CREATIVE REALITIES, INC. - Annual Report: 2019 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark one)

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

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019

OR

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

For the transition period from ___________ to ___________

Commission file number 001-33169

Creative Realities, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(502) 791-8800

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates was $9,379,858 as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

As of March 11, 2020, the registrant had 9,794,971 shares of common stock outstanding. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

(All currency is rounded to the nearest thousands, except share and per share amounts.) 

Our Company

Creative Realities, Inc. is a Minnesota corporation (the “Company”) that provides innovative digital marketing technology and solutions to retail companies, individual retail brands, enterprises and organizations throughout the United States and in certain international markets. The Company has expertise in a broad range of existing and emerging digital marketing technologies, as well as the related media management and distribution software platforms and networks, device management, product management, customized software service layers, systems, experiences, workflows, and integrated solutions. Our technology and solutions include: digital merchandising systems and omni-channel customer engagement systems, interactive digital shopping assistants, advisors and kiosks, and other interactive marketing technologies such as mobile, social media, point-of-sale transactions, beaconing and web-based media that enable our customers to transform how they engage with consumers. We have expertise in a broad range of existing and emerging digital marketing technologies, as well as the following related aspects of our business: content, network management, and connected device software and firmware platforms; customized software service layers; hardware platforms; digital media workflows; and proprietary processes and automation tools. We believe we are one of the world’s leading interactive marketing technology companies that focuses on the retail shopper experience by helping retailers and brands use the latest technologies to create better shopping experiences.

On November 20, 2018, we closed on our acquisition of Allure Global Solutions, Inc. (the “Allure Acquisition”). While the Allure Acquisition expanded our operations, geographical footprint and customer base and also enhanced our current product offerings, the core business of Allure is consistent with the operations of Creative Realties, Inc.

Our main operations are conducted directly through Creative Realities, Inc., and under our wholly owned subsidiaries Allure Global Solutions, Inc., a Georgia corporation, Creative Realities Canada, Inc., a Canadian corporation, and ConeXus World Global, LLC, a Kentucky limited liability company. Our other wholly owned subsidiary Creative Realities, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, has been effectively dormant since October 2015, the date of the merger with ConeXus World Global, LLC.

We generate revenue in this business by:

These activities generate revenue through: bundled-solution sales; consulting services, experience design, content development and production, software development, engineering, implementation, and field services; software license fees; and maintenance and support services related to our software, managed systems and solutions.

We currently market and sell our technology and solutions primarily through our sales and business development personnel, but we also utilize agents, strategic partners, and lead generators who provide us with access to additional sales, business development and licensing opportunities.

Our digital marketing technology solutions have application in a wide variety of industries. The industries in which we sell our solutions are established and include automotive, apparel & accessories, banking, baby/children, beauty, CPG, department stores, digital out-of-home (“DOOH”), electronics, fashion, fitness, foodservice/quick service restaurant (“QSR”), financial services, gaming, luxury, mass merchants, mobile operators, and pharmacy retail; however, the planning, development, implementation and maintenance of technology-enabled experiences involving combinations of digital marketing technologies is relatively new and evolving.  Moreover, a number of participants in these industries have only recently started considering or expanding the adoption of these types of technologies, solutions and experiences as part of their overall marketing strategies.  As a result, we remain without an established history of profitability.

We believe that the adoption and evolution of digital marketing technology solutions will increase substantially in years to come both in the industries in which we currently focus and in others. We also believe that adoption of our solutions depends not only upon the services and solutions that we provide but also upon the cost of hardware used to process and display content. While the costs of hardware configurations and software media players have historically decreased and we believe they will continue to do so at an accelerating rate, flat panel displays and players typically constitute a large portion of the expenditure customers make relative to the entire cost of implementing a digital marketing system implementation and can be a barrier to customer deployment. As a result, we believe that the broader adoption of digital marketing technology solutions is likely to increase, although we cannot predict the rate at which such adoption will occur.

Another key component of our business strategy, given the evolving dynamics of the industry in which we operate, is to acquire and integrate other operating companies in the industry in conjunction with pursuing our organic growth objectives. We believe that the selective acquisition and successful integration of certain companies will: accelerate our growth in targeted vertical and operating markets; enable us to cost-effectively aggregate multiple customer bases onto a single business and technology platform; provide us with greater operating scale on a consolidated basis; enable us to leverage a common set of processes and tools, and cost efficiencies company-wide; and ultimately result in higher operating profitability and cash flow from operations. Our management team evaluates acquisition opportunities on an ongoing basis. Our management team and Board of Directors have broad experience with the execution, integration and financing of acquisitions. We believe that, based on the foregoing, we can successfully serve as a consolidator of multiple business and technology platforms serving similar markets.

You may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information about the operation of the public reference room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The website of the SEC is www.sec.gov. Additional information about the Company and its public disclosures is available on our website at www.cri.com.

Corporate Organization

Our principal offices are located at 13100 Magisterial Drive, Ste 100, Louisville, Kentucky 40223, and our telephone number at that office is (502) 791-8800.

We originally incorporated and organized as a Minnesota corporation under the name Wireless Ronin Technologies, Inc. in March 2003. Our business initially focused on the provision of expertise in digital media marketing solutions to customers, including digital signage, interactive kiosks, mobile, social media and web-based media solutions. We acquired the assets and business of Broadcast International, Inc., a Utah corporation and public registrant, through a merger transaction that was effective as of August 1, 2014. Then on August 20, 2014, we consummated a merger transaction with Creative Realities, LLC, a privately owned Delaware limited liability company, in which we issued a majority of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock. In that merger transaction, we acquired the interactive marketing technology business of Creative Realities that we currently operate. Shortly after that merger, we changed our corporate name from Wireless Ronin Technologies, Inc. to “Creative Realities, Inc.” On October 15, 2015, we acquired the assets and business of ConeXus World Global, LLC, a privately-owned Kentucky limited liability company for which we issued preferred and common stock. In that merger transaction, we acquired the systems integration and marketing technology business of ConeXus World that we currently operate. On May 23, 2016, we dissolved Broadcast International, Inc. On November 20, 2018, we acquired Allure Global Solutions, Inc. (“Allure”), an enterprise software development company (as further described below).

Our corporate structure, including our principal operating subsidiaries, is as follows:

Our fiscal year ends December 31. Neither we nor any of our predecessors have been in bankruptcy, receivership or any similar proceeding.

Business Strategy

We believe that our existing business model is highly scalable and can be expanded successfully as we continue to grow organically and integrate our recent merger transactions, acquire and integrate other companies which operate directly in our target markets, strengthen our operational practices and procedures, further streamline our administrative office functions, and continue to capitalize on various marketing programs and activities.

Industry Background

Over approximately the past 18-36 months, we believe certain digital marketing technology industry trends are creating the opportunity for retailers, brands, venue-operators, enterprises, non-profits and other organizations to create innovative shopping, marketing, and informational experiences for their customers and other stakeholders in various venues worldwide. These trends include: (i) the expectations of technology-savvy consumers; (ii) addressing on-line competitors by improving physical experiences; (iii) accelerating decline in the cost of hardware configurations (primarily flat panel displays) and software media players; (iv) the continued evolution of mobile, social, software and hardware technologies, applications and tools; (v) increasing sophistication of social networking platforms; (vi) increasingly complex customer requirements related to their specific digital marketing technology and solution objectives; and (vii) customers challenging service providers with the delivery of a satisfactory consumer experience with the traditional pressure on reducing installation and ongoing operating costs. 

As a result, a growing number of retailers, brands, venue-operators and other organizations have identified the need and opportunity to implement increasingly cost-effective and “sales-lifting” digital marketing, and interactive experiences to market to their customers. These experiences include creating unique and customized experiences for targeted, timely offerings and relevant promotions; improving engagement resulting in increased sales; and increasing shopping basket size. We believe our clients consider capitalizing on these industry trends to be increasingly critical to any successful “store of the future” retail and brand sales environment, especially where sales staff turnover is high, training outcomes are inconsistent and product knowledge is low.

Companies are accomplishing their strategies by implementing various digital marketing technology solutions, which: are implemented in multiple forms and types of configurations and locations; attempt to achieve any of a broad range of individual or combination of objectives; contain various levels of targeting; have the ability to instantly manage single or multiple locations remotely from a customer’s desktop or other connected device at each location; and are built to deliver or contain a standard or customized experience unique to and within the customer’s environment. Examples of such solutions include:

Our Markets

We currently market and sell our marketing technology solutions through our direct sales force, inside sales team, and word-of-mouth referrals from existing customers. Select strategic partnerships and lead generation programs also drive business to the Company through targeted business development initiatives. We market to companies that seek digital marketing solutions across multiple connected devices and who specifically seek or could benefit from enhancements to the customer experience offered in their stores, venues, brands or organizations.

Our digital marketing technology solutions have application in a wide variety of industries. The industries in which we sell our solutions are established and include automotive, apparel & accessories, banking, baby/children, beauty, CPG, department stores, digital out-of-home (“DOOH”), electronics, fashion, fitness, foodservice/quick service restaurant (“QSR”), financial services, gaming, luxury, mass merchants, mobile operators, and pharmacy retail; however, the planning, development, implementation and maintenance of technology-enabled experiences involving combinations of digital marketing technologies is relatively new and evolving.  Moreover, a number of participants in these industries have only recently started considering or expanding the adoption of these types of technologies, solutions and experiences as part of their overall marketing strategies.

Seasonality

A portion of our customer activity is influenced by seasonal effects related to traditional end of calendar year peak retail sales periods and certain other factors that arise from our target customer base. Nevertheless, our revenues can be materially affected by the launch of new markets, the timing of production rollouts, and other factors, any of which have the ability to reduce or outweigh certain seasonal effects.

Effect of General Economic Conditions on our Business

We believe that demand for our services will increase in part as a result of new construction and remodeling activities of pre-existing retail, convenience store, stadium and event venues. While we do see reductions in retail footprints across the U.S., we see a continued focus on integration of digital into the retail marketplace and a focus on digital refreshes within the retail space to stay relevant in an evolving e-commerce marketplace. Recent general economic improvements generally make it easier for our customers to justify decisions to invest in digital marketing technology solutions. A change in the macroeconomic trend in the U.S. could have a negative impact on our customers’ ability and/or willingness to advance their digital initiatives.

Regulation

We are subject to regulation by various federal and state governmental agencies. Such regulation includes radio frequency emission regulatory activities of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, the consumer protection laws of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, product safety regulatory activities of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and environmental regulation in areas in which we conduct business. Some of the hardware components that we supply to customers may contain hazardous or regulated substances, such as lead. A number of U.S. states have adopted or are considering “takeback” bills addressing the disposal of electronic waste, including CRT style and flat panel monitors and computers. Electronic waste legislation is developing. Some of the bills passed or under consideration may impose on us, or on our customers or suppliers, requirements for disposal of systems we sell and the payment of additional fees to pay costs of disposal and recycling. Presently, we do not believe that any such legislation or proposed legislation will have a materially adverse impact on our business.

Competition 

While we believe there is presently no direct competitor with the comprehensive offering of technologies, solutions and services we provide to our customers, there are multiple individual competitors who offer pieces of our solutions. These include digital signage software companies such as Stratacache, Four Winds Interactive, and Reflect Systems; marketing services companies such as Sapient Nitro or digital signage systems integrators such as Convergent Media Systems. Some of these competitors may have significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do and may be able to respond more rapidly than we can to new or emerging technologies or changes in customer requirements. We believe that our sales and business development capabilities, network operations / field service management capabilities, our comprehensive offering of digital marketing technology and solutions, brand awareness, and proprietary processes are the primary factors affecting our competitive position.

Major Customers

We had one (1) and two (2) customers that accounted for 18.5% and 48.3% of revenue for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Decisions by one or more of these key customers to not renew, terminate or substantially reduce their use of our products, technology, services, and platform could substantially slow our revenue growth and lead to a decline in revenue. Our business plan assumes continued growth in revenue, and it is unlikely that we will become profitable without a continued increase in revenue.

For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, we had sales of $1,103 (3.5% of consolidated sales) and $1,566 (6.9% of consolidated sales), respectively, with 33 Degrees Convenience Connect, Inc., a related party that is approximately 17.5% owned by a member of our senior management (“33 Degrees”).

Territories

We sell products and services primarily throughout North America.

Employees

We have approximately 100 employees as of March 12, 2020. We do not have any employees that operate under collective-bargaining agreements.

Our business involves a high degree of risk. In evaluating our business, you should carefully consider the specific risks described below, and any risks described in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Any of the risks we describe below could cause our business, financial condition, results of operations or future prospects to be materially adversely affected. In addition, some of the following statements are forward-looking statements. For more information about forward-looking statements, please see the “Forward-Looking Statements” section included in Item 7 of this Annual Report. Amounts within the “Risk Factors” section are stated in thousands with the exception of share information.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS AND OUR INDUSTRY

We have generally incurred losses, and may never become or remain profitable.

Except for the second, third and fourth quarters of 2019, we have incurred historical net losses. As of and for the year-ended December 31, 2019 we have a working capital deficit and have had negative cash flows from operations. We incurred a net loss for the year ended December 31, 2018. While we have been able to achieve profitability in recent periods, it is uncertain whether we will be able to sustain or increase our profitability in successive periods.

We have formulated our business plans and strategies based on certain assumptions regarding the acceptance of our business model and the marketing of our products and services. Nevertheless, our assessments regarding market size, market share, market acceptance of our products and services and a variety of other factors may prove incorrect. Our future success will depend upon many factors, including factors beyond our control and those that cannot be predicted at this time.

Our digital marketing business is evolving in a rapidly changing market, and we cannot ensure the long-term successful operation of our business or the execution of our business plan.

Our digital marketing technology and solutions are an evolving business offering and the markets in which we compete are rapidly changing. As a result, our prospects must be considered in light of the risks, expenses and difficulties frequently encountered by growing companies in new and rapidly evolving markets. We may be unable to accomplish any of the following, which would materially impact our ability to implement our business plan:

Our business strategy may be unsuccessful and we may be unable to address the risks we face in a cost-effective manner, if at all. If we are unable to successfully accomplish these tasks, our business will be harmed.

Adequate funds for our operations may not be available, requiring us to raise additional financing or else curtail our activities significantly.

We will likely be required to raise additional funding through public or private financings, including equity financings, through 2020. Any additional equity financings may be dilutive to shareholders and may be completed at a discount to the then-current market price of our securities. Debt financing, if available, would likely involve restrictive covenants on our operations or pertaining to future financing arrangements. Nevertheless, we may not successfully complete any future equity or debt financing. Adequate funds for our operations, whether from financial markets, collaborative or other arrangements, may not be available when needed or on terms attractive to us. If adequate funds are not available, our plans to operate our business may be adversely affected and we could be required to curtail our activities significantly and/or cease operating.

We are reliant on the continued support of a related party for adequate financing of our operations.

As of the date of this filing, our majority shareholder and investor, Slipstream Communications LLC (“Slipstream”) is the holder of 79.3% of our outstanding debt instruments including a term loan, secured revolving promissory note, secured escrow disbursement note, and secured special promissory note and has beneficial ownership of approximately 39.28% of our common stock (on an as-converted, fully diluted basis including conversion of outstanding warrants, and assuming no other convertible securities, options and warrants are converted or exercised by other parties) as of December 31, 2019. Slipstream has also provided us with a continued support letter through March 31, 2021. If we are unable to extend the maturity or replace our existing financing agreements in the future, our plans to operate our business may be adversely affected and we could be required to curtail our activities significantly and/or cease operating.

We may be unable to implement our business plan if we cannot raise sufficient capital and may be required to pay a high price for capital.

We need to obtain additional capital to implement our business plan and meet our financial obligations as they become due. We may not be able to raise the additional capital needed or may be required to pay a high price for capital. Factors affecting the availability and price of capital may include the following:

We may be unable to meet our current or future obligations or to adequately exploit existing or future opportunities if we cannot raise sufficient capital. If we are unable to obtain capital for an extended period of time, we may be forced to discontinue operations.

We expect that there will be significant consolidation in our industry. Our failure or inability to lead that consolidation would have a severe adverse impact on our access to financing, customers, technology, and human resources.

Our industry is currently composed of a large number of relatively small businesses, no single one of which is dominant or which provides integrated solutions and product offerings incorporating much of the available technology. Accordingly, we believe that substantial consolidation may occur in our industry in the near future. If we do not play a positive role in that consolidation, either as a leader or as a participant whose capability is merged in a larger entity, we may be left out of this process, with product offerings of limited value compared with those of our competitors. Moreover, even if we lead the consolidation process, the market may not validate the decisions we make in that process.

Our success depends on our interactive marketing technologies achieving and maintaining widespread acceptance in our targeted markets.

Our success will depend to a large extent on broad market acceptance of our interactive marketing technologies among our current and prospective customers. Our prospective customers may still not use our solutions for a number of other reasons, including preference for static advertising, lack of familiarity with our technology, preference for competing technologies or perceived lack of reliability. We believe that the acceptance of our interactive marketing technologies by prospective customers will depend primarily on the following factors:

Our interactive technologies are complex and must meet stringent user requirements. Some undetected errors or defects may only become apparent as new functions are added to our technologies and products. The need to repair or replace products with design or manufacturing defects could temporarily delay the sale of new products and adversely affect our reputation. Delays, costs and damage to our reputation due to product defects could harm our business.

Our financial condition and potential for continued net losses may negatively impact our relationships with customers, prospective customers and third-party suppliers.

Our financial condition and potential for continued net losses may cause current and prospective customers to defer placing orders with us, to require terms that are less favorable to us, or to place their orders with our competitors, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. On the same basis, third-party suppliers may refuse to do business with us, or may do so only on terms that are unfavorable to us, which also could cause our expenses to increase.

Because we do not have long-term purchase commitments from our customers, the failure to obtain anticipated orders or the deferral or cancellation of commitments could have adverse effects on our business.

Our business is characterized by short-term purchase orders and contracts that do not require that purchases be made by our customers. This makes forecasting our sales difficult. The failure to obtain anticipated orders and deferrals or cancellations of purchase commitments because of changes in customer requirements, or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We have experienced such challenges in the past and may experience such challenges in the future.

Our continued growth and financial performance could be adversely affected by the loss of several key customers, including a significant related party customer.

Our largest customers account for a significant portion of our total revenue on a consolidated basis. We had one (1) and two (2) customers that accounted for 18.5% and 48.3% of revenue for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Decisions by one or more of these key customers to not renew, terminate or substantially reduce their use of our products, technology, services, and platform could substantially slow our revenue growth and lead to a decline in revenue. Our business plan assumes continued growth in revenue, and it is unlikely that we will become profitable without a continued increase in revenue.

Most of our contracts are terminable by our customers with limited notice and without penalty payments, and early terminations could have a material effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

Most of our contracts are terminable by our customers following limited notice and without early termination payments or liquidated damages due from them. In addition, each stage of a project often represents a separate contractual commitment, at the end of which the customers may elect to delay or not to proceed to the next stage of the project. We cannot assure you that one or more of our customers will not terminate a material contract or materially reduce the scope of a large project. The delay, cancellation or significant reduction in the scope of a large project or a number of projects could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

It is common for our current and prospective customers to take a long time to evaluate our products, most especially during economic downturns that affect our customers’ businesses. The lengthy and variable sales cycle makes it difficult to predict our operating results.

It is difficult for us to forecast the timing and recognition of revenue from sales of our products and services because our actual and prospective customers often take significant time to evaluate our products before committing to a purchase. Even after making their first purchases of our products and services, existing customers may not make significant purchases of those products and services for a long period of time following their initial purchases, if at all. The period between initial customer contact and a purchase by a customer may be years with potentially an even longer period separating initial purchases and any significant purchases thereafter. During the evaluation period, prospective customers may decide not to purchase or may scale down proposed orders of our products for various reasons, including:

Our prospective customers routinely require education regarding the use and benefit of our products. This may also lead to delays in receiving customers’ orders.

Our industry is characterized by frequent technological change. If we are unable to adapt our products and services and develop new products and services to keep up with these rapid changes, we will not be able to obtain or maintain market share.

The market for our products and services is characterized by rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards, changes in customer needs, heavy competition and frequent new product and service introductions. If we fail to develop new products and services or modify or improve existing products and services in response to these changes in technology, customer demands or industry standards, our products and services could become less competitive or obsolete.

We must respond to changing technology and industry standards in a timely and cost-effective manner. We may not be successful in using new technologies, developing new products and services or enhancing existing products and services in a timely and cost-effective manner. Furthermore, even if we successfully adapt our products and services, these new technologies or enhancements may not achieve market acceptance.

A portion of our business involves the use of software technology that we have developed or licensed. Industries involving the ownership and licensing of software-based intellectual property are characterized by frequent intellectual-property litigation, and we could face claims of infringement by others in the industry. Such claims are costly and add uncertainty to our operational results.

A portion of our business involves our ownership and licensing of software. This market space is characterized by frequent intellectual property claims and litigation. We could be subject to claims of infringement of third-party intellectual-property rights resulting in significant expense and the potential loss of our own intellectual property rights. From time to time, third parties may assert copyright, trademark, patent or other intellectual property rights to technologies that are important to our business. Any litigation to determine the validity of these claims, including claims arising through our contractual indemnification of our business partners, regardless of their merit or resolution, would likely be costly and time consuming and divert the efforts and attention of our management and technical personnel. If any such litigation resulted in an adverse ruling, we could be required to:

Our proprietary platform architectures and data tracking technology underlying certain of our services are complex and may contain unknown errors in design or implementation that could result in system performance failures or inability to scale.

The platform architecture, data tracking technology and integration layers underlying our proprietary platforms, our contract administration, procurement, timekeeping, content and network management, network services, device management, virtualized services, software automation and other tools, and back-end services are complex and include software and code used to generate customer invoices. This software and code are developed internally, licensed from third parties, or integrated by in-house personnel and third parties. Any of the system architecture, system administration, integration layers, software or code may contain errors, or may be implemented or interpreted incorrectly, particularly when they are first introduced or when new versions or enhancements to our tools and services are released. Consequently, our systems could experience performance failure, or we may be unable to scale our systems, which may:

Our business may be adversely affected by malicious applications that interfere with, or exploit security flaws in, our products and services.

Our business may be adversely affected by malicious applications that make changes to our customers’ computer systems and interfere with the operation and use of our products or products that impact our business. These applications may attempt to interfere with our ability to communicate with our customers’ devices. The interference may occur without disclosure to or consent from our customers, resulting in a negative experience that our customers may associate with our products and services. These applications may be difficult or impossible to uninstall or disable, may reinstall themselves and may circumvent other applications’ efforts to block or remove them. The ability to provide customers with a superior interactive marketing technology experience is critical to our success. If our efforts to combat these malicious applications fail, or if our products and services have actual or perceived vulnerabilities, there may be claims based on such failure or our reputation may be harmed, which would damage our business and financial condition.

We compete with other companies that have more resources, which puts us at a competitive disadvantage.

The market for interactive marketing technologies is generally highly competitive and we expect competition to increase in the future. Some of our competitors or potential competitors may have significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources than us. These competitors may be able to respond more rapidly than we can to new or emerging technologies or changes in customer requirements. They may also devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products than us.

We expect competitors to continue to improve the performance of their current products and to introduce new products, services and technologies. Successful new product and service introductions or enhancements by our competitors could reduce sales and the market acceptance of our products and services, cause intense price competition or make our products and services obsolete. To be competitive, we must continue to invest significant resources in research and development, sales and marketing and customer support. If we do not have sufficient resources to make these investments or are unable to make the technological advances necessary to be competitive, our competitive position will suffer. Increased competition could result in price reductions, fewer customer orders, reduced margins and loss of market share. Our failure to compete successfully against current or future competitors could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

Our future success depends on key personnel and our ability to attract and retain additional personnel.

Our key personnel include our:

If we fail to retain our key personnel or to attract, retain and motivate other qualified employees, our ability to maintain and develop our business may be adversely affected. Our future success depends significantly on the continued service of our key technical, sales and senior management personnel and their ability to execute our growth strategy. The loss of the services of our key employees could harm our business. We may be unable to retain our employees or to attract, assimilate and retain other highly qualified employees who could migrate to other employers who offer competitive or superior compensation packages.

Unpredictability in financing markets could impair our ability to grow our business through acquisitions.

We anticipate that opportunities to acquire similar businesses will materially depend on, among other things, the availability of financing alternatives with acceptable terms. As a result, poor credit and other market conditions or uncertainty in financial markets could materially limit our ability to grow through acquisitions since such conditions and uncertainty make obtaining financing more difficult.

We are subject to cyber security risks and interruptions or failures in our information technology systems and will likely need to expend additional resources to enhance our protection from such risks. Notwithstanding our efforts, a cyber incident could occur and result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.

We depend on digital technologies to process and record financial and operating data and rely on sophisticated information technology systems and infrastructure to support our business, including process control technology. At the same time, cyber incidents, including deliberate attacks, have increased. The U.S. government has issued public warnings that indicate that energy assets might be specific targets of cyber security threats. Our technologies, systems and networks and those of our vendors, suppliers and other business partners may become the target of cyberattacks or information security breaches that could result in the unauthorized release, gathering, monitoring, misuse, loss or destruction of proprietary and other information, or other disruption of business operations. In addition, certain cyber incidents, such as surveillance, may remain undetected for an extended period. Our systems for protecting against cyber security risks may not be sufficient. As the sophistication of cyber incidents continues to evolve, we will likely be required to expend additional resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to cyber incidents. Additionally, any of these systems may be susceptible to outages due to fire, floods, power loss, telecommunications failures, usage errors by employees, computer viruses, cyber-attacks or other security breaches or similar events. The failure of any of our information technology systems may cause disruptions in our operations, which could adversely affect our revenues and profitability.

Our reliance on information management and transaction systems to operate our business exposes us to cyber incidents and hacking of our sensitive information if our outsourced service provider experiences a security breach.

Effective information security internal controls are necessary for us to protect our sensitive information from illegal activities and unauthorized disclosure in addition to denial of service attacks and corruption of our data. In addition, we rely on the information security internal controls maintained by our outsourced service provider. Breaches of our information management system could also adversely affect our business reputation. Finally, significant information system disruptions could adversely affect our ability to effectively manage operations or reliably report results.

Because our technology, products, platform, and services are complex and are deployed in and across complex environments, they may have errors or defects that could seriously harm our business.

Our technology, proprietary platforms, products and services are highly complex and are designed to operate in and across data centers, large and complex networks, and other elements of the digital media workflow that we do not own or control. On an ongoing basis, we need to perform proactive maintenance services on our platform and related software services to correct errors and defects. In the future, there may be additional errors and defects in our software that may adversely affect our services. We may not have in place adequate reporting, tracking, monitoring, and quality assurance procedures to ensure that we detect errors in our software in a timely manner. If we are unable to efficiently and cost-effectively fix errors or other problems that may be identified, or if there are unidentified errors that allow persons to improperly access our services, we could experience loss of revenues and market share, damage to our reputation, increased expenses and legal actions by our customers.

We may have insufficient network or server capacity, which could result in interruptions in our services and loss of revenues.

Our operations are dependent in part upon: network capacity provided by third-party telecommunications networks; data center services provider owned and leased infrastructure and capacity; our dedicated and virtualized server capacity located at its data center services provider partner and a geo-redundant micro-data center location; and our own infrastructure and equipment. Collectively, this infrastructure, equipment, and capacity must be sufficiently robust to handle all of our customers’ web-traffic, particularly in the event of unexpected surges in high-definition video traffic and network services incidents. We (and our service providers) may not be adequately prepared for unexpected increases in bandwidth and related infrastructure demands from our customers. In addition, the bandwidth we have contracted to purchase may become unavailable for a variety of reasons, including payment disputes, outages, or such service providers going out of business. Any failure of these service providers or our own infrastructure to provide the capacity we require, due to financial or other reasons, may result in a reduction in, or interruption of, service to our customers, leading to an immediate decline in revenue and possible additional decline in revenue as a result of subsequent customer losses.

We do not have sufficient capital to engage in material research and development, which may harm our long-term growth.

In light of our limited resources in general, we have made no material investments in research and development over the past several years. This conserves capital in the short term. In the long term, as a result of our failure to invest in research and development, our technology and product offerings may not keep pace with the market, and we may lose any current existing competitive advantage. Over the long term, this may harm our revenues growth and our ability to become profitable.

Our business operations are susceptible to interruptions caused by events beyond our control.

Our business operations are susceptible to interruptions caused by events beyond our control. We are vulnerable to the following potential problems, among others:

The occurrence of any of the foregoing could result in claims for consequential and other damages, significant repair and recovery expenses and extensive customer losses and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

General global market and economic conditions may have an adverse impact on our operating performance and results of operations.

Our business has been and could continue to be affected by general global economic and market conditions. Any downturn in the United States and worldwide economy could have a negative effect on our operating results, including a decrease in revenue and operating cash flow. To the extent our customers are unable to profitably leverage various forms of digital marketing technology and solutions, and/or the content we create, deliver and publish on their behalf, they may reduce or eliminate their purchase of our products and services. Such reductions in traffic would lead to a reduction in our revenues. Additionally, in a down-cycle economic environment, we may experience the negative effects of increased competitive pricing pressure, customer loss, slowdown in commerce over the Internet and corresponding decrease in traffic delivered over our network and failures by our customers to pay amounts owed to us on a timely basis or at all. Suppliers on which we rely for equipment, field services, servers, bandwidth, co-location and other services could also be negatively impacted by economic conditions that, in turn, could have a negative impact on our operations or revenues. Flat or worsening economic conditions may harm our operating results and financial condition.

In addition, our business could be adversely affected by the effects of a widespread outbreak of contagious disease, including the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 respiratory illness first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. A significant outbreak of contagious diseases in the human population could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets of many countries, resulting in an economic downturn that could affect demand for our products, our ability to collect against existing trade receivables and our operating results. Specifically, such event may cause us, our customers or suppliers to temporarily suspend operations in the affected city or country, and customers may suspend or terminate capital improvements including in-store digital deployments or refresh projects, all of which may have a material adverse effect on our business.

The markets in which we operate are rapidly emerging, and we may be unable to compete successfully against existing or future competitors to our business.

The market in which we operate is becoming increasingly competitive.  Our current competitors generally include general digital signage companies, specialized digital signage operators targeting certain vertical markets (e.g., financial services), content management software companies, or integrators and vertical solution providers who develop single implementations of content distribution, digital marketing technology, and related services. These competitors, including future new competitors who may emerge, may be able to develop a comparable or superior solution capabilities, software platform, technology stack, and/or series of services that provide a similar or more robust set of features and functionality than the technology, products and services we offer. If this occurs, we may be unable to grow as necessary to make our business profitable.

Whether or not we have superior products, many of these current and potential future competitors have a longer operating histories in their current respective business areas and greater market presence, brand recognition, engineering and marketing capabilities, and financial, technological and personnel resources than we do. Existing and potential competitors with an extended operating history, even if not directly related to our business, have an inherent marketing advantage because of the reluctance of many potential customers to entrust key operations to a company that may be perceived as new, inexperienced or unproven. In addition, our existing and potential future competitors may be able to use their extensive resources to:

If we are unable to compete effectively in our various markets, or if competitive pressures place downward pressure on the prices at which we offer our products and services, our business, financial condition and results of operations may suffer.

Risks Related to Our Securities and Our Company

Because of our limited resources, we may not have in place various processes and protections common to more mature companies and may be more susceptible to adverse events.

We have limited resources as a result of, among other things, significant restructuring and integration costs incurred in connection with prior acquisition activities. As a result, we may not have in place systems, processes and protections that many of our competitors have or that may be essential to protect against various risks. For example, we have in place only limited resources and processes addressing human resources, timekeeping, data protection, business continuity, personnel redundancy, and knowledge institutionalization concerns. As a result, we are at risk that one or more adverse events in these and other areas may materially harm our business, balance sheet, revenues, expenses or prospects.

Our controlling shareholder possesses controlling voting power with respect to our common stock, which will limit your influence on corporate matters.

Our controlling shareholder, Slipstream Communications, LLC, has beneficial ownership of 6,322,858 shares of common stock, including common shares that are beneficially owned by its affiliate Slipstream Funding, LLC. These shares represent beneficial ownership of approximately 39.28% of our common stock (on an as-converted basis including conversion of outstanding warrants, and assuming no other convertible securities, options and warrants are converted or exercised by other parties) as of December 31, 2019. As a result, Slipstream Funding, LLC has the ability to strongly influence our management and affairs, including the election and removal of our Board of Directors and all other matters requiring shareholder approval, including the future merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentrated control could discourage others from initiating any potential merger, takeover or other change-of-control transaction that may otherwise be beneficial to our shareholders. Furthermore, this concentrated control will limit the practical effect of your participation in Company matters, through shareholder votes and otherwise.

Our Articles of Incorporation grant our Board of Directors the power to issue additional shares of common and preferred stock and to designate other classes of preferred stock, all without shareholder approval.

Our authorized capital consists of 250 million shares of capital stock, 50 million of which is undesignated preferred stock. Pursuant to authority granted by our Articles of Incorporation, our Board of Directors, without any action by our shareholders, may designate and issue shares in such classes or series (including other classes or series of preferred stock) as it deems appropriate and establish the rights, preferences and privileges of such shares, including dividends, liquidation and voting rights, provided it is consistent with Minnesota law. The rights of holders of other classes or series of stock that may be issued could be superior to the rights of holders of our common shares. The designation and issuance of shares of capital stock having preferential rights could adversely affect other rights appurtenant to shares of our common stock. Furthermore, any issuances of additional stock (common or preferred) will dilute the percentage of ownership interest of then-current holders of our capital stock and may dilute our book value per share.

Significant issuances of our common stock, or the perception that significant issuances may occur in the future, could adversely affect the market price for our common stock.

Significant actual or perceived potential future issuance of our common stock could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Generally, issuances of substantial amounts of common stock in the public market, and the availability of shares for future sale, could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock and could cause the market price of our common stock to remain low for a substantial amount of time.

We cannot foresee the impact of potential securities issuances of common shares on the market for our common stock, but it is possible that the market for our shares may be adversely affected, perhaps significantly. It is also unclear whether or not the market for our common stock could absorb a large number of attempted sales in a short period of time, regardless of the price at which they might be offered.

There is not now and there may not ever be an active market for shares of our common stock.

In general, there has been minimal trading volume in our common stock. The small trading volume will likely make it difficult for our shareholders to sell their shares as and when they choose. Furthermore, small trading volumes are generally understood to depress market prices. As a result, you may not always be able to resell shares of our common stock publicly at the time and prices that you feel are fair or appropriate.

We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future.

We do not plan to pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Earnings of the business will be reinvested in future growth strategies or utilized to repay outstanding debt.

We do not have significant tangible assets that could be sold upon liquidation.

We have nominal tangible assets. As a result, if we become insolvent or otherwise must dissolve, there will be no tangible assets to liquidate and no corresponding proceeds to disburse to our shareholders. If we become insolvent or otherwise must dissolve, shareholders will likely not receive any cash proceeds on account of their shares.

We can provide no assurance that our securities will continue to meet Nasdaq listing requirements. If we fail to comply with the continuing listing standards of the Nasdaq, our securities could be delisted.

If we fail to comply with the continuing listing standards of the Nasdaq, our securities could be delisted. A failure to remain listed on Nasdaq could have a material adverse effect on the liquidity and price of our common stock.

Risks Related to Our Recently Completed Acquisition of Allure Global Solutions, Inc.

We may not realize the growth opportunities that are anticipated from our acquisition of Allure.

The benefits we expect to achieve as a result of the Allure acquisition will depend, in part, on our ability to realize anticipated growth opportunities. Our success in realizing these growth opportunities, and the timing of this realization, depends largely on the successful integration of Allure’s business and operations with our business and operations. Even if we are able to integrate our business with Allure’s business successfully, this integration may not result in the realization of the full benefits of the growth opportunities we currently expect from this integration within the anticipated time frame or at all. While we anticipate that certain expenses will be incurred, such expenses are difficult to estimate accurately, and may exceed current estimates. Accordingly, the benefits from the proposed acquisition may be offset by costs incurred or delays in integrating the companies, which could cause our revenue assumptions to be inaccurate.

The assumption of unknown liabilities in the Allure acquisition may harm our financial condition and results of operations.

Because we acquired all of the capital stock of Allure, we obtained ownership of Allure subject to all of its liabilities, including contingent and unknown liabilities. Although the Purchase Agreement includes representations and warranties and indemnity covenants from the seller of Allure that may offer us some contractual remedies for breaches or certain other undisclosed or unknown liabilities, there are limitations and conditions to our ability to recoup any liabilities, and there may be other unknown obligations for which we have no contractual remedy. In such a case, our business could be materially and adversely affected. We may learn additional information about Allure’s business that adversely affects us, such as the existence of unknown liabilities, or issues that could affect our ability to comply with applicable laws. We are currently engaged in a dispute involving Allure and its legacy customer based upon alleged deficient products and services provided by Allure prior to our acquisition. The alleged claim seeks $3,200 in damages that, if successful, would materially adversely affect our business. We have also tendered an indemnity claim against the seller for the claimed damages in such dispute. There is no guarantee that we will prevail on any matter.

If Allure’s liabilities are greater than expected, or if there are material obligations of which we do not become aware until after the acquisition or we have no recourse against the Seller, our business could be materially and adversely affected. If we become responsible for substantial uninsured liabilities, such liabilities may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. 

We have incurred and will continue to incur significant transaction and integration costs in connection with the Allure Acquisition.

We have incurred significant costs associated with completing the Allure Acquisition, and expect to incur additional significant costs integrating the operations of the two companies. The substantial majority of these costs will be non-recurring expenses and will consist of transaction costs (e.g., legal, accounting), facilities and systems consolidation costs and employment-related costs. Additional unanticipated costs may be incurred in the integration of our businesses. Although we expect that the elimination of duplicative costs, as well as the realization of other efficiencies related to the integration of the businesses, may offset incremental transaction and acquisition costs over time, this net benefit may not be achieved in the near term, or at all.

The variable sales cycle of some of the combined company’s products will likely make it difficult to predict operating results.

Our revenues in any quarter depend substantially upon contracts signed and the related shipment and installation or delivery of hardware and software products in that quarter. It is therefore difficult for us to accurately predict revenues and this difficulty also will affect the combined company. It is difficult to forecast the timing of large individual hardware and software sales with a high degree of certainty due to the extended length of the sales cycle and the generally more complex contractual terms that may be associated with our products that could result in the deferral of some or all of the revenue to future periods.

Accordingly, large individual sales have sometimes occurred in quarters subsequent to when we anticipated or not at all. If the combined company receives any significant cancellation or deferral of customer orders, or it is unable to conclude license negotiations by the end of a fiscal quarter, its operating results may be lower than anticipated. In addition, any weakening or uncertainty in the economy may make it more difficult for it to predict quarterly results in the future, and could negatively impact the combined company’s business, operating results and financial condition for an indefinite period of time.

(All currency is rounded to the nearest thousands, except share and per share amounts.)

Our headquarters is located at 13100 Magisterial Drive, Suite 100, Louisville, KY 40223. There, we have approximately 17,500 square-feet of office space and 6,500 square-feet of warehouse space, which we believe is sufficient for our projected near-term future growth. The monthly lease amount is currently $30 and escalates 1% annually through the end of the lease term in December 2023. The corporate phone number is (502) 791-8800.

We lease office space of approximately 10,000 square feet to support our Canadian operations at a facility located at 4510 Rhodes Drive, Suite 800, Windsor, Ontario under a lease that expired June 30, 2018 and operates month-to-month with a monthly rental of $6 CAD per month.

We lease office space of approximately 11,000 square feet to support our Atlanta operations at a facility known as Embassy Row 400 and having as its street address 6600 Peachtree Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30328. This property is under lease until September 30, 2020 with a monthly rental of $22.

We also lease 3,650 square feet of office space in Dallas, Texas, and 4,100 square feet of office space and 5,100 square feet of warehouse space in El Segunda, California for monthly lease payments of $4 and $4 per month, respectively. The lease term for Dallas expires on December 31, 2021 and the term for California expired on June 30, 2019 and operates month-to-month.

On August 2, 2019, the Company filed suit in Jefferson Circuit Court, Kentucky, against a supplier of Allure for breach of contract, breach of warranty, and negligence with respect to equipment installations performed by such supplier for an Allure customer.

On October 10, 2019, the Allure customer that is the basis of our claim above sent a demand to the Company for payment of $3,200 as settlement for an alleged breach of contract related to hardware failures of equipment installations performed by Allure between November 2017 and August 2018, before our acquisition of Allure. The suits filed by and against Allure were consolidated in the Jefferson Circuit Court, Kentucky in January 2020. These consolidated cases remain in the early stages of litigation and, as a result, the outcome of each and the allocation of liability, if any, remain unclear, so the Company is unable to reasonably estimate the possible liability, recovery, or range of magnitude for either the liability or recovery, if any, at the time of this filing.

The Company has notified its insurance company of potential claims and continues to evaluate both the claim made by the customer and potential avenues for recovery against third parties should the customer prevail.

On February 20, 2020, the Company and Allure filed a demand for arbitration against Seller (Christie Digital Systems, Inc.) for breach of contract, indemnification, and fraudulent misrepresentation under the Purchase Agreement. This demand included a claim for the right to offset the amounts owing under the Amended and Restated Seller Note due February 20, 2020. On February 27, 2020, Seller sent the Company a notice of breach for failure to pay the Amended and Restated Seller Note on the maturity date of February 20, 2020 and demanding immediate payment. We continue to assert the offset right under the Purchase Agreement and Amended and Reseller Note.

Information regarding legal proceeding can be found in Note 10 Commitments and Contingencies to the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

Not applicable.

PART II

(All currency is rounded to the nearest thousands, except share and per share amounts.)

Market Information

Our common stock is listed for trading on the Nasdaq Capital Markets (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “CREX”. Trading of our common stock on Nasdaq commenced on November 19, 2018. Prior to November 19, 2018, our common stock was listed for trading on the OTC Bulletin Board, the “OTCQX,” under the symbol “CREX.” The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Limited, 401 2nd Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401. 

Shareholders

As of February 27, 2020, we had 371 holders of record of our common stock. The actual number of stockholders is greater than this number of record holders, and includes stockholders who are beneficial owners, but whose shares are held in street name by brokers and other nominees. This number of holders of record also does not include stockholders whose shares may be held in trust by other entities.

Dividend Policy

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to operate and expand our business and to finance the development and expansion of our business. We do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Any payment of cash dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon our results of operations, earnings, capital requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors.

Holders of our common stock are entitled to share pro rata in dividends and distributions with respect to the common stock when, as and if declared by our Board of Directors out of funds legally available therefor. Our future dividend policy is subject to the sole discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon a number of factors, including future earnings, capital requirements and our financial condition.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

On December 30, 2019, the Company entered into a Seventh Amendment to Loan and Security Agreement (the “Seventh Amendment”) with its subsidiaries and Slipstream Communications, LLC (“Lender”). Pursuant to the Seventh Amendment, Lender made a $2,000 loan to the Company (the “Special Loan”) under the terms of the Company’s existing Loan and Security Agreement with Lender (as amended by the Seventh Amendment, the “Loan Agreement”). The Special Loan is evidenced by a Secured Convertible Special Loan Promissory Note (the “Note”). The Note bears simple interest at 8% per annum, of which 6% is payable in cash (the “Interest”) and 2% is payable in kind as additional principal under the Note (“Additional Principal”), which is payable monthly commencing February 1, 2020. The entire unpaid principal balance of the Note (including the Additional Principal) together with all accrued but unpaid interest is due on June 30, 2021 (the “Maturity Date”). The Company may prepay the Note, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time, without penalty or premium. The principal (including the Additional Principal) and accrued but unpaid interest will be converted into a new class of senior preferred stock of the Company upon any event of default or in the event that the Company does not refinance the Note prior to October 1, 2020, with such class of senior preferred stock of the Company to be created in advance of such conversion, having those rights and preferences set forth in the Loan Agreement and as otherwise agreed to by the Company and Lender. For this issuance, we relied on the statutory exemptions from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act, including Rule 506 promulgated thereunder. We relied on this exemption based on the fact that the investor was an accredited investor.

Not applicable.

(All currency is rounded to the nearest thousands, except share and per share amounts.) 

Forward-Looking Statements 

The following discussion contains various forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Although we believe that, in making any such statement, our expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, any such statement may be influenced by factors that could cause actual outcomes and results to be materially different from those projected. When used in the following discussion, the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates” and similar expressions, as they relate to us or our management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, certain of which are beyond our control, are set forth in Item 1A under the caption “Risk Factors.”

Our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking statements. Accordingly, we cannot be certain that any of the events anticipated by forward-looking statements will occur or, if any of them do occur, what impact they will have on us. We caution you to keep in mind the cautions and risks described in this document and to refrain from attributing undue certainty to any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of the document in which they appear. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement.

Overview

Creative Realities, Inc. is a Minnesota corporation that provides innovative digital marketing technology solutions to a broad range of companies, individual brands, enterprises, and organizations throughout the United States and in certain international markets. We have expertise in a broad range of existing and emerging digital marketing technologies across 18 vertical markets, as well as the related media management and distribution software platforms and networks, device and content management, product management, customized software service layers, systems, experiences, workflows, and integrated solutions. Our technology and solutions include: digital merchandising systems and omni-channel customer engagement systems; content creation, production and scheduling programs and systems; a comprehensive series of recurring maintenance, support, and field service offerings; interactive digital shopping assistants, advisors and kiosks; and, other interactive marketing technologies such as mobile, social media, point-of-sale transactions, beaconing and web-based media that enable our customers to transform how they engage with consumers.

Our main operations are conducted directly through Creative Realities, Inc. and our wholly owned subsidiaries Allure Global Solutions, Inc., a Georgia corporation, Creative Realities Canada, Inc., a Canadian corporation, and ConeXus World Global, LLC, a Kentucky limited liability company. Our other wholly owned subsidiary Creative Realities, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, has been effectively dormant since October 2015, the date of the merger with ConeXus World Global, LLC.

We generate revenue in our business by:

These activities generate revenue through: bundled-solution sales; consulting services, experience design, content development and production, software development, engineering, implementation, and field services; software license fees; and maintenance and support services related to our software, managed systems and solutions.

Our Sources of Revenue

We generate revenue through digital marketing solution sales, which include system hardware, professional and implementation services, software design and development, software licensing, deployment, and maintenance and support services.

We currently market and sell our technology and solutions primarily through our sales and business development personnel, but we also utilize agents, strategic partners, and lead generators who provide us with access to additional sales, business development and licensing opportunities.

Our Expenses

Our expenses are primarily comprised of three categories: sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative. Sales and marketing expenses include salaries and benefits for our sales, business development solution management and marketing personnel, and commissions paid on sales. This category also includes amounts spent on marketing networking events, promotional materials, hardware and software to prospective new customers, including those expenses incurred in trade shows and product demonstrations, and other related expenses. Our research and development expenses represent the salaries and benefits of those individuals who develop and maintain our proprietary software platforms and other software applications we design and sell to our customers. Our general and administrative expenses consist of corporate overhead, including administrative salaries, real property lease payments, salaries and benefits for our corporate officers and other expenses such as legal and accounting fees.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our management is responsible for our financial statements and has evaluated the accounting policies to be used in their preparation. Our management believes these policies are reasonable and appropriate. The Company’s significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies of the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements included within Part II, ITEM 8 of this Report. The following discussion identifies those accounting policies that we believe are critical in the preparation of our financial statements, the judgments and uncertainties affecting the application of those policies and the possibility that materially different amounts will be reported under different conditions or using different assumptions.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires that management make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of commitments and contingencies at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Our actual results could differ from those estimates.

Revenue Recognition

On January 1, 2018, we adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”) using the modified retrospective method for all contracts not completed as of the date of adoption. Results for reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018 are presented under ASC 606, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported under the accounting standards in effect for the prior period. Under this method, we concluded that the cumulative effect of applying this guidance was not material to the financial statements and no adjustment to the opening balance of accumulated deficit was required on the adoption date.

Under ASC 606, we account for revenue using the following steps:

See Note 2 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in our Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Part II, ITEM 8 of this Report, for a complete discussion of our revenue recognition policies.

Accounts Receivable

We have not made any material changes in the accounting methodology we use to measure the estimated liability for doubtful accounts during the past two fiscal years. We do not believe there is a reasonable likelihood that there will be a material change in the future estimates or assumptions we use to establish the liability for doubtful accounts. However, if actual results are not consistent with our estimates or assumptions, we may be exposed to losses or gains that could be material.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill is evaluated for impairment annually as of September 30 and whenever events or circumstances make it more likely than not that impairment may have occurred. We have no indefinite-lived intangible assets. We test goodwill for impairment by comparing the book value to the fair value at the reporting unit level. We have only one reporting unit, and therefore the entire goodwill is allocated to that reporting unit. The fair value of the reporting unit is determined by using a discounted cash flow analyses consisting of various assumptions, including expectations of future cash flows based on projections or forecasts derived from analysis of business prospects and economic or market trends that may occur. We use these same expectations in other valuation models throughout the business. In addition to the discounted cash flow analysis, we utilize a leveraged buy-out model, trading comps and market capitalization to ultimately determine an estimated fair value of our reporting unit based on weighted average calculations from these models. We base our fair value estimates on assumptions we believe to be reasonable but that are unpredictable and inherently uncertain. If the carrying amount exceeds the fair value, further analysis is performed to measure the impairment loss.

In addition, our market capitalization could fluctuate from time to time. Such fluctuation may be an indicator of possible impairment of goodwill if our market capitalization falls below its book value. If this situation occurs, we will perform the required detailed analysis to determine if there is impairment.

We have not made any material changes in our reporting units or the accounting methodology we used to assess impairment of goodwill since September 30, 2019. We updated our goodwill analysis as of December 31, 2019 using actual fourth quarter 2019 results and updated projected 2020 results and concluded no impairment exists. The valuation of goodwill and intangible assets is subject to a high degree of judgment, uncertainty and complexity. We do not believe there is a reasonable likelihood that there will be a material change in the future estimates or assumptions we use to test for impairment losses on goodwill. However, if actual results are not consistent with our estimates or assumptions, we may be exposed to an impairment charge that could be material.

Intangible assets include the following and are being amortized over their estimated useful lives as follows:

Intangible assets are evaluated for impairment if events and circumstances warrant by comparing the fair value of the intangible asset with its carrying amount. The impairment evaluation involves testing the recoverability of the asset on an undiscounted cash-flow basis, and, if the asset is not recoverable, recognizing impairment charge, if necessary, to reduce the asset’s carrying amount to its fair value. There were no indicators of impairment identified in 2019 and no impairments were recorded for the years ended December 31, 2019 or 2018.

Income Taxes

Accounting for income taxes requires recognition of deferred tax liabilities and assets for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities. These deferred taxes are measured by applying the provisions of tax laws in effect at the balance sheet date, including the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) enacted on December 22, 2017. The Tax Act made broad and significant changes to the U.S. tax code that affects the year ended December 31, 2017, including, but not limited to, a change in the federal rate from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018.

We recognize in income the effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities in the period that includes the enactment date.

As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, a full valuation allowance is recorded against our deferred tax assets to reduce the consolidated deferred tax asset to zero, with the exception of those deferred tax assets generated by net operating losses post-Tax Act. The valuation allowance is based, in part, on our estimate of future taxable income, the expected utilization of federal and state tax loss carryforwards, and credits and the expiration dates of such tax loss carryforwards. Significant assumptions are used in developing the analysis of future taxable income for purposes of determining the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets which, in our opinion, are reasonable under the circumstances.

Impact of Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Refer to Note 3 Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements in our Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, ITEM 8 of this Report, for a full description of recent accounting pronouncements, including the expected dates of adoption and estimated effects on results of operations and financial condition, which is incorporated herein by reference. 

Results of Operations

Note: All dollar amounts reported in Results of Operations are in thousands, except per-share information.

Year Ended December 31, 2019 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2018

The tables presented below compare our results of operations from one period to another, and present the results for each period and the change in those results from one period to another in both dollars and percentage change.

Sales

Sales increased by $9,123, or 41% in 2019 compared to 2018 driven by (1) $3,458 from new customers in 2019, (2) $5,290 contributed by legacy Allure customers, and (3) expansion of revenue within pre-existing customer base. Organic growth accounted for approximately $4,434 of the increase, representing an organic growth rate of approximately 20% as compared to 2018. The remaining growth of approximately $4,689 year-over-year represents the revenue growth contributed by the inclusion of Allure in our consolidated results for a full year in 2019, which contributed approximately $601 revenue to our consolidated 2018 results.

Gross Profit

Gross profit increased $3,516 in absolute dollars to $13,739 in 2019 from $10,223 in 2018, or 34% driven by an increase in sales, partially offset by a reduction in gross margin. Gross margin decreased from 45.5% for the year-ended December 31, 2018 to 43.5% in 2019 during the same period, primarily driven by product mix.

Sales and Marketing Expenses

Sales and marketing expenses generally include the salaries, taxes, and benefits of our sales and marketing personnel, as well as trade show activities, travel, and other related sales and marketing costs. Sales and marketing expenses increased by $269 or 13% in 2019 compared to 2018 as a result of increased sales headcount following the Allure Acquisition and participation in an increased number of trade shows and customer-facing events.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development expenses increased 12% to $1,413 in 2019 from $1,257 in 2018 as the result of an increase in amortization expense related to capitalized software and salary costs driven by an increased investment in products and offerings in the most recent twelve months, including further development of the content management system application acquired by the Company as part of the acquisition of Allure in November 2018. Allure contributed approximately $31 in the period between the acquisition date and December 31, 2018.

General and Administrative Expenses

Total general and administrative expenses decreased 6% to $9,092 in 2019 from $9,714 in 2018, a decrease of $622. The primary drivers of this decrease were (1) $936 reduction in compensation expense related to (a) shares of common stock granted to our current CEO during 2018 which did not recur in 2019 and (b) a reduction in amortization of stock compensation expenses as a result of previously issued option awards fully vesting in 2018 and 2019, and (2) $710 reduction in transaction costs incurred in 2018 as a result of the Allure Acquisition which did not recur in 2019, partially offset by (1) $480 increase in bonus expense in 2019 and (2) $408 increase in rent as a result of the Allure Acquisition and expansion of the Company’s headquarters.

Depreciation and Amortization Expenses

Depreciation and amortization expense increased 5% from $1,185 in 2019 to $1,250 in 2018, driven by a combination of legacy Company recorded tangible and intangible assets reaching the end of their depreciable lives during the period and partially offset by increases in depreciation and amortization recorded for assets acquired in the Allure Acquisition for the period between the acquisition date and December 31, 2018.

Lease Termination Expense

On August 10, 2017, we announced the planned closure of our office facilities located at 22 Audrey Place, Fairfield, New Jersey 07004, which housed our previous operations center and ceased use of the facilities in February 2018. In ceasing use of these facilities, we recorded a one-time non-cash charge of $474 to accrue for the remaining rent under the lease term, net of anticipated subtenant rental income. Effective June 30, 2018, we entered into a settlement agreement to exit this lease agreement, resulting in the Company recording a gain on settlement of $39. There were no such lease terminations during 2019.

Gain on Earnout Liability

The Company completed an updated fair value analysis at December 31, 2019 of the contingent consideration earnout liability initially recorded at $250 in the opening balance sheet at the time of the Allure Acquisition on November 20, 2018. As a result of that analysis, the Company concluded the fair value of the liability was $0, resulting in a gain of $250 in the current year.

Interest Expense

See Note 9 Loans Payable to the Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of the Company’s debt and related interest expense obligations. 

Change in Fair Value of Warrant Liability

All of the Company’s outstanding warrants classified as liabilities expired during the three months ended September 30, 2019. See Note 6 Fair Value Measurement to the Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of the Company’s non-cash change in Warrant Liability.

Gain on Settlement of Obligations

During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company settled and/or wrote off obligations of $3,178 for $1,132 cash payment and recognized a gain of $2,046. $1,619 of this gain related to settlement of legacy sales commissions due to a third-party vendor which were settled with a cash payment of $1,100 during the three-months ended December 31, 2019. The remaining settlements related to legacy accounts payable deemed to no longer be legal obligations to vendors.

In 2018, the Company settled and/or wrote off obligations of $313 for $58 cash payment and recognized a gain of $255. This obligation included $30 of accrued wage labor liabilities no longer anticipated to be pursued against the Company.

Debt Conversion Expense

The Company recorded debt conversion expense of $5,055 in connection with issuance of incentive shares issued upon conversion of the convertible promissory notes into common stock on November 19, 2018 in conjunction with the Public Offering. See Note 9 Loans Payable to the Consolidated Financial Statements. There was no such corresponding activity and expense in 2019.

Dividends on Preferred Stock

The Company issued common stock dividends on Series A Convertible Preferred Stock of $345 during the year-ended December 31, 2018. There was no outstanding preferred stock in 2019 and no such dividends were issued during the year-ended December 31, 2019.

Preferred Stock Conversion Expense

The Company recorded preferred stock conversion expense of $3,932, which is reflected as a loss to common shareholders, in connection with issuance of incentive shares issued upon conversion of the Series A preferred stock into common stock on November 19, 2018 in conjunction with the Public Offering. See Note 13 Convertible Preferred Stock to the Consolidated Financial Statements. There was no such corresponding activity and expense in 2019.

Summary Unaudited Quarterly Financial Information

The following represents unaudited financial information derived from the Company’s annual and quarterly financial statements:

Supplemental Operating Results on a Non-GAAP Basis

The following non-GAAP data, which adjusts for the categories of expenses described below, is a non-GAAP financial measure. Our management believes that this non-GAAP financial measure is useful information for investors, shareholders and other stakeholders of our Company in gauging our results of operations on an ongoing basis. We believe that EBITDA is a performance measure and not a liquidity measure, and therefore a reconciliation between net loss/income and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA has been provided. EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to net loss/income as an indicator of performance or as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as an indicator of cash flows, in each case as determined in accordance with GAAP, or as a measure of liquidity. In addition, EBITDA does not take into account changes in certain assets and liabilities as well as interest and income taxes that can affect cash flows. We do not intend the presentation of these non-GAAP measures to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures should be read only in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We produced net income for the year ended December 31, 2019 but incurred a net loss for the year ended December 31, 2018 and have negative cash flows from operating activities as of December 31, 2019. As of December 31, 2019, we had cash and cash equivalents of $2,534 and a working capital deficit of $2,449.

On November 6, 2019, Slipstream extended the maturity date of our term loan and revolver loan to June 30, 2021 through the Sixth Amendment to the Loan and Security Agreement, aligning the maturity date of our term loan and revolver loan with the Secured Disbursed Escrow Promissory Note.

On December 30, 2019, we entered into the Secured Convertible Special Loan Promissory Note (“Special Loan”) as part of the Seventh Amendment of the Loan and Security Agreement with Slipstream, under which we obtained $2,000, with interest thereon at 8% per annum payable 6% in cash and 2% via the issuance of paid-in-kind (“SLPIK”) interest, provided however that upon occurrence of an event of default the interest rate shall automatically be increased by 6% per annum payable in cash. The entry into the Seventh Amendment adjusted the interest rate on the Company’s Term Loan and Revolving Loan to 8% per annum, provided, however, at all times when the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan and the Revolving Loan exceeds $4,100 then the Loan Rate shall be 10%, of which eight percent 8% shall be payable in cash and 2% shall be paid by the issuance of and treated as additional PIK.

Upon the earlier to occur of an Event of Default or October 1, 2020, if any of the principal amount of the Special Loan is then outstanding, the principal and accrued but unpaid interest of the Special Loan and the outstanding SLPIK shall be automatically converted into shares of a new series of Senior Convertible Preferred Stock of CRI ("New Preferred") having an Appraised Value equal to three times the then outstanding principal amount and accrued but unpaid interest of the Special Loan and the outstanding SLPIK and having the following terms and conditions, as reasonably determined by CRI and the Lender, the New Preferred shall:

On November 9, 2018, Slipstream extended the maturity date of our term loan and revolving loan to August 16, 2020. In conjunction with the extension of the maturity date of our term loan, we agreed that the cash portion of the interest rate would increase from 8.0% per annum to 10.0% per annum effective July 1, 2019.

Management believes that, based on (i) the extension of the maturity date on our term loan and revolving loans, and (ii) our operational forecast through 2021, we can continue as a going concern through at least March 31, 2021. However, given our net losses, cash used in operating activities and working capital deficit, we obtained a continued support letter from Slipstream through March 31, 2021. We can provide no assurance that our ongoing operational efforts will be successful which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flows.

See Note 9 Loans Payable to the Consolidated Financial Statements for an additional discussion of the Company’s debt obligations.

Operating Activities

We do not currently generate positive cash flow. Our operational costs have been greater than sales generated to date. As of December 31, 2019, we had an accumulated deficit of $35,643. The cash flows used in operating activities was ($970) and ($1,564) for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The majority of the cash consumed by operations for both periods was attributed to our net losses. For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, our net loss attributable to common shareholders was $(1,008) and ($15,191) when adjusted for gain on settlements of obligations, respectively. Included in our net losses were non-cash charges consisting of depreciation, amortization of debt discount related to convertible preferred stock / issued for debt-issuance costs, change in warrant liability, stock-based compensation, stock issuance expenses related to the Allure acquisition, settlement of lease termination, and changes in the allowance for doubtful accounts totaling $2,420 and $2,951 for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities during the years ended December 31, 2019 were $(687) compared to ($6,582) during 2018. The decrease in cash used in investing activities is primarily due to completion of our acquisition of Allure during the prior period, partially offset by the loss recorded on conversion of related party promissory notes, and the current year proceeds from net working capital settlement. We currently do not have any material commitments for capital expenditures as of December 31, 2019, nor do we anticipate any significant expenditures for investing in 2020.

Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 was $1,473 and $9,861, respectively. The decrease was driven by smaller loans from a related party in 2019 as compared to proceeds from of our public offering in November 2018. 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

During the year ended December 31, 2019, we did not engage in any off-balance sheet arrangements set forth in Item 303(a) (4) of Regulation S-K.

Not applicable.

See Index to Consolidated Financial Statements on Page F-1.

None

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

An evaluation was performed under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) and Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer), of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act (“Exchange Act”), as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on that evaluation, our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2019, and designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting 

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives.

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we evaluated the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019 based on the framework in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission ("COSO"). Based on our assessment and those criteria, management believes that we maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2019, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

None.

PART III

Our Board of Directors consists of Dennis McGill (Chairman), Richard Mills (CEO), David Bell, Donald Harris, Joseph Manko, and Stephen Nesbit. The following table sets forth the name and position of each of our current directors and executive officers.

The biographies of the above-identified individuals are set forth below:

Dennis McGill joined our Board of Directors in November 2019. Over the course of a 45-year career, Mr. McGill has served as a director, Chief Executive Officer or Chief Financial Officer of various public and private companies. From June 2015 to October 2017, Mr. McGill served as the President and CEO of ReCommunity Holdings II, Inc., the largest independent recycling processing company in the US, processing over 1.8 million tons of material annually and employing a team of 1,600 members. Mr. McGill served on the Board of Directors for Lighting Science Group Corp. (“LSGC”) from March 2015 to July 2017 while the company was publicly traded. Mr. McGill also served as the LSGC’s Interim Chief Operating Officer from June 2014 to September 2014 and as LSGC’s Interim Chief Financial Officer from July 2014 to December 2014. Mr. McGill joined Pegasus Capital as an operating advisor in December 2014 and remains in that capacity today. Since June 2014, Mr. McGill has also served on the board of directors of DGSE Companies, Inc., a company listed on the NYSE MKT that buys and sells jewelry, diamonds, fine watches, rare coins and currency (“DGSE”). Mr. McGill previously served on the board of directors of DGSE, ReCommunity Holdings, LP and Fiber Composites, LLC and served as the chairman of DGSE’s audit committee. From February 2013 to October 2013, Mr. McGill served as executive vice president and Chief Financial Officer of Heartland Automotive Services, Inc., where he actively participated with the senior management team to develop and roll-out a new business model. From September 2010 to February 2013, Mr. McGill served as executive vice president and Chief Financial Officer of Blockbuster LLC and was responsible for directing and managing various aspects of the Chapter 11 process. From March 2005 to July 2010, Mr. McGill served as executive vice president and Chief Financial Officer of Safety-Kleen Systems, Inc., during which time he led the company’s merger and acquisition efforts and grew the company from $0 to $160 million in EBITDA during his tenure. Mr. McGill holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Accounting and Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California, Berkeley and is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of California.

David Bell joined our Board of Directors in August 2014 in connection with our acquisition of Creative Realities, LLC. Mr. Bell brings over 40 years of advertising and marketing industry experience to the board, including serving as CEO of three of the largest companies in the industry–Bozell Worldwide, True North Communications and The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. Since 2007, Mr. Bell has led Slipstream Communications, LLC which is an international company providing strategic branding, digital marketing, and public relations services and served as a Senior Advisor to Google Inc. from 2006 to 2009. Mr. Bell previously served as an Operating Advisor at Pegasus Capital Advisors. He is currently a Senior Advisor to AOL and has also served on the boards of multiple publicly traded companies, including Lighting Science Group Corporation and Point Blank Solutions, Inc., and Primedia, Inc., and served as President and CEO of The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. from 2003 to 2005. Mr. Bell served as an independent director on the Board of Directors of Time, Inc. from June 2014 to January 2018.

Donald A. Harris was appointed to our Board of Directors in August 2014 in connection with our acquisition of Broadcast International, Inc. He has been President of 1162 Management, and the General Partner of 5 Star Partnership, a private equity firm, since June 2006. Mr. Harris has been President and Chief Executive Officer of UbiquiTel Inc., a telecommunications company organized by Mr. Harris and other investors, since its inception in September 1999 and also its Chairman since May 2000. Mr. Harris served as the President of Comcast Cellular Communications Inc. from March 1992 to March 1997. Mr. Harris received a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy and an MBA from Columbia University. Mr. Harris’s experience in the telecommunications industry and his association with private equity funding is valuable to the Company.

Richard Mills is currently our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board of Directors. Mr. Mills possesses over 32 years of industry experience. He was previously Chief Executive Officer of ConeXus World Global, a leading digital media services company, which he founded in 2010, and which was acquired by the Company. Prior to founding ConeXus, Mr. Mills was President and Director at Beacon Enterprise Solutions Group, Inc., a public telecom and technology infrastructure services provider. Previous to that, he joined publicly traded Pomeroy Computer Resources, Inc. in 1993 and served as Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of Directors from 1995 until 1999. Mr. Mills helped grow sales at Pomeroy during his time there from $100 million to $700 million. Mr. Mills was also a founder of Strategic Communications LLC.

Joseph Manko is an experienced Board member and Senior Principal in Horton Capital Management LLC, the investment manager for the Horton Capital Partners Fund, LP (“Horton Fund”), and significant shareholder in the Company. Mr. Manko was appointed to our Board in 2018. Mr. Manko has over 20 years of investment experience in the asset management, investment banking, private equity and corporate securities markets, including senior roles at Deutsche Bank in London and Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong. Prior to founding the Horton Fund, Mr. Manko was a Partner and Chief Executive Officer of Switzerland-based BZ Fund Management Limited. Mr. Manko has served on the board of several companies and currently serves as a director of Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., Wireless Telecom Group, Inc., and Repro Med Systems, Inc. (doing business as KORU Medical Systems). Mr. Manko began his career as a corporate finance attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and earned both his B.A. and Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.

Stephen Nesbit has been in the digital signage and digital advertising industry for over 20 years. He is currently the Managing Director of Prestonwood Trail Holdings LLC and has provided advisory services for companies in the Digital Signage and Digital Media Industry for the past 10 years.  He has directed and advised projects in North America, Europe, Asia proper, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Africa. Prior to founding Prestonwood Trail, Mr. Nesbit was the President/COO at Reflect Systems, a prominent software and services company in the Digital Signage business. He joined Reflect after serving as President/COO of MarketForward, the Global Digital Media Division owned by the Publicis Groupe S.A. in Paris France.  Mr. Nesbit began his career in Digital Signage as the EVP Global Operations & GM International Business for Next Generation Network. NGN was one of the first Digital Place Based Advertising companies in the industry before its sale to Anschutz Investments where the company changed its name to National Cinemedia (NASDAQ: NCMI). He began his career at IBM in the Data Processing Division holding various field and HQ management positions. Mr. Nesbit also held management and executive positions at Wang Labs and BBN Communications Inc., the communications company that was the original architect of the Internet.  Mr. Nesbit holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and earned an MBA from the Indiana University Kelly Graduate School of Business.

Will Logan joined the Company as VP of Finance in November 2017 and was promoted to the position of Chief Financial Officer effective May 16, 2018. From January 2007 until November 2017, Mr. Logan was employed by Ernst & Young in the assurance services group where he primarily served large public companies, including a two-year international rotation in London, UK in the asset management practice. He brings over ten years of experience in SEC reporting, technical accounting matters and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance expertise as well as expertise in initial public offerings, acquisitions and integration. He has B.A. degrees in Accounting and Economics from Bellarmine University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Under our corporate bylaws, all of our directors serve for indefinite terms expiring upon the next annual meeting of our shareholders.

When considering whether directors and nominees have the experience, qualifications, attributes and skills to enable the Board of Directors to satisfy its oversight responsibilities effectively in light of our business and structure, the Board of Directors focuses primarily on the industry and transactional experience, in addition to any unique skills or attributes associated with a director. With regard to Mr. McGill, the Board of Directors considered his background and experience with running and accelerating growth at public companies. With regard to Mr. Bell, the Board considered his deep experience within the advertising and marketing industries and his prior management of large enterprises. With regard to Mr. Mills, the Board of Directors considered his extensive background and experience in the industry. With regard to Mr. Manko, the Board of Directors considered his legal and corporate finance background and prior experience on boards of directors. With regard to Mr. Harris, the Board of Directors considered his extensive experience in the telecommunications industry and association with private equity investors. Finally, with regard to Mr. Nesbit, the Board of Directors considered his extensive experience in the digital signage industry, having run several companies in the industry and acted as a consultant broadly for digital signage companies over the past twenty years.

The Board of Directors has determined that there are presently four “independent” directors as such term is defined in Section 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq listing rules, each of whom also meets the criteria for independence set forth in Rule 10A-3(b)(1) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The directors whom the board has determined to be independent are Messrs. Bell, Harris, Manko and Nesbit.

The Board of Directors has determined that at least two members of the Board, Mr. McGill and Mr. Bell, qualify as an “audit committee financial expert” as that term is defined in Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Each of Mr. McGill and Mr. Bell’s relevant experience in this regard is detailed above, which includes past employment experience in finance and through various Director roles at public companies, including experience on the Audit Committee for other publicly traded companies. Mr. Bell is deemed to be independent of the Company. The Board of Directors has determined that each director is able to read and understand fundamental financial statements.

Board Committees

Our Board of Directors has created a standing Compensation Committee and Audit Committee. Messrs. Manko, Nesbit and Bell serve on the Compensation Committee. Messrs. Bell, Harris and Manko serve on the Audit Committee. In the case of the Compensation Committee, Mr. Manko serves as chair, and in the case of the Audit Committee, Mr. Bell serves as chair. The Board of Directors has determined that at least one member of the Audit Committee, Mr. Bell, is an “audit committee financial expert” as that term is defined in Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Mr. Bell’s relevant experience in this regard is detailed above. Mr. Bell, Mr. Harris and Mr. Manko qualify as “independent” member of the board as described above. The Board of Directors has determined that each director serving on the Audit Committee is able to read and understand fundamental financial statements.

The Board of Directors has not created a separate committee for nomination or corporate governance. Instead, the entire Board of Directors shares the responsibility of identifying potential director-nominees to serve on the Board of Directors. Nevertheless, nominees to serve as directors on our Board of Directors are selected by those directors on our board who are independent.

Communications with Board Members

Our Board of Directors has provided the following process for shareholders and interested parties to send communications to our board and/or individual directors. All communications should be addressed to Creative Realities, Inc., 13100 Magisterial Drive, Ste. 100, Louisville, KY 40223, Attention: Corporate Secretary. Communications to individual directors may also be made to such director at our company’s address. All communications sent to any individual director will be received directly by such individuals and will not be screened or reviewed by any company personnel. Any communications sent to the board in the care of the Corporate Secretary will be reviewed by the Corporate Secretary to ensure that such communications relate to the business of the company before being reviewed by the board.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to all of our employees, officers (including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, and persons performing similar functions) and directors. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics satisfies the requirements of Item 406(b) of Regulation S-K. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available, free of charge, upon written request to our Corporate Secretary at 13100 Magisterial Drive, Ste. 100, Louisville, KY 40223.

Executive Compensation

Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth information concerning the compensation of our named executive officers for 2019 and 2018:

The material terms of employment agreements and payments to be made upon a change in control are discussed below, in the narrative following “Employment Agreements.”

Our named executive officers are eligible for retirement benefits on the same terms as non-executives under the Company’s defined contribution 401(k) retirement plan. Employees may contribute pretax compensation to the plan in accordance with current maximum contribution levels proscribed by the Internal Revenue Service. Beginning on April 1, 2018, the Company began contributing an employer contribution match of 50% of employee wages up to 6%, for an effective match of 3%.

Richard Mills Employment Agreement

We employ Richard Mills as our Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mills’ employment agreement is effective for a two-year term, which automatically renews for additional one-year periods unless either we or Mr. Mills elects not to extend the term. The agreement provides for an initial annual base salary of $270 subject to annual increases but generally not subject to decreases. Mr. Mills’ current annual base salary is $330. Under the agreement, Mr. Mills is eligible to participate in performance-based cash bonus or equity award plans for our senior executives. Mr. Mills will participate in our employee benefit plans, policies, programs, perquisites and arrangements to the extent he meets applicable eligibility requirements. In the event of a termination of employment for good reason, as defined, without cause, as defined, or within 12 months following a change in control, as defined, other than for reason of death, disability or for cause, any of which occur during the first year of Mr. Mills’ employment, Mr. Mills will be entitled to receive a severance payment equal to six months of his base salary. After the one-year anniversary of his employment (the current term of Mr. Mills’ employment is beyond the one-year anniversary), the severance amount increases to 12 months of then-current base salary. The agreement provides that any severance payments would be paid in installments over the course of the severance. The agreement contains certain non-solicitation and non-competition provisions that continue after employment for a period of one year. The agreement also contains other customary restrictive and other covenants relating to the confidentiality of information, the ownership of inventions and other matters.

Will Logan Employment Arrangement

Will Logan, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, has an employment arrangement with the Company pursuant to which, during fiscal 2019, he received an annual base salary of $189 and a performance bonus of $25. Mr. Logan participates in our employee benefit plans, policies, programs, perquisites and arrangements to the extent he meets applicable eligibility requirements, and also received the stock options discussed under “Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End” below.

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

The following table sets forth certain information concerning outstanding stock options and restricted stock awards held by our named executive officers as of December 31, 2019:

Director Compensation

On March 13, 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a plan to compensate non-officer directors for their service to the Company in the amount of $25 per year, beginning April 1, 2019, to be issued in either cash or restricted stock vesting immediately upon issuance. Shares of restricted stock are to be issued quarterly in arrears for service the preceding quarter for a value of $6 per director, with the number of shares issued based on the most recent close price of the Company’s common stock.

During 2019, non-employee directors were issued a total of 31,760 shares. Non-employee directors received no compensation during 2018. The table below sets forth the compensation paid to our non-employee directors during 2019:

Consulting Agreement

On November 7, 2019, the Company and Dennis McGill executed a Consulting Agreement (the “Consulting Agreement”). The term of the Consulting Agreement is one year, and it automatically renews for successive one-year periods. Either party may terminate the Consulting Agreement at any time upon 30 days’ written notice. Under the Consulting Agreement, Mr. McGill will receive compensation of $5 per month in cash in exchange for general business and strategy consulting services to the Company.

The following table sets forth the number of common shares, and percentage of outstanding common shares, beneficially owned as of March 11, 2020, by:

Unless otherwise indicated, the address of each of the following persons is 13100 Magisterial Drive, Suite 100, Louisville, KY 40223, and each such person has sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares set forth opposite his, her or its name.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The table below sets forth certain information, as of the close of business on December 31, 2019, regarding equity compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which our securities were then authorized for issuance.

Slipstream Financings

On August 17, 2016, we entered into a Loan and Security Agreement with Slipstream, and obtained a $3,000 term loan, with interest thereon at 8% per annum. The term loan contains certain customary restrictions including, but not limited to, restrictions on mergers and consolidations with other entities, cancellation of any debt or incurring new debt (subject to certain exceptions), and other customary restrictions.

On December 30, 2019, we entered into the Special Loan as part of the Seventh Amendment under which we obtained $2,000, with interest thereon at 8% per annum payable 6% in cash and 2% via the issuance of SLPIK interest, provided however that upon occurrence of an event of default the interest rate shall automatically be increased by 6% per annum payable in cash. The entry into the Seventh Amendment adjusted the interest rate on the Company’s Term Loan and Revolving Loan to 8% per annum, provided, however, at all times when the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Term Loan and the Revolving Loan exceeds $4,100 then the Loan Rate shall be 10%, of which eight percent 8% shall be payable in cash and 2% shall be paid by the issuance of and treated as additional PIK.

Upon the earlier to occur of an Event of Default and October 1, 2020, if any of the principal amount of the Special Loan is then outstanding, the principal and accrued but unpaid interest of the Special Loan and the outstanding SLPIK shall be automatically converted into shares of a new series of Senior Convertible Preferred Stock of CRI ("New Preferred") having an Appraised Value equal to three times the then outstanding principal amount and accrued but unpaid interest of the Special Loan and the outstanding SLPIK and having the following terms and conditions, as reasonably determined by CRI and the Lender, the New Preferred shall:

On November 6, 2019, Slipstream extended the maturity date of our term loan and revolver loan to June 30, 2021 through the Sixth Amendment to the Loan and Security Agreement, aligning the maturity date of our term loan and revolver loan with the Secured Disbursed Escrow Promissory Note.

33 Degrees

On August 14, 2018, we entered into a payment agreement with 33 Degrees Convenience Connect, Inc., a related party that is approximately 17.5% owned by a member of our senior management (“33 Degrees”), outlining terms for repayment of $2,567 of aged accounts receivable as of that date. The payment agreement stipulated a simple interest rate of 12% on aged accounts receivable to be paid on the tenth day of each month through the maturity date of December 31, 2019. As of December 31, 2019, 33 Degrees paid the note in full and had a remaining outstanding accounts receivable balance of $1 in the Consolidated Financial Statements. 33 Degrees has continued to purchase additional hardware and services from the Company on a prepaid basis.

For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, we had sales of $1,103 (3.5% of consolidated revenue) and $1,566 (6.9% of consolidated revenue), respectively, with 33 Degrees. Accounts receivable due from 33 Degrees was $1, or 0.0%, and $1,933, or 30.0% of consolidated accounts receivable at December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively.

Each of the foregoing transactions were approved by our Board of Directors after full disclosure of any conflicts of interest. Any directors that had a conflicting interest in the transactions abstained from approving such matter.

Independence

The Company does not have a standing nominating committee. Instead, the entire Board of Directors shares the responsibility of identifying potential director-nominees to serve on the Board of Directors. The Board believes the engagement of all directors in this function is important at this time in the Company’s development in light of the Company’s recent acquisition activities.

The Board of Directors has determined that there are presently four “independent” directors as such term is defined in Section 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq listing rules, each of whom also meets the criteria for independence set forth in Rule 10A-3(b)(1) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The directors whom the board has determined to be independent are Messrs. Bell, Harris, Manko and Nesbit.

(All currency is rounded to the nearest thousands, except share and per share amounts.)

The following table presents fees for audit and other services provided by EisnerAmper LLP for 2019 and 2018. Fees for tax services were provided by Ernst & Young, LLP beginning in the second quarter of 2018 and were provided by Eichen & Dimeglio, CPAs, PC in the first quarter of 2018. Fees to EisnerAmper LLP were as follows:

Our Board of Directors pre-approved the audit services rendered by EisnerAmper, LLP during 2019 and 2018 and concluded that such services were compatible with maintaining the auditor’s independence.

PART IV

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Louisville, State of Kentucky, on March 12, 2020.

In accordance with the Exchange Act, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant, and in the capacities and on the date indicated.

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of

Creative Realities, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Creative Realities, Inc. and Subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, and the related consolidated statements of operations, shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the years then ended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, and the consolidated results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Change in Accounting Principle

As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has changed its method of accounting for leases in 2019.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ EisnerAmper LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2015.

EISNERAMPER LLP

Iselin, New Jersey

March 12, 2020

CREATIVE REALITIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

CREATIVE REALITIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

CREATIVE REALITIES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

(in thousands, except shares)