Clarus Corp - Annual Report: 2014 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ____________ to ____________

Commission File Number: 001-34767

BLACK DIAMOND, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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

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

None

(Title of class)

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

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

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 x NO ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, 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 x NO ¨

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

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.

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

The aggregate market value of the voting stock and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant at June 30, 2014 was approximately $261.4 million based on $11.22 per share, the closing price of the common stock as quoted on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

As of March 10, 2015, there were 32,704,171 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001, outstanding.

DOCUMENT INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of our Proxy Statement for the 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days of the Registrant’s 2014 fiscal year end are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

INDEX

BLACK DIAMOND, INC.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Overview

Black Diamond, Inc. (which may be referred to as “Black Diamond,” “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us”) is a global leader in designing, manufacturing, and marketing innovative active outdoor performance equipment and apparel for climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, skiing, cycling, and a wide range of other year-round outdoor recreation activities. Our principal brands include Black Diamond®, POC™ and PIEPS™ and are targeted not only to the demanding requirements of core climbers, skiers and cyclists, but also to the more general outdoor performance enthusiasts and consumers interested in outdoor-inspired gear for their backcountry and urban activities. Our Black Diamond®, POC™ and PIEPS™ brands are iconic in the active outdoor, ski and cycling industries and linked intrinsically with the modern history of the sports we serve. We believe our brands are synonymous with the performance, innovation, durability and safety that the outdoor and action sports communities rely on and embrace in their active lifestyle.

We offer a broad range of products including: high performance apparel (such as jackets, shells, pants and bibs) rock-climbing equipment (such as carabiners, protection devices, harnesses, belay devices, helmets, and ice-climbing gear); technical backpacks and high-end day packs; tents; trekking poles; headlamps and lanterns; and gloves and mittens. We also offer advanced design helmets, body armor, and goggles for skiing, mountain and road cycling, as well as eyewear, skis, ski poles, ski bindings, ski boots, ski skins, and ski safety products, including avalanche transceivers, shovels, and probes.  We distribute our products through a network comprised primarily of leading independent specialty retailers, specialty chains such as Recreational Equipment, Inc. (“REI”), independent global distributors selling to specialty retail, and direct-to-consumer through our websites and wholly-owned retail stores. Our products are sold in North America, Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world in approximately 50 countries, with international sales representing approximately 60% of our sales for the year ended December 31, 2014.

Our heritage dates back to 1957 when Chouinard Equipment Ltd. pioneered the market for durable, precise, and reusable pitons — devices used to ascend or protect oneself in the event of a fall in the sport of big wall rock climbing. Over the next thirty years, Chouinard Equipment expanded to design and manufacture all kinds of equipment for rock climbing and mountain, canyon, and crag activities. In 1989, our Chief Executive Officer Peter Metcalf co-founded Black Diamond Equipment, our predecessor company, to purchase the business and assets of Chouinard Equipment, a company he ran starting in 1982. In our 58 year heritage, we have developed a track record of gear innovations that has changed the nature of climbing, mountaineering, skiing, and now cycling. By extension, our history and brands have become synonymous with the sports in which we participate. The genesis of the current Black Diamond, Inc. was through the May 2010 acquisition of Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd. (which may be referred to as “Black Diamond Equipment” or “BDEL”) and Gregory Mountain Products, Inc. (which may be referred to as “Gregory Mountain Products” or “GMP”) by Clarus Corporation, a public company. Clarus Corporation, incorporated in Delaware in 1991, was renamed Black Diamond, Inc. in January 2011. In July 2012 we acquired POC Sweden AB and its subsidiaries (collectively, “POC”) and in October 2012 we acquired PIEPS Holding GmbH and its subsidiaries (collectively, “PIEPS”).

On July 23, 2014, the Company and Gregory Mountain Products, its then wholly-owned subsidiary, completed the sale of certain assets to Samsonite LLC (“Samsonite”) comprising GMP’s business of designing, manufacturing, marketing, distributing and selling technical, alpine, backpacking, hiking, mountaineering and active trail products and accessories as well as outdoor-inspired lifestyle bags (the “Gregory Business”) pursuant to the terms of that certain Asset Purchase Agreement (the “GMP Purchase Agreement”), dated as of June 18, 2014, by and among the Company, Gregory Mountain Products and Samsonite. Under the terms of the GMP Purchase Agreement, Samsonite paid $84,135,000 in cash for GMP’s assets comprising the Gregory Business and assumed certain specified liabilities (the “GMP Sale”). The activities of GMP have been segregated and reported as discontinued operations for all periods presented.

Market Overview

Our business and brands are benefiting from the convergence of function and fashion in the outdoor and athletic apparel, footwear, and equipment space. We believe consumer purchase decisions are driven by both a need for functional products with distinctive aesthetics and a desire to create a particular lifestyle perception. This confluence and consumer behavior can be seen in a number of highly successful lifestyle brands including Lululemon, Under Armour, The North Face, Patagonia and Nike. Primary growth drivers in our business include innovative products that provide a higher level of protection, performance and or comfort, an increased awareness in health and wellness, the desire to own functional products that are aesthetically pleasing, and the continued success and exposure of our key retail partners, including REI, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Backcountry.com, Decathalon, Au Vieux Campeur, Sport Shuster, and Bachli Bergsport. The outdoor products marketplace, both domestically and internationally, is highly fragmented. Specialty brands, particularly throughout Europe, hold respectable market share relative to larger competitors. We see this fragmentation as an opportunity for a leader to emerge, particularly in the more technical categories. We believe that our strong relationships in the specialty retail channel and our expanding online presence provide us with a competitive advantage and the opportunity for significant growth.

Competitive Strengths

At Black Diamond, we live and breathe the adventure sports that we represent and approach business like we approach our sporting passions, where there is precious little room for error. We believe the following strengths differentiate us from our competitors, allowing us to take advantage of the large and growing market in which we participate:

Authentic Portfolio of Iconic/Lifestyle Brands. We believe that our brands are iconic among devoted active outdoor adventurers, skiers and cyclists with a strong reputation for innovation, style, quality, design, safety and durability. Our brands also appeal to everyday customers seeking high quality, outdoor-inspired lifestyle products for outdoor or urban and suburban living. The authenticity of our brands is reinforced by our selective distribution strategy focused on specialty retail stores that we believe are the most influential stores within the outdoor recreation and active lifestyle communities. We believe our brands transcend age, culture and geography, and our paradigm-changing products define their respective product categories. Our focus on innovation, safety and style differentiates us from our competitors and positions Black Diamond to address the growing market for outdoor recreation equipment and active lifestyle products.

Global Brands

Black Diamond Equipment: Black Diamond Equipment apparel and products are designed for climbers, mountaineers and skiers as well as aspirational outdoor enthusiasts. We focus on innovation and performance, and we strive to deliver products that epitomize high quality and durability. Black Diamond won two ISPO Gold awards in 2014 for its JetForce avalanche airbags and Cohaesive embedded technology in outerwear, along with over 40 awards from outdoor and broad based media honoring the brand for its apparel, backpacks, climbing equipment, headlamps, skis and trekking poles. Thus far in 2015, Black Diamond has earned two innovation awards for its versatile Snaggletooth crampon, as well as awards for the Deployment Hoody and the entire Spring 2015 Climbing pack line at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah. At 2015 ISPO Munich, Black Diamond apparel won an ISPO award for the Mission Pant outfitted with the PIEPS Pocket, a patent-pending solution providing an alternative to the traditional chest harness.

POC: Based in Stockholm, Sweden, POC’s mission, as a developer of protective gear for action sports, is to save lives and reduce the consequences of injury. POC produces and distributes advanced-design helmets, body armor, goggles, eyewear, gloves, and apparel for action or “gravity sports,” such as skiing, snowboarding, and cycling, with a particular emphasis on safety and protection.  POC, renowned for its design aesthetic, research, and innovation, is the recipient of numerous industry awards, including the Ski Industry Association and US Ski Team’s DesRoches Award for innovation in marketing and outstanding support and promotion of the US Ski Team and USSA club programs. Additionally, POC won 2015/16 ISPO awards in the ski category for the new multi-impact Auric helmet and Super Palm Comp gloves. POC’s patented technologies continue to set new standards for construction, material combinations, and engineering for personal protection. In late 2014, POC received the Design S award in Sweden for its AVIP road cycling apparel and Popular Science named POC a “Best of What’s New” grand award winner for the Skull Orbic Comp H.I. MIPS multi-impact helmet. The brand’s 2015 road cycling collection was recognized with a Eurobike Award for the Cerebel helmet and the Triathlete Magazine “Best Safety Product” award for the Octal AVIP MIPS multi-impact helmet. At the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Volvo Car Group announced a new partnership with POC for life saving wearable technology.

PIEPS: Headquartered in Lebring, Steiermark, Austria, PIEPS is widely recognized as an innovator and technology leader in beacon technology (having created the modern avalanche transceiver) and avalanche safety equipment. PIEPS offers a focused range of premium avalanche safety products, including transceivers and probes, shovels, related equipment, and packs. PIEPS is the official safety partner of the Association of Austrian Mountain and Ski Guides. PIEPS played a key partnership role with Black Diamond Equipment in development of the new JetForce avalanche airbag technology platform.

Product Innovation and Development Capabilities. We have a long history of technical innovation and product development, with over 100 patents and patents pending worldwide and hundreds of new product introductions since 1989 and before. Our employees’ passion and intimacy with our core outdoor activities fosters new and innovative ideas, which we believe provides a significant advantage that will drive our company and industry to new levels. Our Salt Lake City headquarters, nestled in the Wasatch Mountains, with such a vibrant user community, provides the ideal backdrop for our employees, many of whom are high-level performance athletes in these sports themselves, to test and refine our new products. We endorse several top athletes who evaluate our products in the field, providing valuable feedback and suggestions to our designers. In recent years, we have developed many innovative products that have revolutionized the active outdoor space including: JetForce, the first avalanche airbag that uses electronically controlled jet-fan inflation technology, trekking poles with FlickLock® technology; Z-Poles that can fold to one-third their size; the AvaLung® backpack; the Magnetron magnetically locking carabiner; the Vapor climbing helmet, one of the lightest climbing helmets on the market; and brighter, more compact and lighter-weight headlamps. We believe that our POC™ brand has brought a higher level of safety to ski racers and cyclists with patented protective gear technologies. We seek to design products that enhance our customers’ personal performance, safety, and comfort as they participate in the activities we serve. We integrate quality assurance and quality control teams throughout the entire design process to maintain the quality, integrity, and safety that our brands are known for. We believe that our vertically integrated design, development process and enthusiastic employee base provide us with a unique competitive advantage to continue to drive future innovation for our Company and the industries we serve.

Diversified Portfolio by Brand, Product, Geography and Channel. Our business is highly diversified across brands, products, geographies, and channels. We operate a multi-brand platform with Black Diamond®, POC™, and PIEPS™ branded products spanning 33 single product categories addressing four primary categories of climbing, mountaineering, skiing, and wheels. Our lighting product category is the only product category which accounts for more than 15% of annual sales. This provides seasonal diversification with a balance of sales across both the fall/winter and spring/summer sports seasons. Our brands are truly global with approximately 60% of our sales for the year ended December 31, 2014 generated outside the United States in approximately 50 countries. We have a highly diversified customer base and sell products in approximately 10,000 retail locations, including independent and specialty stores, our websites at www.blackdiamondequipment.com and www.pocsports.com, and other retail locations. We believe that our brand, product, geographic, and distribution channel diversity allows us to maximize the reach of our brand portfolio while reducing the risk associated with any single brand, product category or point of distribution.

Scalable Global Operating Platform. We have developed a highly scalable global platform of manufacturing, sourcing, quality assurance, distribution, IT, and back office capabilities. We manufacture approximately 20% to 25% of our proprietary products in-house, which we believe is cost competitive and helps us maintain our competitive advantage over our peers. We also have a global network of high-quality strategic partners, many of whom we have had relationships with for over ten years, from which we source the remaining approximately 75% to 80% of our manufactured products. We have in-house quality assurance teams in our facilities in Salt Lake City, Zhuhai, China, and in Bataan, Philippines, the site of a large portion of our third party manufacturing, allowing for real-time testing and development. Our back-office functions, including supply chain management, warehousing, sourcing, and finance, run on our global ERP platform. Our scalable global operating platform provides for separate front-end operations, which allows our individual brands to remain unique to our customers and to retain brand ethos while benefitting from our global scale and back-end infrastructure. Additionally, we believe that we can efficiently insert new brands into the existing structure, as we have done with the integration of POC and PIEPS.

Core Values Deeply Rooted in Organization. Our company was founded with the vision of being one with the sports we serve, absolutely indistinguishable from them. Our mission is to profitably design, manufacture, and bring to market innovative and technical products of high quality, high performance, and exemplary durability that are targeted toward our primary customers – climbers, mountaineers, off-piste skiers, ski racers, cyclists, and outdoor enthusiasts. We define ourselves on a five-pillar founding construct: passion and intimacy, innovation, efficiency, value and service, and style. We are guided by our ten commitments, which include pursuing market leadership, maintaining a global presence, supporting specialty retailing, and developing a sustainable competitive advantage. Our employees have a tight bond and shared enthusiasm for the active outdoors. The sports we collectively engage in have athleticism, adventure and commitment at their core, and our team shares these qualities throughout the organization. We take pride in our efforts to support conservation, education, and recreation groups that are on the frontlines of protecting and preserving the wild lands we love and depend on. These shared core values enable us to attract and retain like-minded, highly motivated employees with passion for the active outdoors.

Experienced and Incentivized Senior Management Team. Our senior management team has been involved in the operation, acquisition, and integration of several successful companies. Peter Metcalf, our lead-founder and Chief Executive Officer for over 25 years, boasts a lifetime of active participation in outdoor sports and a compelling track record in the outdoor/ski products industry. Zeena A. Freeman, our President since August 2014, brings to the Company a combination of leadership, strategic thinking, brand management, and consumer product and omni-channel expertise. We are also supported by the skills and collective experience of Warren B. Kanders, our Executive Chairman, and Robert R. Schiller, our Executive Vice Chairman, who have substantial experience working together in managing operations and building public companies through strategic acquisitions and organic development, notably at Armor Holdings, Inc. Mr. Kanders and Mr. Schiller have worked together for the past 18 years. We have assembled a proven and talented global management team led by Mr. Metcalf. We have historically experienced very low management turnover, as our executives share a passion for outdoor recreation and an active lifestyle, and possess substantial experience in product development, marketing, and merchandising. The members of our Board of Directors and our executive officers, including Messrs. Kanders, Metcalf, and Schiller, as well as Ms. Zeena Freeman, are substantial stockholders of the Company and beneficially own approximately 31% of our outstanding common stock as of March 10, 2015, which we believe aligns the interests of our Board of Directors and our executive officers with those of our stockholders.

Growth Strategy

We intend to achieve sustainable, profitable growth by expanding organically in each of our historical product lines, our recently acquired businesses, and our new apparel and road cycling lines. Our goal is to become the number one premium active outdoor gear and lifestyle company.

Continue to service and grow existing retail accounts. Since our inception, we have developed strong relationships with our key retail partners through a mutual respect and admiration for the sports we serve. As the outdoor retail industry expands in terms of both sales and store count, we believe that we are well-poised to capitalize on this growth opportunity. Through our various corporate initiatives, including our retail introduction of a technical apparel line, the extension of our existing product portfolios, an emphasis on brand awareness and visual merchandising, we plan to grow and service our existing retail accounts as well as foster new relationships.

Introduce New Product Technologies and Expand Existing Brands Into New Categories. We believe our new product extensions present opportunities, through both technological innovation and expansion into new categories. We have a long history of technical innovation, introducing hundreds of new products and growing sales at a 14% compound annual growth rate since 1989. We expect to continue this product innovation and see the potential for continued growth driven by future product innovation as well as increasing participation in the active outdoor sports that we serve. For instance, POC continues its efforts to expand into the road cycling market with the debut of its award winning Octal AVIP MIPS helmet which was worn by Team Garmin Sharp in the Tour de France in 2014 and won the “Best Safety Product” award from Triathlete Magazine at the Fall 2014 Interbike trade show. POC continues its effort to expand into new markets with the announcement at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) of a new partnership with Volvo Car Group for life saving wearable technology.

We continue to seek to expand our business into both adjacent and complementary product categories, including outdoor technical apparel. In 2012, we introduced to the trade our first, small apparel line which was in retail stores in fall 2013 and expanded substantially in Fall 2014. Likewise for POC, its entry into the road-cycling category in the spring of 2014 with innovative apparel helmets and accessories represented our initial move into cycling’s largest category. We believe that apparel represents the single largest growth opportunity for our brands and that our intimate understanding of the desired fit, performance, style, and aesthetics of products for the sports we serve will help us to be successful with our efforts to expand our apparel initiatives. We have expanded our product offerings and grown our sales through innovation in ski boots, gloves, trekking poles, helmets, headlamps and apparel as well as introducing new technologies, such as our JetForce avalanche airbags. We believe apparel represents a logical progression for our outdoor brands while also believing that footwear may be another natural extension of our product offerings and expect to seek to enter that market in the future.

Broaden Distribution Footprint and Elevate Brand Profile. We believe there is a significant opportunity to expand our brand presence and penetration outside of the U.S. market. The European alpine market is currently significantly larger than the U.S. market and is highly fragmented by country, with no clear leader across Europe. We have been able to gain market share by emphasizing our Black Diamond® brand, positioning it as a global brand with American roots and POC™ and PIEPS™ as global brands with Scandinavian and European roots, respectively. Furthermore, we plan to seek to bring some of our international distributors in-house, to seek to increase the number of doors we sell through and drive higher sales through new and existing doors.

We believe that our presence in Asia, driven by our business in Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Japan and other key Asian markets, represents a significant growth opportunity.

Expand Our Operating Margins. We believe opportunities exist to increase our margins to be more in-line with our outdoor peers. Over the past several years, we have made significant investments in our global operating platform and we are currently investing in our apparel and road cycling initiatives. A primary driver of our expected margin expansion will include leveraging these investments as our sales continue to grow. Additionally, we expect to see margin expansion as we shift our sales mix to higher margin products and build our direct-to-consumer business with their higher margins.

Our Brands

Our Black Diamond®, POC™, and PIEPS™ brands represent the pinnacle of innovation, quality, and performance to our customers in the active outdoor industry. All have rich histories that we believe transcend age, ethnicity, and geography. All have reputations as pioneers in the industry, designing and manufacturing gear that has changed the history of their collective sports.

Black Diamond®

Founded in 1989, Black Diamond Equipment is devoted to fostering the enthusiasm and dreams necessary to design and manufacture what we believe to be the best climbing and skiing gear in the world. Black Diamond Equipment’s roots date back to 1957, when Chouinard Equipment Ltd. first manufactured rock climbing equipment. From its inspired beginning in 1957, Black Diamond Equipment has grown into a global company with operations on three continents. Since then, Black Diamond Equipment’s innovative gear designs have set the standards in numerous areas, including rock climbing, mountaineering, backcountry skiing, ice climbing, and trekking. This is the result of dedication, desire, and passion on the part of Black Diamond Equipment’s team of people who are climbers, skiers and mountaineers.

Black Diamond Equipment introduced the Turbo Express^TM Ice Screw and Cobra^TM Ice Tool, which are perfectly matched to the attitudes and needs of today’s extreme ice climbs and mixed routes. For rock climbers, Black Diamond Equipment designed and built the world’s first wire-gate carabiner, the HotWire^TM. Stronger, lighter, and easier to clip than previous carabiners, the HotWire proved that a seemingly basic design like a carabiner could be improved to meet the continuing demands of the sport.

Today, our commitment to the founding principles of Black Diamond Equipment remains as unwavering as ever. With 58 years of heritage and 25 years in business, Black Diamond Equipment has grown to include operations in the United States, Europe, and Asia. We strive to serve the spirit for all the sports we serve, and the sports’ values and goals, past, present, and future. Black Diamond Equipment’s intimacy with skiing, climbing, and mountaineering is proven by winning more than 40 awards in 2014 for climbing, mountaineering equipment, skiing and apparel. The innovative JetForce avalanche airbags won over half a dozen awards including accolades from Outside Magazine, National Geographic Adventure and ISPO Gold. In 2015, Black Diamond has already won notable awards in apparel including ISPO Gold for the Mission Pant with the patent pending PIEPS Pocket and over 20 awards for climbing hardware, packs, and ski gear. Additionally, the climb of the Dawn Wall by longtime Black Diamond athlete Tommy Caldwell gained mainstream global coverage.

POC™

Founded in 2004, POC produces and distributes to approximately 40 countries advanced-design helmets, body armor, goggles, eyewear, gloves, and apparel for action or “gravity sports,” like skiing, snowboarding, and cycling, with a particular emphasis on safety and protection.

POC, renowned for its design aesthetic, research, and innovation, is the recipient of numerous recent industry awards in 2013, including the Ski Industry Association and US Ski Team’s DesRoches Award for innovation in marketing and outstanding support and promotion of the US Ski Team and USSA club programs. Additionally, POC won ISPO awards in the ski category for the new multi-impact Auric helmet and Super Palm Comp gloves. POC’s patented technologies continue to set new standards for construction, material combinations, and engineering for personal protection. In late 2014, Popular Mechanics named POC a Best of What’s New grand award winner for the Skull Orbic Comp H.I. MIPS multi-impact helmet, and Triathlete Magazine named the Octal AVIP MIPS helmet the Best Safety Product of the Interbike tradeshow. POC won 2015/16 ISPO awards in the ski category for the new multi-impact Auric helmet and Super Palm Comp gloves.

PIEPS™

Founded in 2006, with roots dating back to 1972, PIEPS is recognized as an innovator and technology leader in avalanche safety equipment. PIEPS offers a focused range of premium avalanche safety products, including transceivers and probes, shovels, safety equipment, and packs. PIEPS is the official safety partner of the Association of Austrian Mountain and Ski Guides. PIEPS played a key partnership role with Black Diamond Equipment in development of the new JetForce avalanche airbag technology platform.

Our Products

We have developed a reputation for designing, manufacturing, and distributing products considered to be both innovative and dependable in their respective market niches. Our commitment to designing innovative, durable, and reliable products that enhance our customers’ capabilities, comfort, and safety in their outdoor endeavors will remain our hallmark and mission. In addition to function, we believe our products’ unique aesthetic appearance is another hallmark that distinguishes us in the outdoor marketplace. Our products have won over 40 awards from within the industry groups, from design media and consumer media including Backcountry, Backpacker, Climbing, Freeskier, National Geographic Adventure, Men’s Journal, Outside, Powder, Rock & Ice, Ski, Skiing and Utah Innovation.

Our products span 33 single product categories and include a wide variety of technical outdoor equipment and lifestyle products for rock and ice climbers, alpinists, hikers, skiers, cyclists, and outdoor enthusiasts, providing seasonal diversification with a balance of sales across both the fall/winter and spring/summer sports seasons. We design many of our products for extreme applications, such as high altitude mountaineering, ice and rock climbing, mountain and road riding, as well as backcountry, freeride, alpine skiing, and race skiing. Generally, we divide our product offerings into the following four primary categories:

Product Design and Development

We are a company founded on innovation and believe that our success is uniquely tied to our ability to consistently introduce new product innovations across all of our brands. We have a long history of technical innovation and product development, introducing hundreds of new products since 1989, with over 100 patents and patents pending worldwide. In recent years, we have developed many innovative products that we believe have revolutionized the active outdoor space. For example, in 2008, we introduced a new line of freeride ski boots featuring revolutionary ski/walk performance. We have also been an innovator in trekking poles, introducing the first poles with FlickLock® technology that allow a single-handed locking mechanism and Z-Poles that can fold to one-third their size. Our innovations in lighting have re-defined the headlamp niche by taking simple components and combining them in a unique manner. The AvaLung® backpack is a unique safety device that is designed to help adventurers survive an avalanche by increasing the amount of time a person can breathe while trapped under snow. The effectiveness of the Avalung® was tested by doctors and scientists, who published their results in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2000.

POC has quickly established its reputation for sleek design and safety in the helmet and protection ranks in gravity sports such as skiing, snowboarding, and cycling. POC™ was one of the first helmet brands to use MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection Systems) to combat rotational impact which is common in most action sports falls. Similarly, PIEPS™ is a brand name synonymous with avalanche safety and beacons.

Each person involved in our product design and development process shares a passion for the active outdoor sports that we serve and strives to develop and iterate new ideas. We regularly rotate our designers and engineers across product categories as we believe this fosters creative inspiration. We conduct our product research and design activities at our locations in Salt Lake City, Utah, Stockholm, Sweden, and Lebring, Austria and conduct product evaluations at our offices located near Basel, Switzerland.

Our employees’ passion and intimacy with our core outdoor activities helps foster new and innovative ideas. Our in-house research and development teams engage in all stages of planning, conceptualization, design, development, commercialization, and production. Our vertically integrated process allows our design team to conduct market research, brainstorm, plan product lines, prototype, and review designs before turning them over to our engineers to begin the development and production of the product. Quality assurance and control are a key component of our development process and products undergo rigorous in-house and field-testing at regular stages of the process. Our Salt Lake City headquarters, in the Wasatch Mountains, with such a vibrant user community, provides the ideal backdrop for our employees to test our new products. Likewise, our European locations provide quick access to their products’ intended environments. Additionally, the athletes who endorse our products evaluate these products in the field and provide valuable feedback and suggestions to our designers. We believe this collaborative interaction helps preserve the brand image, authenticity, quality, and performance.

We typically bring new products from concept to market in approximately 24 to 36 months depending upon the technology integration and complexity of the product. We work simultaneously on product lines for the four subsequent selling seasons.

We expense research and development costs as incurred. As of December 31, 2014, we had 53 employees dedicated to research and development and have spent approximately $22.2 million in connection with research and development activities over the last three calendar years. This does not include amounts previously incurred by POC and PIEPS during this period, which we acquired during 2012, and both have dedicated teams to their respective significant research and development activities.

Customers

We market and distribute our products in approximately 50 countries, primarily through independent specialty stores and specialty chains, including premium sporting goods and outdoor recreation stores and consumer catalogs, in the United States, Canada, South America, New Zealand, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. Outside of North America, Europe and Japan, we also sell our products through independent global distributors into specialty retail stores. We also sell our products directly to customers through our wholly-owned Black Diamond retail store in Salt Lake City, Utah, POC retail store in Chamonix, France, as well as online at www.blackdiamondequipment.com and www.pocsports.com.

We have long-standing relationships with our specialty retail customers and maintain our commitment to continue to sell through this channel. We have a highly diversified customer base and sell products in approximately 10,000 retail locations, with the bulk of our business being done through independent retailers.

Our end users include a broad range of consumers, including mountain climbers, winter outdoor enthusiasts, backpackers, cyclists, ski racers, and outdoor-inspired consumers. Such consumers demand high-quality, reliable, and well-designed products to enhance their performance and safety in a multitude of outdoor activities in virtually any climate. We expect to leverage our user intimacy, engineering prowess, and design ability to expand into related technical product categories that target the same demographic group and distribution channels.

During 2014, REI accounted for approximately 11% of our sales. The loss of this customer could have a material adverse effect on us.

Sales and Marketing

We deploy our sales force by geographic region with a focus on providing our products to a broad spectrum of active outdoor enthusiasts, from core rock climbers and mountaineers to first-time skiers and cyclists. Within each of our brands, we strive to create a unique look and image for our products.

Our marketing strategy is focused on the goal of creating a truly seamless, “consumer-centric” approach that complements our strong relationships with our specialty retail partners. As part of this, Black Diamond is engaging on a limited basis outside partners and global retailers to build well-branded and retail-appropriate branding kits, fixturing, and window kits. As a regular part of our marketing program, we use various promotions, on both a local and global level, as well as public relations campaigns to promote our brands.

For the past 25 years, we’ve established and maintained ongoing relationships with professional athletes who excel at the sports of climbing, mountaineering, skiing, and cycling. These top athletes evaluate our products in the field with demanding use and under punishing conditions, providing valuable feedback and suggestions to our designers. They also promote our products at events, tradeshows and while in the field pursuing their sports. Finally, we believe they are invaluable at establishing brand authenticity with customers.

Our award-winning online marketing campaign is designed to increase consumer demand and awareness by connecting directly with our customer base as well as potential customers through www.blackdiamondequipment.com, www.pocsports.com, www.pieps.com, and a variety of social media outlets. Our online flagship marketing vehicles are www.blackdiamondequipment.com and www.pocsports.com, where we seek to give consumers in depth insight into our research and technology efforts, including helmet and protection design in the POC Lab, educate consumers, drive excitement for our products, and provide a memorable ecommerce experience for core athletes and beginners alike.

We continue to focus heavily on evolving our approach to social media and online marketing (email, paid and organic search) with the goal of increasing qualified visitation to our websites. The broader goal is and remains to offer our customer a best-in-class, intuitive, consistent, two-way conversation that enables them to interact with our brands in a manner consistent with the expectations set by the very products that have founded the Company. Part of this effort includes the development and nurturing of social media outlets as stand-alone Black Diamond® brand outposts. These outposts engage our most enthusiastic brand advocates with product updates, information regarding our sponsored athletes, their accomplishments and in turn, better help us create a sense of brand community while reinforcing brand identity. This past year has seen Black Diamond grow its Facebook “Likes” by 46% to 207,000, and the progress in our online marketing programs enabled the online business to achieve growth of 103% year-over-year.

Our social media strategy is to lever the strength of our growing fan bases as extremely well-targeted segments for brand-rich communications. We will seek to increase Facebook fan bases for all of the Company’s brands, curating original content uniquely suited to our communities, Facebook advertising and the launch of Facebook-exclusive interactive applications and raffles. We are seeking to increase our Twitter followers by posting unique and timely content, including product updates and information as well as posts regarding our sponsored athletes and their endeavors.

Manufacturing, Sourcing, Quality Assurance and Distribution

Manufacturing

The core of Black Diamond Equipment is based on our history as a manufacturer of precisely engineered rock climbing equipment. As we have grown in both capacity and capability, we have increased our professionalism and today our manufacturing operations are based on LEAN manufacturing principles. We still maintain the notion of craftsmanship melded into engineering as a driving force for what we manufacture.

Our objective is to deliver high quality products on-time, in the most cost efficient manner, and to support innovation to market. To achieve this, everybody in the organization is involved to continuously improve how we operate.

We currently operate three manufacturing facilities. The first, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, specializes in the fabrication of highly engineered components and a short-list of finished products. We have made significant investments in sophisticated, automated, and custom built equipment, including cold and hot-forging, laser cutting, heat-treating, CNC turning, machining and milling, tool making and semi-automated assembly. Our research and development and design teams are primarily situated at this facility.

The second facility, located in Zhuhai, China, specializes in finishing operations and assembly for the vast majority of products that we manufacture ourselves.

As part of a strategic initiative to improve the effectiveness of our global operations we will consolidate our manufacturing operations and ramp down our manufacturing operations in Zhuhai, China. The majority of activities will be transferred to our Salt Lake City manufacturing facility or to our current vendors in Asia or Europe. The objective is to become closer to the market, leverage economies of scale, reduce transportation and processing and shorten innovation to market. Our presence in Asia will transition to a compact 3PL cross-dock supply chain service center.

All the Black Diamond manufacturing and distribution operations are ISO 9001–2008 certified by an independent certifying agency and are audited yearly by an independent certifying body to ensure Black Diamond’s quality management system meets the requirements of ISO 9001–2008 and to ensure that Black Diamond’s certified products meet all necessary certification requirements.

Our third facility is our small, but efficient, PIEPS managed transceiver assembly facility, attached to PIEPS’ headquarters in Leibring, Austria.

We manufacture approximately 20% to 25% of our products, including nearly all climbing hard goods, in our facilities in the United States and Asia. The remaining approximately 75% to 80% of our products are also manufactured to our specifications in third-party, independently-owned facilities. We keep employees and agents on-site or via regular visits at these third-party, independently owned facilities to ensure that our products are manufactured to meet our specifications. While we do not maintain a long-term manufacturing contract with those facilities, we believe that our long-term relationships with them will help to ensure that a sufficient supply of goods built to our specification are available in a timely manner and on satisfactory economic terms in the future.

Sourcing

We source raw materials and components from a variety of suppliers. Our primary raw materials include aluminum, steel, nylon, corrugated cardboard for packaging, electrical components, plastic resin, urethane, and various textiles, foams, and fabrics. The raw materials used in the manufacture of our products are generally available from numerous suppliers in quantities sufficient to meet normal requirements.

We source packaging materials both domestically as well as from sources in Asia and Europe. We believe that all of our purchased products and materials could be readily obtained from alternative sources at comparable costs.

Quality Assurance

Quality assurance at Black Diamond has two primary functions:

The engineering prowess of the quality assurance group (much like that of the manufacturing team) is a core competency that Black Diamond seeks to leverage across all product lines and brands.

Global Distribution

We conduct our global distribution and quality control operations as part of our Asian based activities. Having these functions located close to the source of much of our product allows us to aggregate, inspect, warehouse, and then distribute goods coming from an extremely diverse group of small to mid-size vendor partners.  Our distribution model allows us to ship a broad cross-section of our product line in smaller quantities to our own global distribution centers and to those of our Independent Global Distributors (IGD) more frequently and at lower transportation and logistics costs.

Competition

Because of the diversity of our product offerings, we compete by niche with a variety of companies. Our products must stand up to the high standards set by the world’s elite mountain climbers, alpine skiers, adventurers, and cyclists. In the outdoor industry, quality and durability are paramount among these athletes who rely on our products to withstand some of the world’s most extreme conditions. In addition to extreme adventurers and racers, we believe all outdoor enthusiasts benefit from the high-quality standards of our products. We also believe our products compete favorably on the basis of product innovation, product performance, marketing support, and price.

The popularity of various outdoor activities and changing design trends affect the desirability of our products. Therefore, we seek to anticipate and respond to trends and shifts in consumer preferences by adjusting the mix of available product offerings by developing new products with innovative performance features and designs, and by marketing our products in a persuasive and memorable fashion to drive consumer awareness and demand. Failure to anticipate or respond to consumer needs and preferences in a timely and adequate manner could have a material adverse effect on our sales and profitability.

We compete with niche, privately-owned companies as well as a number of brands owned by large multinational companies, such as those set forth below.

In addition, we compete with certain of our large wholesale customers who focus on the outdoor market, such as REI, Mountain Equipment Co-op and Decathlon, which manufacture, market and distribute their own climbing, mountaineering, and skiing products under their own private labels.

Intellectual Property

We believe our registered and pending word and icon trademarks worldwide, including the Black Diamond and Diamond “C” logos, Black Diamond®, ATC®, Camalot®, AvaLung®, FlickLock®, Ascension™, Time is Life®, Hexentric®, Stopper®, Dawn Patrol®, Bibler®, “Use.Design.Build.Engineer.Repeat”™, POC™, and PIEPS™, create international brand recognition for our products.

We believe our brands have an established reputation for high quality, reliability, and value, and accordingly, we actively monitor and police our brands against infringement to ensure their viability and enforceability.

In addition to trademarks, we hold over 100 patents and patents pending worldwide for a wide variety of technologies across our product lines.

Our success with our proprietary products is generally derived from our “first mover” advantage in the market as well as our commitment to protecting our current and future proprietary technologies and products, which acts as a deterrent to infringement of our intellectual property rights. While we believe our patent and trademark protection policies are robust and effective, if we fail to adequately protect our intellectual property rights, competitors may manufacture and market products similar to ours. Our principal intellectual property rights include our patents and trademarks but also include products containing proprietary trade secrets.

We cannot be sure that we will receive patents for any of our patent applications or that any existing or future patents that we receive or license will provide competitive advantages for our products. While we actively monitor our competitors to ensure that we do not compromise the intellectual property of others, we cannot be sure that competitors will not challenge, invalidate or avoid the application of any existing or future patents that we receive or license. In addition, patent rights may not prevent our competitors from developing, using or selling products that are in similar product niches as ours.

Seasonality

Our products are outdoor recreation related, which results in seasonal variations in sales and profitability. On a calendar year basis, we generally experience our greatest sales in the first and second quarters for certain of our products, including rock climbing gear, body armor, eyewear, goggles, headlamps, helmets, lanterns, packs, trekking poles, and tents and in the third and fourth quarters for our technical apparel, ski, glove, avalanche safety, and ice climbing products. Sales of these products may be negatively affected by unfavorable weather conditions and other market trends. The fall/winter season represents approximately 59% of our sales while spring/summer represents approximately 41% of our sales.

Working capital requirements vary throughout the year. We fund our working capital through the use of our line of credit facilities. Working capital increases during the first and third quarters of the year as inventory builds to support peak shipping periods and then decreases during the second and fourth quarters of the year as those inventories are sold and accounts receivable are collected, which cash collected is then used to pay down the outstanding amounts on the line of credit. As of December 31, 2014, we had no amounts outstanding on our Zions First National Bank line of credit.

Environmental Matters

Our operations are subject to federal, state, and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, including those that impose workplace standards and regulate the discharge of pollutants into the environment and establish standards for the handling, generation, emission, release, discharge, treatment, storage, and disposal of materials and substances including solid and hazardous wastes. We believe that we are in material compliance with such laws and regulations. Further, the cost of maintaining compliance has not, and we believe in the future, will not have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated results of operations, and consolidated financial condition. Due to the nature of our operations and the frequently changing nature of environmental compliance standards and technology, we cannot predict with any certainty that future material capital or operating expenditures will not be required in order to comply with applicable environmental laws and regulations.

Employees

As of December 31, 2014, we had over 700 employees worldwide. None of our employees are represented by unions or covered by any collective bargaining agreements. We have not experienced any work stoppages or employee-related slowdowns and believe that our relationship with employees is satisfactory.

Executive Officers of the Registrant

The executive officers of our Company as of December 31, 2014 are as follows:

Warren B. Kanders, 57, our Executive Chairman, has served as one of our directors since June 2002 and as Executive Chairman of our Board of Directors since December 2002. Since 1990, Mr. Kanders has served as the President of Kanders & Company, Inc., a private investment firm principally owned and controlled by Mr. Kanders, which makes investments in and provides consulting services to public and private entities. From January 1996 until its sale to BAE Systems plc (“BAE Systems”) on July 31, 2007, Mr. Kanders served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors, and from April 2003 as the Chief Executive Officer, of Armor Holdings, Inc. (“Armor Holdings”), formerly a New York Stock Exchange-listed company and a manufacturer and supplier of military vehicles, armored vehicles, and safety and survivability products and systems to the aerospace and defense, public safety, homeland security, and commercial markets. Mr. Kanders received an A.B. degree in Economics from Brown University.

Robert R. Schiller, 52, has served as our Executive Vice Chairman since May 2010. Mr. Schiller served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gregory Mountain Products from March 2008 until May 2010. From July 1996 until its sale to BAE Systems on July 31, 2007, Mr. Schiller served in a variety of capacities at Armor Holdings, including as a Director from June 2005, President from January 2004, Chief Operating Officer from April 2003, and Chief Financial Officer and Secretary from November 2000 to March 2004. Mr. Schiller graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Emory University in 1985 and received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1991.

Peter R. Metcalf, 59, has served as our President, Chief Executive Officer and director since May 2010. Mr. Metcalf served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Black Diamond Equipment since co-founding it in 1989 until the completion of the Company’s acquisition of Black Diamond Equipment in May 2010. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado, with a major in Political Science. He also earned a Certificate in Management from the Peter Drucker Center of Management.

Zeena A. Freeman, 47, has served as our President since August 2014. Ms. Freeman was Principal of Freeman Global LLC, advising clients on global retail strategy, digital and multi-channel innovation from January 2012 to August 2014. From November 2009 to November 2011, Ms. Freeman served at Sony Corporation as General Manager of Global Retail responsible for Sony’s worldwide store and e-commerce businesses; she also served as the Senior Vice President of Consumer Business Development for Sony Corporation of America, and was a member of the Global Sales and Marketing team in Tokyo. From July 2007 to June 2009, Freeman served as CEO of PEOPLE, an Indian fashion and lifestyle retail business that is part of the multi-national Aditya Birla Group. From August 1997 to April 2007, Ms. Freeman held a variety of senior merchandising and management roles principally at Gap, Inc., where she was Vice President and General Merchandise Manager of Banana Republic Factory Stores, Divisional Merchandise Manager, babyGap, and Divisional Merchandise Manager, Old Navy Canada. She also served as the special business assistant to Gap, Inc.’s CEO from January1999 to June 2000. Ms. Freeman received her B.A. degree from Hamilton College and her MBA from New York University.

Aaron J. Kuehne, 36, is our Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer. Mr. Kuehne previously served as the Company’s interim Chief Financial Officer, in addition to serving as its Vice President of Finance, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer. Before joining the Company in September 2010, Mr. Kuehne served as the Corporate Controller of Certiport from August 2009 to September 2010. From July 2004 to August 2009, Mr. Kuehne served in various capacities with KPMG LLP, most recently as Audit Manager. Mr. Kuehne graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from University of Utah – David Eccles School of Business in 2002 and with an M.B.A. degree from University of Utah – David Eccles School of Business in 2004.

Available Information

Our Internet address is www.blackdiamond-inc.com. We make available free of charge on or through our website our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports, and the proxy statement for our annual meeting of stockholders as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forms 3, 4 and 5 filed with respect to our equity securities under Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are also available on our website. All of the foregoing materials are located at the ‘‘SEC Filings’’ tab under the section titled “Investor Relations.” The information found on our website shall not be deemed incorporated by reference by any general statement incorporating by reference this report into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and shall not otherwise be deemed filed under such Acts.

Materials we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission may be read and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, Room 1580, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Public Reference Room by calling the Securities and Exchange Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330. The Securities and Exchange Commission also maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. In addition, you may request a copy of any such materials, without charge, by submitting a written request to: Black Diamond, Inc., c/o the Secretary, 2084 East 3900 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84124. The contents of the websites identified above are not incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

In addition to other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the following risk factors should be carefully considered in evaluating our business, because such factors may have a significant impact on our business, operating results, liquidity and financial condition. As a result of the risk factors set forth below, actual results could differ materially from those mentioned in any forward-looking statements. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or that we currently consider to be immaterial, may also impact our business, operating results, liquidity and financial condition. If any of the following risks occur, our business, operating results, liquidity and financial condition, and the price of our common stock, could be materially adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our Industry

Many of the products we sell are used for inherently risky mountain and outdoor pursuits and could give rise to product liability or product warranty claims and other loss contingencies, which could affect our earnings and financial condition.

Many of our products are used in applications and situations that involve high levels of risk of personal injury and death. As a result, we maintain a staff, including an in-house legal counsel, who focus on the appropriate disclaimers and markings and testing and seek to assure the quality and safety of our products. We stay current with the law to seek to provide thorough and protective disclaimers and instructions on all of our products and packaging. Furthermore, our technical climbing and avalanche safety equipment and our operations meet and are certified to International Personal Protective Equipment (PP) standards set by the EEC or ISO 9001 quality system standards. Failure to use our products for their intended purposes, failure to use or care for them properly, or their malfunction, or, in some limited circumstances, even correct use of our products, could result in serious bodily injury or death.

We remain exposed to product liability claims by the nature of the products we produce. Exposure occurs if one of our products is alleged to have resulted in property damage, bodily injury or other adverse effects. Any such product liability claims may include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product or activities associated with the product, negligence, strict liability, and a breach of warranties. Although we maintain product liability insurance in amounts that we believe are reasonable, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain such insurance on acceptable terms, if at all, in the future or that product liability claims will not exceed the amount of insurance coverage. Additionally, we do not maintain product recall insurance. As a result, product recalls or product liability claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

As a manufacturer and distributor of consumer products, we are subject to the Consumer Products Safety Act, which empowers the Consumer Products Safety Commission to exclude from the market products that are found to be unsafe or hazardous. Under certain circumstances, the Consumer Products Safety Commission could require us to repurchase or recall one or more of our products. Additionally, laws regulating certain consumer products exist in some cities and states, as well as in other countries in which we sell our products, and more restrictive laws and regulations may be adopted in the future. Any repurchase or recall of our products could be costly to us and could damage our reputation. If we were required to remove, or we voluntarily removed, our products from the market, our reputation could be tarnished and we might have large quantities of finished products that we could not sell.

We spend substantial resources ensuring compliance with governmental and other applicable standards. However, compliance with these standards does not necessarily prevent individual or class action lawsuits, which can entail significant cost and risk. We do not maintain insurance against many types of claims involving alleged defects in our products that do not involve personal injury or property damage. As a result, these types of claims could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our product liability insurance program is an occurrence-based program based on our current and historical claims experience and the availability and cost of insurance. We carry both general and umbrella liability policies that insure us for product liability claims. The policy has a small retention, which enables us to manage and control our product liability claims. Historically, product liability awards have not exceeded our individual per occurrence self-insured retention. We cannot assure you, however, that our future product liability experience will be consistent with our past experience.

A substantial portion of our sales and gross profit is derived from a small number of large customers, none of whom are contractually obligated to continue buying our products. The loss of any of these customers could substantially reduce our profits.

A customer accounts for a significant portion of revenues. In the year ended December 31, 2014, REI accounted for approximately 11% of sales. Sales are generally on a purchase order basis, and we do not have long-term agreements with any of our customers. A decision by any of our major customers to decrease significantly the number of products purchased from us could substantially reduce sales and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, in recent years, the retail industry has experienced consolidation and other ownership changes. In the future, retailers may further consolidate, undergo restructurings or reorganizations, realign their affiliations or reposition their stores’ target market. These developments could result in a reduction in the number of stores that carry our products, increased ownership concentration within the retail industry, increased credit exposure, and increased retailer leverage over their suppliers. These changes could impact our opportunities in the market and increase our reliance on a smaller number of large customers.

We are subject to risks related to our dependence on the strength of retail economies in various parts of the world and our performance may be affected by general economic conditions.

Our business depends on the strength of the retail economies in various parts of the world, primarily in North America, Europe and to a lesser extent, Asia, Central and South America. These retail economies are affected primarily by factors such as consumer demand and the condition of the retail industry, which, in turn, are affected by general economic conditions and specific events such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and political unrest. The impact of these external factors is difficult to predict, and one or more of the factors could adversely impact our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Purchases of many consumer products are discretionary and tend to be highly correlated with the cycles of the levels of disposable income of consumers. As a result, any substantial deterioration in general economic conditions could adversely affect consumer discretionary spending patterns, our sales, and our results of operations. In particular, decreased consumer confidence or a reduction in discretionary income as a result of unfavorable macroeconomic conditions may negatively affect our business. If the macroeconomic environment worsens, consumers may reduce or delay their purchases of our products. Any such reduction in purchases could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Changes in the retail industry and markets for consumer products affecting our customers or retailing practices could negatively impact existing customer relationships and our results of operations.

We sell our products to retailers, including sporting goods and specialty retailers, as well as direct to consumers. A significant deterioration in the financial condition of our major customers could have a material adverse effect on our sales and profitability. We regularly monitor and evaluate the credit status of our customers and attempt to adjust sales terms as appropriate. Despite these efforts, a bankruptcy filing by a key customer could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

In addition, as a result of the desire of retailers to more closely manage inventory levels, there is a growing trend among retailers to make purchases on a “just-in-time” basis. This requires us to shorten our lead time for production in certain cases and more closely anticipate demand, which could in the future require us to carry additional inventories.

We may be negatively affected by changes in the policies of our retailer customers, such as inventory destocking, limitations on access to and time on shelf space, use of private label brands, price demands, payment terms, and other conditions, which could negatively impact our results of operations.

There is a growing trend among retailers in the U.S. and in foreign markets to undergo changes that could decrease the number of stores that carry our products or increase the concentration of ownership within the retail industry, including:

• consolidating their operations;

• undergoing restructurings or store closings;

• undergoing reorganizations; or

• realigning their affiliations.

These consolidations could result in a shift of bargaining power to the retail industry and in fewer outlets for our products. Further consolidations could result in price and other competition that could reduce our margins and our net sales.

Seasonality and weather conditions may cause our operating results to vary from quarter to quarter.

Sales of certain of our products are seasonal. Sales of our outdoor recreation products such as carabineers, harnesses, and related climbing equipment products increase during warm weather months and decrease during winter, while sales of our apparel line and winter sports equipment such as our POC helmets and our skis, boots, bindings, and related ski equipment increase during the cold weather months and decrease during summer. Weather conditions may also negatively impact sales. For instance, milder temperatures could prevent the formation of ice, which may negatively affect demand for our ice climbing products, and mild winter weather with less snowfall may negatively impact sales of our winter sports products. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our results of operations could be materially harmed if we are unable to accurately forecast demand for our products.

We often schedule internal production and place orders for products with independent manufacturers before our customers’ orders are firm. Therefore, if we fail to accurately forecast customer demand, we may experience excess inventory levels or a shortage of product to deliver to our customers. Factors that could affect our ability to accurately forecast demand for our products include:

Inventory levels in excess of customer demand may result in inventory write-downs and the sale of excess inventory at discounted prices, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. On the other hand, if we underestimate demand for our products, our manufacturing facilities or third party manufacturers may not be able to produce products to meet customer requirements, and this could result in delays in the shipment of products and lost revenues, as well as damage to our reputation and customer relationships. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully manage inventory levels to exactly meet future order and reorder requirements.

Competition in our industries may hinder our ability to execute our business strategy, achieve profitability, or maintain relationships with existing customers.

We operate in a highly competitive industry. In this industry, we compete against numerous other domestic and foreign companies. Competition in the markets in which we operate is based primarily on product quality, product innovation, price, and customer service and support, although the degree and nature of such competition vary by location and product line. Some of our competitors are more established in their industries and have substantially greater revenue or resources than we do. Our competitors may take actions to match new product introductions and other initiatives. Since many of our competitors also source their products from third parties, our ability to obtain a cost advantage through sourcing is reduced. Certain of our competitors may be willing to reduce prices and accept lower profit margins to compete with us. Further, retailers often demand that suppliers reduce their prices on existing products. Competition could cause price reductions, reduced profits or losses or loss of market share, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

To compete effectively in the future in the consumer products industry, among other things, we must:

Our inability to do any of these things could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

If we fail to expand existing or develop new customer relationships, our ability to grow our business will be impaired.

Our growth depends to a significant degree upon our ability to expand existing relationships with current customers or develop new customer relationships. We cannot guarantee that new customers will be found, that any such new relationships will be successful when we do get them, or that business with current customers will increase. Failure to develop and expand such relationships could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

If we fail to adequately protect our intellectual property rights, competitors may manufacture and market products similar to ours, which could adversely affect our market share and results of operations.

Our success with our proprietary products depends, in part, on our ability to protect our current and future technologies and products and to defend our intellectual property rights. If we fail to adequately protect our intellectual property rights, competitors may manufacture and market products similar to ours. Our principal intellectual property rights include our trademarks, patents, and trade secrets.

We hold numerous patents for the invention of new or improved technologies, which are known as utility patents, and pending patent applications covering a wide variety of products. We cannot be sure that we will receive patents for any of our patent applications or that any existing or future patents that we receive or license will provide competitive advantages for our products. We also cannot be sure that competitors will not challenge, invalidate or avoid the application of any existing or future patents that we receive or license. In addition, patent rights may not prevent our competitors from developing, using or selling products that are similar or functionally equivalent to our products.

Third parties may have patents, or may be awarded new patents, that may materially adversely affect our ability to market, distribute and sell our products. Accordingly, our products, including, but not limited to, our technical climbing and backpack products, may become subject to patent infringement claims or litigation, any adverse determination of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Changes in foreign, cultural, political, and financial market conditions could impair our international operations and financial performance.

Some of our operations are conducted or products are sold in countries where economic growth has slowed, such as Japan or where economies have suffered economic, social and/or political instability or hyperinflation, or where the ability to repatriate funds has been delayed or impaired in recent years, such as China. Current government economic and fiscal policies, including stimulus measures and currency exchange rates and controls in these economies may not be sustainable and, as a result, our sales or profits related to those countries may decline. The economies of other foreign countries important to our operations, including other countries in Asia and Europe, could also suffer slower economic growth or economic, social and/or political instability or hyperinflation in the future. International operations, including manufacturing and sourcing operations (and the international operations of our customers), are subject to inherent risks which could adversely affect us, including, among other things:

Should any of these risks occur, our ability to sell or export our products or repatriate profits could be impaired and we could experience a loss of sales and profitability from our international operations, which could have a material adverse impact on our business.

If we cannot continue to develop new products in a timely manner, and at favorable margins, we may not be able to compete effectively.

We believe that our future success will depend, in part, upon our ability to continue to introduce innovative design extensions for our existing products and to develop, manufacture, and market new products. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in the introduction, manufacturing, and marketing of any new products or product innovations, or develop and introduce, in a timely manner, innovations to our existing products that satisfy customer needs or achieve market acceptance. Our failure to develop new products and introduce them successfully and in a timely manner, and at favorable margins, would harm our ability to successfully grow our business and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our operating results can be adversely affected by changes in the cost or availability of raw materials.

Pricing and availability of raw materials for use in our businesses can be volatile due to numerous factors beyond our control, including general, domestic, and international economic conditions, labor costs, production levels, competition, consumer demand, import duties, and tariffs and currency exchange rates. This volatility can significantly affect the availability and cost of raw materials for us, and may therefore have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

During periods of rising prices of raw materials, there can be no assurance that we will be able to pass any portion of such increases on to customers. Conversely, when raw material prices decline, customer demands for lower prices could result in lower sale prices and, to the extent we have existing inventory, lower margins. We currently do not hedge against our exposure to changing raw material prices. As a result, fluctuations in raw material prices could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Supply shortages or changes in availability for any particular type of raw material can delay production or cause increases in the cost of manufacturing our products. We may be negatively affected by changes in availability and pricing of raw materials, which could negatively impact our results of operations.

Our operations in international markets, and earnings in those markets, may be affected by legal, regulatory, political, and economic risks.

Our ability to maintain the current level of operations in our existing international markets and to capitalize on growth in existing and new international markets is subject to risks associated with international operations. These include the burdens of complying with a variety of foreign laws and regulations, unexpected changes in regulatory requirements, new tariffs or other barriers to some international markets.

We cannot predict whether quotas, duties, taxes, exchange controls or other restrictions will be imposed by the United States, the European Union or other countries upon the import or export of our products in the future, or what effect any of these actions would have on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We cannot predict whether there might be changes in our ability to repatriate earnings or capital from international jurisdictions. Changes in regulatory and geopolitical policies and other factors may adversely affect our business or may require us to modify our current business practices.

Approximately 60% of our sales for the year ended December 31, 2014 were earned in international markets.  We are exposed to risks of changes in U.S. policy for companies having business operations outside the United States, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

We use foreign suppliers and manufacturing facilities for a significant portion of our raw materials and finished products, which poses risks to our business operations.

A significant portion of our products sold were produced by and purchased from independent manufacturers primarily located in Asia, with substantially all of the remainder produced by our manufacturing facilities located in Utah and China. Although no single supplier and no one country controls a majority of our production needs, any of the following could materially and adversely affect our ability to produce or deliver our products and, as a result, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations:

Our business is subject to foreign, national, state, and local laws and regulations for environmental, employment, safety, and other matters. The costs of compliance with, or the violation of, such laws and regulations by us or by independent suppliers who manufacture products for us could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Numerous governmental agencies in the United States and in other countries in which we have operations, enforce comprehensive national, state, and local laws and regulations on a wide range of environmental, employment, health, safety, and other matters. We could be adversely affected by costs of compliance or violations of those laws and regulations. In addition, the costs of products purchased by us from independent contractors could increase due to the costs of compliance by those contractors. Further, violations of such laws and regulations could affect the availability of inventory, thereby affecting our net sales.

We may incur significant costs in order to comply with environmental remediation obligations.

Environmental laws also impose obligations on various entities to clean up contaminated properties or to pay for the cost of such remediation, often upon parties that did not actually cause the contamination. Accordingly, we may be liable, either contractually or by operation of law, for remediation costs even if the contaminated property is not presently owned or operated by us, is a landfill or other location where we have disposed wastes, or if the contamination was caused by third parties during or prior to our ownership or operation of the property. Given the nature of the past industrial operations conducted by us and others at these properties, there can be no assurance that all potential instances of soil or groundwater contamination have been identified, even for those properties where an environmental site assessment has been conducted. Future events, such as changes in existing laws or policies or their enforcement, or the discovery of currently unknown contamination, may give rise to additional remediation liabilities that may have a material adverse effect upon our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Risks Related to our Business

Recent turmoil across various sectors of the financial markets may negatively impact the Company’s business, financial condition, and/or operating results as well as our ability to effectively execute our acquisition strategy.

Recently, the various sectors of the credit markets and the financial services industry have been experiencing a period of unprecedented turmoil and upheaval characterized by disruption in the credit markets and availability of credit and other financing, the failure, bankruptcy, collapse or sale of various financial institutions and an unprecedented level of intervention from the United States federal government.  While the ultimate outcome of these events cannot be predicted, they may have a material adverse effect on our ability to obtain financing necessary to effectively execute acquisitions, the ability of our customers and suppliers to continue to operate their businesses or the demand for our products, which could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may not be able to adequately manage our growth.

We have expanded, and are seeking to continue to expand, our business. This growth has placed significant demands on our management, administrative, operating, and financial resources as well as our manufacturing capacity capabilities. The continued growth of our customer base, the types of products offered and the geographic markets served can be expected to continue to place a significant strain on our resources. Personnel qualified in the production and marketing of our products are difficult to find and hire, and enhancements of information technology systems to support growth are difficult to implement. Our future performance and profitability will depend in large part on our ability to attract and retain additional management and other key personnel, as well as our ability to increase and maintain our manufacturing capacity capabilities to meet the needs of our current and future customers. Any failure to adequately manage our growth could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Although we have limited experience in developing new products outside of our core markets of rock-climbing, mountaineering, and skiing equipment, our plans call for significant investments in a short period of time to allow us to enter into new lines, such as apparel, and these investments and our plans in general may be delayed.

We plan to expand our brand into new categories such as apparel over the next five years. We launched our first apparel line in fall 2013. We have limited experience in developing apparel products. Our ability to develop apparel products, for instance, is dependent upon our making significant investments to attract and retain executives with the skills and expertise to develop, launch, and sell an apparel line and to establish the necessary design, manufacturing, and testing processes. If we are unable to attract the necessary talent, or otherwise fail to set up the necessary processes for our apparel line, or for other new lines contemplated by our business plan, our growth plans may be delayed or diminished, which could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The Company’s existing credit agreement contains financial and restrictive covenants that may limit our ability to operate our business.

The agreement governing the Company’s credit facility contains, and any of its other future debt agreements may contain, covenant restrictions that limit its ability to operate its business, including restrictions on its ability to:

In addition, the Company’s credit facility contains other affirmative and negative covenants, including the requirements to maintain a minimum level of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization, tangible net worth and asset coverage. The Company’s ability to comply with these covenants is dependent on its future performance, which will be subject to many factors, some of which are beyond its control, including prevailing economic conditions. Any failure to comply with the restrictions of our credit facility or any subsequent financing agreements may result in an event of default. An event of default may allow the creditors, if the agreements so provide, to accelerate the related debt as well as any other debt to which a cross-acceleration or cross-default provision applies. In addition, the lender under our credit facility may be able to terminate any commitments it had made to supply us with further funds. If we default on the financial covenants in our credit facility, our lender could exercise all rights and remedies available to it, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

As a result of these covenants, the Company’s ability to respond to changes in business and economic conditions and to obtain additional financing, if needed, may be significantly restricted, and the Company may be prevented from engaging in transactions or making acquisitions of a business that might otherwise be beneficial to it.

Our variable rate indebtedness subjects us to interest rate risk, which could cause our debt service obligations to increase significantly.

Borrowings under the revolving portion of our credit facility are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on the variable rate indebtedness would increase even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our net income and cash flows would decrease.

Currency devaluations or fluctuations may significantly increase our expenses and affect our results of operations as well as the carrying value of international assets on our balance sheet, especially where the currency is subject to intense political and other outside pressures, such as in the case of the Euro and the Swiss Franc.

While we transact business predominantly in U.S. dollars and most of our revenues are collected in U.S. dollars, a substantial portion of our assets, revenues, costs, and earnings are denominated in other currencies, such as the Euro and the Swiss Franc.  Changes in the relation of these and other currencies to the U.S. dollar will affect the carrying value of our international assets as well as our sales and profitability and could result in exchange losses. For example, a devaluation of the Euro would negatively impact the carrying value of our assets in Europe and our results of operations because the earnings and assets in Europe would be reduced when translated into U.S. dollars.

Additionally, as the Company has substantial operations and assets located outside the United States, foreign operations expose us to foreign currency devaluations or fluctuations that could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition based on the movements of the applicable foreign currency exchange rates in relation to the U.S. dollar, both for purposes of actual conversion and financial reporting purposes. The impact of future exchange rate devaluations or fluctuations on our results of operations cannot be accurately predicted. There can be no assurance that the U.S. dollar foreign exchange rates will be stable in the future or that fluctuations in financial or foreign markets will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Compliance with changing laws, regulations and standards of corporate governance and public disclosure may result in additional expenses.

Changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes Oxley Act”), the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, new Securities and Exchange Commission regulations and NASDAQ rules, are creating uncertainty for companies such as ours.  These new or changed laws, regulations, and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity.  As a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies, which could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices.  We are committed to maintaining high standards of corporate governance and public disclosure. As a result, our efforts to comply with evolving laws, regulations, and standards have resulted in, and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.

We will face particular challenges in maintaining and reporting on our internal control over financial reporting.

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal control over financial reporting and requires that we have our internal control over financial reporting audited. If we fail to maintain adequate internal controls, we could be subject to regulatory scrutiny, civil or criminal penalties and/or stockholder litigation. Any inability to provide reliable financial reports could harm our business and the trading price of our common stock. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act also requires that our independent registered public accounting firm report on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. In addition, acquisition targets may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.

If we identify any material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting, we may need to take costly steps to implement improved controls and may be subject to sanctions for failure to comply with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Such remedial costs or sanctions could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Further, we would be required to disclose any material weakness in internal control over financial reporting, and we would receive an adverse opinion on our internal control over financial reporting from our independent auditors. These factors could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock.

There are significant risks associated with acquiring and integrating businesses.

An element of our general growth strategy is the acquisition of businesses and assets that will complement our current business, increase size, expand our geographic scope of operations and otherwise offer growth opportunities. We may not be able to successfully identify attractive acquisition opportunities, obtain financing for acquisitions, make acquisitions on satisfactory terms, or successfully acquire and/or integrate identified targets. In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for a potential acquisition, we expect to encounter intense competition from other entities, including blank check companies, private equity groups, venture capital funds, leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well-established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us which will give them a competitive advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses.

Our ability to implement our acquisition strategy is also subject to other risks and costs, including:

Any of the above risks could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our Board of Directors and executive officers have significant influence over our affairs.

The members of our Board of Directors and our executive officers, which includes Messrs. Warren B. Kanders, Peter Metcalf and Robert R. Schiller as well as Ms. Zeena A. Freeman, beneficially own approximately 31% of our outstanding common stock as of March 10, 2015. As a result, our Board of Directors and executive officers, to the extent they vote their shares in a similar manner, have influence over our affairs and could exercise such influence in a manner that is not in the best interests of our other stockholders, including by attempting to delay, defer or prevent a change of control transaction that might otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders.

We may be unable to realize the benefits of our net operating losses and tax credit carryforwards.

Net operating losses (“NOLs”) may be carried forward to offset federal and state taxable income in future years and eliminate income taxes otherwise payable on such taxable income, subject to certain adjustments. Based on current federal corporate income tax rates, our NOL and other carryforwards could provide a benefit to us, if fully utilized, of significant future tax savings. However, our ability to use these tax benefits in future years will depend upon the amount of our otherwise taxable income. If we do not have sufficient taxable income in future years to use the tax benefits before they expire, we will lose the benefit of these NOL carryforwards permanently.

Additionally, if we underwent an ownership change, the NOL carryforward limitations would impose an annual limit on the amount of the taxable income that may be offset by our NOL generated prior to the ownership change. If an ownership change were to occur, we may be unable to use a significant portion of our NOL to offset taxable income. In general, an ownership change occurs when, as of any testing date, the aggregate of the increase in percentage points of the total amount of a corporation’s stock owned by one or more “5-percent shareholders” within the meaning of Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) whose percentage ownership of the stock has increased as of such date over the aggregate of the lowest percentage of the stock owned by such 5-percent shareholder at any time during the three-year period preceding such date is more than 50 percentage points. In general, persons who own 5% or more of a corporation’s stock are 5-percent shareholders, and all stock owned by persons who are not 5-percent shareholders is treated as owned by one 5-percent shareholder. The issuance of a large number of shares of common stock in connection with any acquisitions could result in a limitation of the use of our NOLs.

Further, our certificate of incorporation provides for blank check preferred stock, which allows the Board to issue preferred stock at any time with rights and designations set forth by the Board. Section 382 of the Code generally excludes preferred stock when calculating ownership percentages as they relate to our NOLs if the preferred stock satisfies all of the following criteria: it is not entitled to vote, it is limited and preferred as to dividends and does not participate in corporate growth to any significant extent, it has redemption and liquidation rights which do not exceed the issue price of such stock (except for a reasonable redemption or liquidation premium), and it is not convertible into another class of stock. Our Board may authorize and issue preferred stock that does not meet these criteria, and such preferred stock would count towards determining ownership change under Section 382 of the Code. Therefore the issuance of any preferred stock could increase the likelihood of a limitation of the use of our NOLs.

Moreover, if a corporation experiences an ownership change and does not satisfy the continuity of business enterprise, or COBE, requirement (which generally requires that the corporation continue its historic business or use a significant portion of its historic business assets in a business for the two-year period beginning on the date of the ownership change), it cannot, subject to certain exceptions, use any NOL from a pre-change period to offset taxable income in post-change years.

The actual ability to utilize the tax benefit of any existing NOLs will be subject to future facts and circumstances with respect to meeting the above described COBE requirements at the time NOLs are being utilized on a tax return. The realization of NOLs and the recognition of asset and valuation allowances for deferred taxes require management to make estimates and judgments about the Company’s future profitability which are inherently uncertain. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. If, in the opinion of management, it becomes more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized, deferred tax assets would be reduced by a valuation allowance and any such reduction could have a material adverse effect on the financial condition of the Company.

The amount of NOL and tax credit carryforwards that we have claimed has not been audited or otherwise validated by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). The IRS could challenge our calculation of the amount of our NOL or our determinations as to when a prior change in ownership occurred, and other provisions of the Code may limit our ability to carry forward our NOL to offset taxable income in future years. If the IRS were successful with respect to any such challenge, the potential tax benefit of the NOL carryforwards to us could be substantially reduced.

Certain protective measures implemented by us to preserve our NOL may not be effective or may have some unintended negative effects.

On July 24, 2003, at our Annual Meeting of Stockholders, our stockholders approved an amendment (the “Amendment”) to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to restrict certain acquisitions of our securities in order to help assure the preservation of our NOL. The Amendment generally restricts direct and indirect acquisitions of our equity securities if such acquisition will affect the percentage of the Company’s capital stock that is treated as owned by a “5% stockholder.” Additionally, on February 7, 2008, our Board of Directors approved a rights agreement which is designed to assist in limiting the number of 5% or more owners and thus reduce the risk of a possible “change of ownership” under Section 382 of the Code.

Although the transfer restrictions imposed on our capital stock and the rights agreement are intended to reduce the likelihood of an impermissible ownership change, there is no guarantee that such protective measures would prevent all transfers that would result in an impermissible ownership change. These protective measures also will require any person attempting to acquire a significant interest in us to seek the approval of our Board of Directors. This may have an “anti-takeover” effect because our Board of Directors may be able to prevent any future takeover. Similarly, any limits on the amount of capital stock that a stockholder may own could have the effect of making it more difficult for stockholders to replace current management. Additionally, because protective measures implemented by us to preserve our NOL will have the effect of restricting a stockholder’s ability to acquire our common stock, the liquidity and market value of our common stock might suffer.

The loss of any member of our senior management or certain other key executives could significantly harm our business.

Our ability to maintain our competitive position is dependent to a large degree on the efforts and skills of our senior management team, including Warren B. Kanders, Peter Metcalf, Zeena Freeman and Robert R. Schiller. If we were to lose the services of any member of our senior management, our business may be significantly impaired. In addition, many of our senior executives have strong industry reputations, which aid us in identifying acquisition and borrowing opportunities, and having such opportunities brought to us. The loss of the services of these key personnel could materially and adversely affect our operations because of diminished relationships with lenders, existing and prospective tenants, property sellers and industry personnel.

Our Board of Directors may change significant corporate policies without stockholder approval.

Our investment, financing, borrowing and dividend policies and our policies with respect to all other activities, including growth, debt, capitalization and operations, will be determined by our Board of Directors. These policies may be amended or revised at any time and from time to time at the discretion of the Board of Directors without a vote of our stockholders. In addition, the Board of Directors may change our policies with respect to conflicts of interest provided that such changes are consistent with applicable legal requirements. A change in these policies could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, per share trading price of our common stock and ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and to pay dividends to our stockholders.

Compensation awards to our management may not be tied to or correspond with our improved financial results or share price.

The compensation committee of our Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing our compensation and employee benefit plans and practices, including our executive compensation plans and our incentive compensation and equity-based compensation plans. Our compensation committee has significant discretion in structuring compensation packages and may make compensation decisions based on any number of factors. As a result, compensation awards may not be tied to or correspond with improved financial results for the Company or the share price of our common stock.

Risks Related to our Common Stock

Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation authorizes the issuance of shares of preferred stock.

Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that our Board of Directors will be authorized to issue from time to time, without further stockholder approval, up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix or alter the designations, preferences, rights and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions of the shares of each series, including the dividend rights, dividend rates, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, including sinking fund provisions, redemption price or prices, liquidation preferences and the number of shares constituting any series or designations of any series. Such shares of preferred stock could have preferences over our common stock with respect to dividends and liquidation rights. We may issue additional preferred stock in ways which may delay, defer or prevent a change in control of the Company without further action by our stockholders. Such shares of preferred stock may be issued with voting rights that may adversely affect the voting power of the holders of our common stock by increasing the number of outstanding shares having voting rights, and by the creation of class or series voting rights.

We do not expect to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.

Although our stockholders may receive dividends if, as and when declared by our Board of Directors, we do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Therefore, you should not purchase our common stock if you need immediate or future income by way of dividends from your investment. In addition, upon an event of default under our credit facility, we are prohibited from declaring or paying any dividends on our common stock or generally making other distributions to our stockholders.

The price of our common stock has been and is expected to continue to be volatile, which could affect a stockholder’s return on investment.

There has been significant volatility in the stock market and in particular in the market price and trading volume of securities, which has often been unrelated to the performance of the companies. The market price of our common stock has been subject to significant fluctuations, and we expect it to continue to be subject to such fluctuations for the foreseeable future. We believe the reasons for these fluctuations include, in addition to general market volatility, the relatively thin level of trading in our stock, and the relatively low public float.  Therefore, variations in financial results, announcements of material events, technological innovations or new products by us or our competitors, our quarterly operating results, changes in general conditions in the economy or the health care industry, other developments affecting us or our competitors or general price and volume fluctuations in the market are among the many factors that could cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate substantially.

Shares of our common stock have been thinly traded in the past.

The trading volume of our common stock has not been significant, and there may not be an active trading market for our common stock in the future. As a result of the thin trading market or “float” for our stock, the market price for our common stock may fluctuate significantly more than the stock market as a whole. Without a large float, our common stock is less liquid than the stock of companies with broader public ownership and, as a result, the trading prices of our common stock may be more volatile. In the absence of an active public trading market, an investor may be unable to liquidate his investment in our common stock. Trading of a relatively small volume of our common stock may have a greater impact on the trading price for our stock than would be the case if our public float were larger. We cannot predict the prices at which our common stock will trade in the future.

The sale of a substantial amount of our common stock in the public market could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock.

We have outstanding an aggregate of 32,704,171 shares of our common stock as of March 10, 2015. This includes 7,835,284 shares of common stock that are beneficially owned by Mr. Kanders, our Chairman of the Board, of which he has 5,647,367 hypothecated and/or pledged as security for loans from financial institutions, and that may be sold by such financial institutions in the event of a foreclosure of these loans. The sale of a significant amount of shares at any given time, or the perception that such sales could occur, including sales of the shares beneficially owned by Mr. Kanders, could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock.

We may issue a substantial amount of our common stock in the future, which could cause dilution to current investors and otherwise adversely affect our stock price.

We may issue additional shares of common stock as consideration for such acquisition. These issuances could be significant. To the extent that we make acquisitions and issue our shares of common stock as consideration, your equity interest in us will be diluted. Any such issuance will also increase the number of outstanding shares of common stock that will be eligible for sale in the future. Persons receiving shares of our common stock in connection with these acquisitions may be more likely to sell off their common stock, which may influence the price of our common stock. In addition, the potential issuance of additional shares in connection with anticipated acquisitions could lessen demand for our common stock and result in a lower price than might otherwise be obtained. We may issue common stock in the future for other purposes as well, including in connection with financings, for compensation purposes, in connection with strategic transactions or for other purposes. The issuance of a large number of shares of common stock in connection with an acquisition could also have a negative effect on our ability to use our NOLs.

The announcement of our exploration of a full range of strategic alternatives may negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

On March 16, 2015, the Company announced that it has engaged Rothschild Inc. and Robert W. Baird & Co., Incorporated as financial advisors to lead an exploration of a full range of strategic alternatives for each of the Company’s brands, Black Diamond, POC and PIEPS. There can be no assurance as to the outcome of the strategic alternatives process, that any particular strategic alternative will be pursued or that any transaction will occur.  In addition, the exploration of strategic alternatives may create perceived uncertainties as to our future direction and may result in the loss of employees, customers or business partners.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

Our corporate headquarters, as well as our primary research and manufacturing facility, is located in a facility owned by the Company in Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition, at December 31, 2014, the Company and its subsidiaries lease or own facilities throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. In general, our properties are well maintained, considered adequate and being utilized for their intended purposes.

The following table identifies and provides certain information regarding our principal facilities:

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Legal Proceedings

The Company is involved in various legal disputes and other legal proceedings that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of business. Based on currently available information, the Company does not believe that the disposition of any of the legal disputes the Company or its subsidiaries is currently involved in will have a material adverse effect upon the Company’s consolidated financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. It is possible that, as additional information becomes available, the impact on the Company of an adverse determination could have a different effect.

Litigation

The Company is involved in various lawsuits arising from time to time that the Company considers ordinary routine litigation incidental to its business. Amounts accrued for litigation matters represent the anticipated costs (damages and/or settlement amounts) in connection with pending litigation and claims and related anticipated legal fees for defending such actions. The costs are accrued when it is both probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. The accruals are based upon the Company’s assessment, after consultation with counsel (if deemed appropriate), of probable loss based on the facts and circumstances of each case, the legal issues involved, the nature of the claim made, the nature of the damages sought and any relevant information about the plaintiffs and other significant factors that vary by case. When it is not possible to estimate a specific expected cost to be incurred, the Company evaluates the range of probable loss and records the minimum end of the range. Based on current information, the Company believes that the ultimate conclusion of the various pending litigations of the Company, in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Product Liability

As a consumer goods manufacturer and distributor, the Company faces the risk of product liability and related lawsuits involving claims for substantial money damages, product recall actions and higher than anticipated rates of warranty returns or other returns of goods.  The Company is therefore vulnerable to various personal injury and property damage lawsuits relating to its products and incidental to its business.

Based on current information, there are no pending product liability claims and lawsuits of the Company, which the Company believes in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

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

Our common stock is listed for trading on NASDAQ Global Select Market under the trading symbol “BDE”. The following table sets forth the reported high and low sale prices for the periods indicated:

Performance Graph

Set forth below is a line graph comparing the yearly percentage change in the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock to the cumulative total return of the NASDAQ Global Select Market Composite and the Russell 2000 Index for the period commencing on December 31, 2009 and ending on December 31, 2014 (the “Measuring Period”). The graph assumes that the value of the investment in our common stock and the indexes was $100 on December 31, 2009. The yearly change in cumulative total return is measured by dividing (1) the sum of (i) the cumulative amount of dividends for the Measuring Period, assuming dividend reinvestment, and (ii) the change in share price between the beginning and end of the Measuring Period, by (2) the share price at the beginning of the Measuring Period.

Historical stock price performance should not be relied on as indicative of future stock price performance.

Total Return Analysis

Stockholders

On March 10, 2015, the last reported sales price for our common stock was $7.11 per share. As of March 10, 2015, there were 115 holders of record of our common stock.

Dividends

We currently anticipate that we will retain all future earnings for use in our business and do not anticipate that we will pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The payment of any future dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon, among other things, our results of operations, capital requirements, general business conditions, contractual restrictions on payment of dividends, if any, legal and regulatory restrictions on the payment of dividends, and other factors our Board of Directors deems relevant.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Recent Purchases of our Registered Equity Securities

During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a 10% stock repurchase program. During the third quarter 2014, the Company purchased 21,576 shares of the Company’s common stock for $183,827 with a purchase price of $8.52 per share. No other repurchases of shares of the Company’s common stock occurred during the year ended December 31, 2014.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table sets forth certain information regarding our equity plans as of December 31, 2014:

(1) Consists of stock options and restricted stock awards issued under the Amended and Restated Stock Incentive Plan of Clarus Corporation (the “2000 Plan”). Also consists of stock options issued and issuable under the 2005 Plan.

(2) Includes options granted to the Company’s Executive Chairman Warren B. Kanders on December 20, 2003 to purchase 400,000 shares of common stock, having an exercise price of $7.50 per share.

(3) Includes options granted to the Company’s Executive Chairman Warren B. Kanders on December 20, 2003 to purchase 400,000 shares of common stock, having an exercise price of $10.00 per share.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

Our selected financial information set forth below have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements and should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements, including the notes thereto and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of Item 7 of Part II of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. On May 28, 2010, we acquired Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd. (“Black Diamond Equipment”) and Gregory Mountain Products. Because the Company had no operations at the time of our acquisition of Black Diamond Equipment, Black Diamond Equipment is considered to be our predecessor company (the “Predecessor”) for financial reporting purposes. The Predecessor does not include Gregory Mountain Products. On July 23, 2014, the Company completed the sale of certain assets of Gregory Mountain Products. The activities of Gregory have been segregated and reported as discontinued operations for all periods presented.

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

Forward-Looking Statements

Please note that in this Annual Report on Form 10-K we may use words such as “appears,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “future,” and similar expressions which constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are made based on our expectations and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks and uncertainties. We caution that forward-looking statements are not guarantees and that actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.

Potential risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results of operations or financial condition of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include, but are not limited to, the overall level of consumer spending on our products; general economic conditions and other factors affecting consumer confidence; disruption and volatility in the global capital and credit markets; the financial strength of the Company’s customers; the Company’s ability to implement its growth strategy, including its ability to organically grow each of its historical product lines, its new apparel line and its recently acquired businesses; the results of the Company’s review of strategic alternatives; the Company’s ability to successfully integrate and grow acquisitions; the Company’s exposure to product liability of product warranty claims and other loss contingencies; stability of the Company’s manufacturing facilities and foreign suppliers; the Company’s ability to protect trademarks, patents and other intellectual property rights; fluctuations in the price, availability and quality of raw materials and contracted products; foreign currency fluctuations; our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards; and legal, regulatory, political and economic risks in international markets. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company’s financial results can be found under Item 1A.—Risk Factors of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. All forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are based upon information available to the Company as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and speak only as the date hereof. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Overview

Black Diamond, Inc. (which may be referred to as “Black Diamond,” “Company,” “we,” “our” or “us”) is a global leader in designing, manufacturing, and marketing innovative active outdoor performance equipment and apparel for climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, skiing, cycling, and a wide range of other year-round outdoor recreation activities. Our principal brands include Black Diamond®, POC™ and PIEPS™ and are targeted not only to the demanding requirements of core climbers, skiers and cyclists, but also to the more general outdoor performance enthusiasts and consumers interested in outdoor-inspired gear for their backcountry and urban activities. Our Black Diamond®, POC™ and PIEPS™ brands are iconic in the active outdoor, ski and cycling industries and linked intrinsically with the modern history of the sports we serve. We believe our brands are synonymous with the performance, innovation, durability and safety that the outdoor and action sports communities rely on and embrace in their active lifestyle.

We offer a broad range of products including: high performance apparel (such as jackets, shells, pants and bibs) rock-climbing equipment (such as carabiners, protection devices, harnesses, belay devices, helmets, and ice-climbing gear); technical backpacks and high-end day packs; tents; trekking poles; headlamps and lanterns; and gloves and mittens. We also offer advanced design helmets, body armor, and goggles for skiing, mountain and road cycling, as well as eyewear, skis, ski poles, ski bindings, ski boots, ski skins, and ski safety products, including avalanche transceivers, shovels, and probes.

On May 28, 2010, we acquired Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd. (which may be referred to as “Black Diamond Equipment” or “BDEL”) and Gregory Mountain Products, LLC (which may be referred to as “Gregory Mountain Products”, “Gregory” or “GMP”). On January 20, 2011, the Company changed its name from Clarus Corporation to Black Diamond, Inc., which we believe more accurately reflects our current business. In July 2012 we acquired POC Sweden AB and its subsidiaries (collectively, “POC”) and in October 2012 we acquired PIEPS Holding GmbH and its subsidiaries (collectively, “PIEPS”).

On July 23, 2014, the Company and Gregory Mountain Products, its then wholly-owned subsidiary, completed the sale of certain assets to Samsonite LLC (“Samsonite”) comprising Gregory’s business of designing, manufacturing, marketing, distributing and selling technical, alpine, backpacking, hiking, mountaineering and active trail products and accessories as well as outdoor-inspired lifestyle bags (the “Business”) pursuant to the terms of that certain Asset Purchase Agreement (the “GMP Purchase Agreement”), dated as of June 18, 2014, by and among the Company, Gregory and Samsonite. Under the terms of the GMP Purchase Agreement, Samsonite paid $84,135,000 in cash for Gregory’s assets comprising the Business and assumed certain specified liabilities (the “GMP Sale”). The activities of Gregory have been segregated and reported as discontinued operations for all periods presented. See Note 4. Discontinued Operations to the notes to consolidated financial statements.

Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates

Management’s discussion of financial condition and results of operations is based on the consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The preparation of the consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements. Estimates also affect the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. We continually evaluate our estimates and assumptions including those related to derivatives, revenue recognition, income taxes and valuation of long-lived assets, goodwill and other intangible assets. We base our estimates on historical experience and other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

We believe the following critical accounting policies include the more significant estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. Our accounting policies are more fully described in Note 1 of our consolidated financial statements.

We use operating budgets and cash flow forecasts to estimate future sales and to determine the level and timing of derivative transactions intended to mitigate such risks in accordance with our risk management policies. If the forecasted sales levels are not reached, our derivative instruments may be deemed to be not effective which may result in foreign currency gains and losses being recorded in our statement of comprehensive income, which could materially affect our financial position and results of operations.

At the time of revenue recognition, we also provide for estimated sales returns and miscellaneous claims from customers as reductions to revenues. The estimates are based on historical rates of product returns and claims. However, actual returns and claims in any future period are inherently uncertain and thus may differ from these estimates. If actual or expected returns and claims are significantly greater or lower than the allowances that we have established, we will record a reduction or increase to sales in the period in which we make such a determination.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See “Recent Accounting Pronouncements” in Note 1 to the notes to consolidated financial statements.

Results of Operations (In Thousands)

Consolidated Year Ended December 31, 2014 Compared to Consolidated Year Ended December 31, 2013

The following presents a discussion of consolidated operations for the year ended December 31, 2014, compared with the year ended December 31, 2013:

Sales

Consolidated sales increased $25,031, or 14.9%, to $193,140 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to consolidated sales of $168,109 during the year ended December 31, 2013. The increase in sales was primarily attributable to an increase in the quantity of new and existing mountain, climb, ski, and wheels products sold during the period, which included the addition of apparel sold by Black Diamond Equipment and the launch of POC’s road cycling collection. This increase was partially offset by a decrease in sales of $1,560 due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies during the year ended December 31, 2014.

Consolidated domestic sales increased $9,176, or 13.4%, to $77,403 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to consolidated domestic sales of $68,227 during the year ended December 31, 2013. The increase in domestic sales was primarily attributable to an increase in the quantity of new and existing mountain, climb, ski, and wheels products sold during the period, which included the addition of apparel sold by Black Diamond Equipment and the launch of POC’s road cycling collection.

Consolidated international sales increased $15,855, or 15.9%, to $115,737 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to consolidated international sales of $99,882 during the year ended December 31, 2013. The increase in international sales was primarily attributable to an increase in the quantity of new and existing mountain, climb, ski, and wheels products sold during the period, which included the addition of apparel sold by Black Diamond Equipment and the launch of POC’s road cycling collection. This increase was partially offset by a decrease in sales of $1,560 due to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies during the year ended December 31, 2014.

Cost of Goods Sold

Consolidated cost of goods sold increased $11,190, or 10.5%, to $118,242 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to consolidated cost of goods sold of $107,052 during the year ended December 31, 2013. The increase in cost of goods sold was primarily attributable to an increase in sales. The consolidated cost of goods sold for the year ended December 31, 2013, included the impact of the voluntary recall by PIEPS of all of its PIEPS VECTOR avalanche transceivers resulting in a charge of $1,541 in cost of goods sold during such period.

Gross Profit

Consolidated gross profit increased $13,841 or 22.7%, to $74,898 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to consolidated gross profit of $61,057 during the year ended December 31, 2013. Consolidated gross margin was 38.8% during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to a consolidated gross margin of 36.3% during the year ended December 31, 2013, which included the impact of the voluntary recall of all of the PIEPS VECTOR avalanche transceivers of $1,541. Consolidated gross margin during the year ended December 31, 2014 increased compared to the prior year due to a favorable product mix in higher margin products and channel distribution, lower level of close-out and promotional activity, as well as the absence of the voluntary recall of all of the PIEPS VECTOR avalanche transceivers.

Selling, General and Administrative

Consolidated selling, general, and administrative expenses increased $6,540, or 8.8%, to $81,077 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to consolidated selling, general, and administrative expenses of $74,537 during the year ended December 31, 2013. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses was attributable to the Company’s investments in its strategic initiatives, such as Black Diamond Equipment apparel, the transition of certain distributors into our in-house operations for POC, and the launch of POC’s road cycling collection. This was offset by stock based compensation expense which was higher during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to the year ended December 31, 2014, as a result of the Company issuing more fully vested stock option awards in the prior year.

Restructuring Charges

Consolidated restructuring expense increased $3,408, or 1,947.4%, to $3,583 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to consolidated restructuring expense of $175 during the year ended December 31, 2013. The restructuring expenses incurred during the year ended December 31, 2014 relate to impairment of assets of $2,056, benefits provided to employees who were or will be terminated due to the Company’s reduction-in-force as part of its continued realignment of resources within the organization of $813, and other restructuring costs of $714. The restructuring expenses incurred during the year ended December 31, 2013, related to the relocation of POC’s Portsmouth, NH facility to the Company’s U.S. distribution facilities in Salt Lake City, UT.

Merger and Integration Costs

Consolidated merger and integration expense decreased to $0 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to consolidated merger and integration expense of $565 during the year ended December 31, 2013, which consisted of expenses related to the integration of POC and PIEPS.

Transaction Costs

Consolidated transaction expense decreased to $0 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to consolidated transaction expense of $54 during the year ended December 31, 2013, which consisted of professional accounting fees in 2013 related to the Company’s acquisitions of POC and PIEPS.

Interest Expense, net

Consolidated interest expense increased $107, or 4.2%, to $2,684 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to consolidated interest expense of $2,577 during the year ended December 31, 2013. The increase in interest expense, net, was primarily attributable to higher average outstanding debt amounts during the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to the same period in 2013.

Other, net

Consolidated other, net, decreased to expense of $296 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to a consolidated other, net income of $350 during the year ended December 31, 2013. The decrease in other, net, was primarily attributable to losses on mark-to-market adjustments on non-hedged foreign currency contracts partially off-set by remeasurement gains recognized on the Company’s foreign denominated accounts receivable and accounts payable.

Income Taxes

Consolidated income tax benefit decreased $1,818, or 33.9%, to $3,551 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to consolidated income tax benefit of $5,369 during the same period in 2013. The decrease in tax benefit is due to the decrease in the effective tax rate and the decrease in loss before income tax recorded during the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to the same period in 2013.

Our effective income tax rate was 27.9% for the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to an effective income tax rate of 32.5% for the same period in 2013. During the year ended December 31, 2013, a benefit of $230 was recorded as a discrete event for the 2012 federal research credit that was retroactively reinstated in 2013. There were no meaningful discrete events recorded in the Company’s effective income tax rate calculation for the year ended December 31, 2014.

Discontinued Operations

The Company sold the assets and liabilities of Gregory for $84,135 effective July 23, 2014 and as a result we recognized a pre-tax gain of $39,491. Discontinued operations increased $17,936, to $23,198 during the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to discontinued operations of $5,262 during the year ended December 31, 2013. The increase was due primarily to recording the gain on sale net of tax of $20,067 in discontinued operations in our December 31, 2014 condensed consolidated financial statements as a result of the GMP Sale.

Consolidated Year Ended December 31, 2013 Compared to Consolidated Year Ended December 31, 2012

The following presents a discussion of consolidated operations for the year ended December 31, 2013 compared with the consolidated year ended December 31, 2012:

Sales

Consolidated sales increased $22,786, or 15.7%, to $168,109 during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to consolidated sales of $145,323 during the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase in sales was attributable to the inclusion of POC and PIEPS for the full year ended December 31, 2013, and the addition of apparel sales by Black Diamond Equipment. Sales also increased due to an increase in the quantity and average sales price of new and existing climb, mountain, and ski products sold during the period, partially offset by evolving industry purchasing trends during the year ended December 31, 2013. We also experienced an increase in sales of $278 due to the strengthening of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar during the year ended December 31, 2013.

Consolidated domestic sales increased $6,524, or 10.6%, to $68,227 during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to consolidated domestic sales of $61,703 during the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase in domestic sales was primarily attributable to the inclusion of POC for the full year ended December 31, 2013 and the addition of apparel sales by Black Diamond Equipment, partially offset by evolving industry purchasing trends during the year ended December 31, 2013.

Consolidated international sales increased $16,262, or 19.4%, to $99,882 during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to consolidated international sales of $83,620 during the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase in international sales was primarily attributable to the inclusion of POC and PIEPS for the full year ended December 31, 2013, and the addition of apparel sales by Black Diamond Equipment. We also experienced an increase in sales of $278 due to the strengthening of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar during the year ended December 31, 2013.

Cost of Goods Sold

Consolidated cost of goods sold increased $17,293, or 19.3%, to $107,052 during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to consolidated cost of goods sold of $89,759 during the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase in cost of goods sold was primarily attributable to an increase in sales both organically and from the inclusion of POC and PIEPS for the full year ended December 31, 2013 as well as the impact of the voluntary recall of all of the PIEPS VECTOR avalanche transceivers of $1,541.

Gross Profit

Consolidated gross profit increased $5,493 or 9.9%, to $61,057 during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to consolidated gross profit of $55,564 during the year ended December 31, 2012. Consolidated gross margin was 36.3% during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to a consolidated gross margin of 38.2% during the year ended December 31, 2012. Consolidated gross margin during the year ended December 31, 2013 was negatively impacted by 0.9% by the voluntary recall of all of the PIEPS VECTOR avalanche transceivers of $1,541. A higher level of close-out and promotional activity also negatively impacted the consolidated gross margin for the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to the year ended December 31, 2012.

Selling, General and Administrative

Consolidated selling, general, and administrative expenses increased $18,591, or 33.2%, to $74,537 during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to consolidated selling, general, and administrative expenses of $55,946 during the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to the inclusion of POC and PIEPS for the full year ended December 31, 2013, the addition of our Black Diamond Japan GK operations, the Company’s investments in its strategic initiatives, such as apparel sold by Black Diamond Equipment, and infrastructure to support both current and anticipated future growth, as well as an increase in stock based compensation expense of $1,321 as a result of the Company issuing fully vested stock option awards.

Restructuring Charges

Consolidated restructuring expense increased $102, or 139.7%, to $175 during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to consolidated restructuring expense of $73 during the year ended December 31, 2012. The restructuring expenses incurred during the year ended December 31, 2013 relate to the relocation of POC’s Portsmouth, NH facility to the Company’s U.S. distribution facilities in Salt Lake City, UT.

Merger and Integration Costs

Consolidated merger and integration expense increased $321, or 131.6%, to $565 during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to consolidated merger and integration expense of $244 during the year ended December 31, 2012, which consisted of expenses related to the integration of POC and PIEPS.

Transaction Costs

Consolidated transaction expense decreased $1,975, or 97.3%, to $54 during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to consolidated transaction expense of $2,029 during the year ended December 31, 2012, which consisted of professional fees and expenses in 2013 related to the Company’s acquisitions of POC and PIEPS.

Interest Expense, net

Consolidated interest expense increased $110, or 4.5%, to $2,577 during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to consolidated interest expense of $2,467 during the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase in interest expense was primarily attributable to higher average outstanding debt amounts during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to the same period in 2012.

Other, net

Consolidated other, net, decreased to income of $350 during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to a consolidated other, net income of $869 during the year ended December 31, 2012. The decrease in other, net, was primarily attributable to a decrease in remeasurement gains recognized on the Company’s foreign denominated accounts receivable and accounts payable, partially offset by an increase in gains on mark-to-market adjustments on non-hedged foreign currency contracts.

Income Taxes

Consolidated income tax benefit increased $1,905, or 55.0%, to a benefit of $5,369 during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to consolidated income tax benefit of $3,464 during the same period in 2012. The increase in income tax benefit is due to an increase in loss before income tax recorded during the year ended December 31, 2013, compared to the same period in 2012.

Our effective income tax rate was 32.5% for the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to an effective income tax rate of 80.1% for the same period in 2012. During the year ended December 31, 2013, a benefit of $230 was recorded as a discrete event for the 2012 federal research credit that was retroactively reinstated in 2013. The decrease in the effective income tax rate is primarily attributable to a release of valuation allowance and changes in foreign statutory tax rates during the year ended December 31, 2012.

Discontinued Operations

Discontinued operations increased $2,448, to $5,262 during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to discontinued operations of $2,814 during the year ended December 31, 2012. The increase was due to an increase in sales and gross margin recorded by Gregory during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to the same period in 2012.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Consolidated Year ended December 31, 2014 Compared to Consolidated Year ended December 31, 2013

The following presents a discussion of cash flows for the consolidated year ended December 31, 2014 compared with the consolidated year ended December 31, 2013. Our primary ongoing funding requirements are for working capital, expansion of our operations, and general corporate needs, as well as investing activities associated with the expansion into new product categories. We plan to fund our future expansion of operations and investing activities through a combination of our future operating cash flows, revolving credit facilities, and the net proceeds from the GMP Sale. We believe that our liquidity requirements for at least the next 12 months will be adequately covered by existing cash, marketable securities, cash provided by operations and our existing revolving credit facilities. At December 31, 2014, we had total cash of $31,034 and marketable securities of $9,902 compared to a cash balance of $4,478 at December 31, 2013, which were substantially controlled by the Company’s U.S. entities. The increase in cash and marketable securities as of December 31, 2014 was mainly due to the sale of Gregory. At December 31, 2014, the Company had $1,562 of the $31,034 in cash held by foreign entities; however, this cash is available for repatriation without significant tax consequence.

Net Cash From Operating Activities

Consolidated net cash used in operating activities was $28,675 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to consolidated net cash provided by operating activities of $7,471 during the year ended December 31, 2013. The increase in net cash used in operating activities during 2014 is primarily due an increase in net operating assets or non-cash working capital of $24,222 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to the same period in 2013.

Free cash flow, defined as net cash (used in) provided by operating activities less capital expenditures, was free cash flows used of $31,554 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to free cash flows generated of $3,107 during the same period in 2013. The Company believes that the non-GAAP measure, free cash flow, provides an understanding of the capital required by the Company to expand its asset base. A reconciliation of free cash flows to comparable GAAP financial measures is set forth below:

Net Cash From Investing Activities

Consolidated net cash provided by investing activities increased by $73,355 to $68,279 during the year ended December 31, 2014 compared to consolidated net cash used in investing activities of $5,076 during the year ended December 31, 2013. The increase in investing activities in the current year relates to the $81,140 of net proceeds we received for the sale of Gregory partially offset by the purchase of marketable securities of $9,994. Investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2013 included the Company’s acquisition of Gregory’s Japanese distribution assets from Kabushiki Kaisha A&F, the prior distributor of Gregory’s products in Japan, for $750. These activities, as well as a decrease in capital expenditures generated an increase in net cash provided by investing activities compared to the year ended December 31, 2013.

Net Cash From Financing Activities

Consolidated net cash used in financing activities was $12,851 during the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to consolidated net cash used in financing activities of $2,525 during the year ended December 31, 2013. The financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2014 includes repayments of long-term debt of $9,453. The financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2013 included proceeds from issuance of long-term debt of $10,216. The additional repayments of long-term debt and the absence of the proceeds during the year ended December 31, 2014 generated an increase in net cash used in financing compared to the year ended December 31, 2013.

Net Operating Loss

As of December 31, 2014, the Company had net operating loss, research and experimentation credit and alternative minimum tax credit carryforwards for U.S. federal income tax purposes of $167,303 ($294, relates to excess tax benefits related to share based payment compensation, which will not be realized until an income tax payable exists), $1,337 and $56, respectively. The Company believes its U.S. Federal net operating loss (“NOL”) will substantially offset its future U.S. Federal income taxes, excluding the amount subject to U.S. Federal Alternative Minimum Tax (“AMT”). AMT is calculated as 20% of AMT income. For purposes of AMT, a maximum of 90% of income is offset by available NOLs. The majority of the Company’s pre-tax income is currently earned and expected to be earned in the U.S., or taxed in the U.S. as Subpart F income and will be offset with the NOL. $167,009 of net operating losses available to offset taxable income does not expire until 2021 or later, subject to compliance with Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

As of December 31, 2014, the Company’s gross deferred tax asset was $73,465. The Company has recorded a valuation allowance of $16,081, resulting in a net deferred tax asset of $57,384, before deferred tax liabilities of $21,644. The Company has provided a valuation allowance against a portion of the net deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2014, because the ultimate realization of those assets does not meet the more likely than not criteria. The ultimate realization of U.S. deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of approximately $137,000 of future U.S. taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible and net operating loss and credit carryforwards expire; approximately $117,000 of future U.S. taxable income must be generated by 2022 to realize the net recorded deferred tax asset for net operating loss carryforwards.

On July 23, 2014, the Company completed the GMP Sale and will utilize approximately $48,273 of its net operating loss carryforwards in the transaction, leaving a balance of approximately $167,303 for future utilization.

Revolving Credit Facility

On October 31, 2014, the Company together with its direct and indirect domestic subsidiaries entered into a second amended and restated loan agreement (the “Second Amended and Restated Loan Agreement”) with Zions First National Bank (the “Lender”), which matures on April 1, 2017. Under the Second Amended and Restated Loan Agreement, the Company has a $30,000 revolving line of credit (the “Revolving Line of Credit”) pursuant to a second amended and restated promissory note (revolving loan) (the “Revolving Line of Credit Promissory Note”) which is inclusive of a $10,000 accordion option (the “Accordion”) available to the Company to increase the Revolving Line of Credit on a seasonal or permanent basis for funding general corporate needs including working capital, capital expenditures, permitted loans or investments in subsidiaries, and the issuance of letters of credit. Also pursuant to the Second Amended and Restated Loan Agreement, the Company terminated its outstanding term loan facility which previously allowed the Company to borrow up to $10,000 and certain additional changes were made to the original amended and restated loan agreement and the covenants contained therein.

All debt associated with the Second Amended and Restated Loan Agreement bears interest at one-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus an applicable margin as determined by the ratio of Total Senior Debt to Trailing Twelve Month EBITDA as follows: (i) one month LIBOR plus 4.00% per annum at all times that Total Senior Debt to Trailing Twelve Month EBITDA ratio is greater than or equal to 2.00; (ii) one month LIBOR plus 3.00% per annum at all times that Total Senior Debt to Trailing Twelve Month EBITDA ratio is greater than 1.00 and less than 2.00; and (iii) one month LIBOR plus 2.00% per annum at all times that Total Senior Debt to Trailing Twelve Month EBITDA ratio is less than 1.00 or if the Company has cash or marketable securities equal to or greater than $30,000. The Second Amended and Restated Loan Agreement requires the payment of any unused commitment fee of (i) .6% per annum at all times that Total Senior Debt to Trailing Twelve Month EBITDA ratio is greater than or equal to 2.00; (ii) .5% per annum at all times that Total Senior Debt to Trailing Twelve Month EBITDA ratio is greater than 1.00 and less than 2.00; and (iii) .4% per annum at all times that Total Senior Debt to Trailing Twelve Month EBITDA ration is less than 1.00.

The Second Amended and Restated Loan Agreement contains certain restrictive debt covenants that require the Company and its subsidiaries to maintain an EBITDA based minimum Trailing Twelve Month EBITDA, a minimum net worth, a positive amount of asset coverage, and limitations on capital expenditures all as calculated in the Second Amended and Restated Loan Agreement. In addition, the Second Amended and Restated Loan Agreement contains covenants restricting the Company and its subsidiaries from pledging or encumbering their assets, with certain exceptions, and from engaging in acquisitions other than acquisitions permitted by the Second Amended and Restated Loan Agreement. The Second Amended and Restated Loan Agreement contains customary events of default (with grace periods where customary) including, among other things, failure to pay any principal or interest when due; any materially false or misleading representation, warranty, or financial statement; failure to comply with or to perform any provision of the Second Amended and Restated Loan Agreement; and default on any debt or agreement in excess of certain amounts.

5% Senior Subordinated Notes due May 28, 2017

As part of the consideration payable to the stockholders of Gregory when the Company acquired Gregory, the Company issued $14,517, $7,539, and $554 in 5% Unsecured Subordinated Notes due May 28, 2017 (the “Merger Consideration Subordinated Notes”) to Kanders GMP Holdings, LLC, Schiller Gregory Investment Company, LLC, and five former employees of Gregory, respectively. Mr. Warren B. Kanders, the Company’s Executive Chairman and a member of its Board of Directors, is a majority member and a trustee of the manager of Kanders GMP Holdings, LLC. The sole manager of Schiller Gregory Investment Company, LLC is Mr. Robert R. Schiller, the Company’s Executive Vice Chairman and a member of its Board of Directors. The principal terms of the Merger Consideration Subordinated Notes are as follows: (i) the principal amount is due and payable on May 28, 2017 and is prepayable by the Company at any time; (ii) interest will accrue on the principal amount at the rate of 5% per annum and shall be payable quarterly in cash; (iii) the default interest rate shall accrue at the rate of 10% per annum during the occurrence of an event of default; and (iv) events of default, which can only be triggered with the consent of Kanders GMP Holdings, LLC, are: (a) the default by the Company on any payment due under a Merger Consideration Subordinated Note; (b) the Company’s failure to perform or observe any other material covenant or agreement contained in the Merger Consideration Subordinated Notes; or (c) the Company’s instituting or becoming subject to a proceeding under the Bankruptcy Code (as defined in the Merger Consideration Subordinated Notes). The Merger Consideration Subordinated Notes are junior to all senior indebtedness of the Company, except that payments of interest continue to be made under the Merger Consideration Subordinated Notes as long as no event of default exists under any senior indebtedness.

Given the below market interest rate for comparably secured notes and the relative illiquidity of the Merger Consideration Subordinated Notes, we have discounted the notes to $8,640, $4,487 and $316, respectively, at the date of acquisition. We are accreting the discount on the Merger Consideration Subordinated Notes to interest expense using the effective interest method over the term of the Merger Consideration Subordinated Notes.

On April 7, 2011, Schiller Gregory Investment Company, LLC transferred its Merger Consideration Subordinated Note in equal amounts to the Robert R. Schiller Cornerstone Trust and the Deborah Schiller 2005 Revocable Trust. On June 24, 2013, the Robert R. Schiller Cornerstone Trust dated September 9, 2010 transferred its Merger Consideration Subordinated Note in the amount of $3,769 to the Robert R. Schiller 2013 Cornerstone Trust dated June 24, 2013. During the year ended December 31, 2014, $726 in interest was paid to Kanders GMP Holdings, LLC, and $377 in interest was paid to the Robert R. Schiller 2013 Cornerstone Trust and the Deborah Schiller 2005 Revocable Trust pursuant to the outstanding Merger Consideration Subordinated Notes.

On May 29, 2012 and August 13, 2012, five former employees of Gregory exercised certain sales rights and sold Merger Consideration Subordinated Notes in the aggregate principal amount of approximately $365 to Kanders GMP Holdings, LLC and in the aggregate principal amount of approximately $189 to Schiller Gregory Investment Company, LLC. During the year ended December 31, 2014, $18 in interest was paid to Kanders GMP Holdings, LLC, and $10 in interest was paid to Schiller Gregory Investment Company, LLC, pursuant to these outstanding Merger Consideration Subordinated Notes.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not engage in any transactions or have relationships or other arrangements with unconsolidated entities. These include special purpose and similar entities or other off-balance sheet arrangements. We also do not engage in energy, weather or other commodity-based contracts.

Contractual Obligations

The following summarizes our contractual obligations and commercial commitments at December 31, 2014, excluding note discounts of $4,119, with initial or remaining terms of one or more years, and the effect such obligations are expected to have on our liquidity and cash flow in future periods:

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

In general, we can be exposed to market risks including fluctuations in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates and certain commodity prices, and that can affect the cost of operating, investing, and financing under those conditions. The Company believes it has moderate exposure to these risks. We assess market risk based on changes in interest rates, foreign currency rates, and commodity prices utilizing a sensitivity analysis that measures the potential loss in earnings, fair values, and cash flows based on a hypothetical 10% change in these rates and prices.

Interest Rate Risks

Our primary exposure to market risk is interest rate risk associated with our $20,000 unsecured revolving credit facility (the “Loan”). We have cash flow exposure on the Loan since the interest is indexed to LIBOR. As of December 31, 2014, the applicable interest rate for the outstanding borrowings under the Loan would have been 2.15%.

Foreign Currency Risks

While we transact business predominantly in U.S. dollars and most of our revenues are collected in U.S. dollars, a portion of our revenues and operating costs are denominated in other currencies. Changes in the relation of these and other currencies to the U.S. dollar will affect our sales and profitability and could result in exchange losses. For the year ending December 31, 2014, approximately 50% of our sales were denominated in foreign currencies, the most significant of which were the Euro, Canadian Dollar, British Pound, Norwegian Kroner, Swedish Krona, Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc. The primary purpose of our foreign currency hedging activities is to mitigate the foreign currency exchange rate exposure on the cash flows related to forecasted inventory purchases and sales. A hypothetical 10% change in foreign currency rates would not have a material effect on foreign currency gains and losses related to the foreign currency derivatives or the net fair value of the Company’s foreign currency derivatives.

Derivative Instrument Risks

We employ a variety of practices to manage these market risks, including operating and financing activities and, where deemed appropriate, the use of derivative instruments. Derivative instruments are used only for risk management purposes and not for speculation or trading. Derivatives are such that a specific debt instrument, contract, or anticipated purchase determines the amount, maturity, and other specifics of the hedge. If a derivative contract is entered into, we either determine that it is an economic hedge or we designate the derivative as a cash flow or fair value hedge. We do not hold derivative financial investments, derivative commodity investments, engage in foreign currency hedging or other transactions that expose us to material market risks.

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

BLACK DIAMOND, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Index to Financial Statements

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

The Board of Directors and Stockholders

of Black Diamond, Inc.:

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Black Diamond, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss), stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2014. These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements 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, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Black Diamond, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2014, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), Black Diamond, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2014, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (1992) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), and our report dated March 16, 2015 expressed an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

BLACK DIAMOND, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

BLACK DIAMOND, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

BLACK DIAMOND, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

BLACK DIAMOND, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

(In thousands)