changes in cost of goods, operating expense fluctuations, disruption in product flow, changes in interest rates, credit availability, higher costs associated with current and new sources of credit resulting from uncertainty in financial markets and economic conditions in general. Those and other risks and uncertainties are more fully described in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors, in this report. We caution that the risk factors set forth in this report are not exclusive. In addition, we conduct our business in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment. Accordingly, new risk factors may arise. It is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor to assess the impact of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any individual risk factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.

 

 

We are subject to risks resulting from interest rate fluctuations since interest on our borrowings under our revolving credit facility is based on variable rates. We enter into borrowings under our revolving credit facility principally for working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. We routinely evaluate the best

use of our cash and manage financial statement exposure to interest rate fluctuations by managing our level of indebtedness and the interest base rate options on such indebtedness, either LIBOR or the JP Morgan Chase Bank prime rate. We do not utilize derivative instruments and do not engage in foreign currency transactions or hedging activities to manage our interest rate risk. If the LIBOR or JP Morgan Chase Bank prime rate was to change 1.0% as compared to the rate at January 3, 2010, our interest expense would change approximately $0.6 million on an annual basis based on the outstanding balance of our borrowings under our revolving credit facility at January 3, 2010.

 

 

The financial statements and the supplementary financial information required by this Item and included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are listed in the Index to consolidated financial statements beginning on page F-1.

 

 

None.

 

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

We maintain a system of disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information which is required to be timely disclosed is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), in a timely fashion. We conducted an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our CEO and CFO, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) as of January 3, 2010. Based on such evaluation, our CEO and CFO have concluded that, as of January 3, 2010, our disclosure controls and procedures are effective, at a reasonable assurance level, in recording, processing, summarizing and reporting, on a timely basis, information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act and are effective in ensuring that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our CEO and CFO, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

 

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act.

 

Our internal control over financial reporting includes policies and procedures that pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect transactions and disposition of assets; provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”), and that receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with the authorization of our management and directors; and provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.

 

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projection of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods is 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.

 

Management conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of January 3, 2010, based upon the Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). Based on this assessment, management has concluded that, as of January 3, 2010, we maintained effective internal control over financial reporting. The attestation report issued by Deloitte & Touche LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, on our internal control over financial reporting is included herein.

 

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

 

There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

The Board of Directors and Stockholders

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation

El Segundo, California

 

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation and subsidiaries (“the Company”) as of January 3, 2010, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. 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 conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). 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 by, or under the supervision of, the company’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by the company’s board of directors, management, and other personnel 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 the inherent limitations of internal control over financial reporting, including the possibility of collusion or improper management override of controls, material misstatements due to error or fraud may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. 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.

 

In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of January 3, 2010 based on the criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

 

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule as of and for the year ended January 3, 2010 of the Company and our report dated March 3, 2010 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements and financial statement schedule.

 

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

 

Los Angeles, California

March 3, 2010

 

None.

PART III

 

 

The information required by this Item has been omitted and will be incorporated herein by reference, when filed, to our Proxy Statement, which is expected to be filed not later than 120 days after the end of our fiscal year ended January 3, 2010.

 

 

The information required by this Item has been omitted and will be incorporated herein by reference, when filed, to our Proxy Statement, which is expected to be filed not later than 120 days after the end of our fiscal year ended January 3, 2010.

 

 

The information required by this Item has been omitted and will be incorporated herein by reference, when filed, to our Proxy Statement, which is expected to be filed not later than 120 days after the end of our fiscal year ended January 3, 2010.

 

 

The information required by this Item has been omitted and will be incorporated herein by reference, when filed, to our Proxy Statement, which is expected to be filed not later than 120 days after the end of our fiscal year ended January 3, 2010.

 

 

The information required by this Item has been omitted and will be incorporated herein by reference, when filed, to our Proxy Statement, which is expected to be filed not later than 120 days after the end of our fiscal year ended January 3, 2010.

PART IV

 

 

(a) Documents filed as part of this report:

 

(1) Financial Statements.

 

See Index to Consolidated Financial Statements on page F-1 hereof.

 

(2) Financial Statement Schedule.

 

See Index to Consolidated Financial Statements on page F-1 hereof.

 

(3) Exhibits.

 

See Index to Exhibits on page E-1 hereof immediately following the financial statements, which is hereby incorporated by reference into this Item 15. Certain exhibits are incorporated by reference from documents previously filed by the Company with the SEC as required by Item 601 of Regulation S-K.

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

BIG 5 SPORTING GOODS CORPORATION,

a Delaware corporation

 

Date: March 3, 2010

Steven G. Miller

Chairman of the Board of Directors,

President, Chief Executive Officer and

Director of the Company

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated:

 

BIG 5 SPORTING GOODS CORPORATION

 

 

The Board of Directors and Stockholders

Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation

El Segundo, California:

 

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of January 3, 2010 and December 28, 2008, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for the years ended January 3, 2010, December 28, 2008 and December 30, 2007. Our audits also included the financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a)(2). These financial statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial statement schedule based on our audits.

 

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

In our opinion, such consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation and subsidiaries as of January 3, 2010 and December 28, 2008, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for the years ended January 3, 2010, December 28, 2008 and December 30, 2007, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also, in our opinion, such consolidated financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein.

 

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of January 3, 2010, based on the criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated March 3, 2010 expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

 

Los Angeles, California

March 3, 2010

BIG 5 SPORTING GOODS CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share amounts)

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

BIG 5 SPORTING GOODS CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share data)

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

BIG 5 SPORTING GOODS CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(In thousands, except share amounts)

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

BIG 5 SPORTING GOODS CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)