DESTINATION XL GROUP, INC. - Annual Report: 2023 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended January 28, 2023 (Fiscal 2022)

OR

Commission File Number 01-34219

DESTINATION XL GROUP, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(781) 828-9300

(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, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "non-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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

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

As of July 29, 2022, the aggregate market value of the Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $189.6 million, based on the last reported sale price on that date. Shares of Common Stock held by each executive officer and director and by certain persons who own 10% or more of the outstanding Common Stock have been excluded on the basis that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily determinative for other purposes.

The registrant had 62,619,909 shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value, outstanding as of March 2, 2023.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

DESTINATION XL GROUP, INC.

Index to Annual Report on Form 10-K

Year Ended January 28, 2023

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PART I.

Certain statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”) constitute “forward-looking statements,” including forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “continue,” “believe,” “expect” or “anticipate” or the negatives thereof, variations thereon or similar terminology. The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report are generally located under the headings “Business” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” but may be found in other locations as well, and include statements regarding our expected capital expenditures in 2023, our marketing spend in 2023, potential impact of inflationary pressures on our business, expected store openings, our strategic initiatives for 2023, rising interest costs, increase in certain raw materials costs and freight costs, labor shortages as well as continuing concerns of recessions and geopolitical instability from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. These forward-looking statements generally relate to plans and objectives for future operations and are based upon management’s reasonable estimates of future results or trends. The forward-looking statements in this Annual Report should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the objectives or plans of the Company will be achieved. Numerous factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, risks relating to the execution of our corporate strategy and ability to grow our market share, and those risks and uncertainties set forth below under Item 1A, Risk Factors. Readers are encouraged to review these risks and uncertainties carefully.

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are made. We disclaim any obligation or undertaking to provide any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances in which the forward-looking statement is based.

Item 1. Business

Destination XL Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries (the “Company”), is the leading specialty retailer of big & tall men’s apparel with retail locations throughout the United States. We operate under the trade names of Destination XL®, DXL®, DXL Men’s Apparel, DXL outlets, Casual Male XL® and Casual Male XL outlets. At January 28, 2023, we operated 218 DXL retail stores, 16 DXL outlet stores, 28 Casual Male XL retail stores, 19 Casual Male XL outlet stores, and a digital business, including an e-commerce site at www.dxl.com, a mobile site m.destinationXL.com and mobile app. Unless the context indicates otherwise, all references to “we,” “our,” “ours,” “us” and “the Company” refer to Destination XL Group, Inc. and our consolidated subsidiaries. We refer to our fiscal years ended January 28, 2023, January 29, 2022 and January 30, 2021 as “fiscal 2022,” “fiscal 2021” and “fiscal 2020,” respectively.

OUR INDUSTRY

We define the big & tall men’s clothing market as starting at a waist size of 38” and greater, as well as tops sized 1XL and greater. With the assistance of Coresight Research, we believe that the U.S. big & tall men's clothing market is approximately $23 billion in fiscal 2022 and is highly fragmented. Big + Tall is all we do. With our proprietary fit and extensive selection of exclusive brands, we believe that we will continue to grow market share as an integrated commerce retailer able to target a broad market, attracting customers from various income, age and lifestyle segments, offering the underserved consumer the widest selection of sizes and styles.

HISTORY

Our Company was incorporated in the State of Delaware in 1976 under the name "Kara Enterprises, Inc." and subsequently operated under the name "Designs, Inc." Until fiscal 1995, we operated exclusively in Levi Strauss & Co. branded apparel mall and outlet stores. In May 2002, we acquired the Casual Male business from Casual Male Corp. at a bankruptcy court-ordered auction. At the time of the acquisition, Casual Male was the largest specialty retailer of men’s clothing in the big & tall market in the United States. As a result of the acquisition, on August 8, 2002, we changed our name to “Casual Male Retail Group, Inc.” In fiscal 2004, we acquired the Rochester Clothing stores. Through fiscal 2010, we catered to customers through our three store formats, from our value-oriented customer (Casual Male XL outlets) to our luxury-oriented customer (Rochester Clothing stores).

In fiscal 2010, we launched a new store concept, Destination XL (“DXL”). The DXL store concept offers our customers an extensive assortment of products, ranging from value-oriented to luxury-oriented with an increased presence of name brands, without having to shop multiple stores. In addition to offering our customers a wide assortment, we also wanted to provide them with a unique shopping experience. We are focused on providing outstanding customer service through our DXL stores, with larger fitting rooms and professional, trained associates providing personal attention. With the initial success of this store format, we made a similar change to our e-commerce business in fiscal 2011 when we launched our DestinationXL.com website (now dxl.com). In fiscal 2019, we closed our five remaining Rochester Clothing stores.

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OUR BUSINESS

We operate as an integrated commerce retailer of big & tall men’s clothing and shoes. Through our multiple brands, which include both national brands and own brands, we provide a premium, personalized shopping experience, whether in-store or digitally, with a broad range of merchandise at varying price points, catering from the value-oriented customer to the luxury customer. Our objective is to appeal to all of our customers by providing a good, better, best array of product assortments in all primary lifestyles with multiple and convenient ways to shop.

What is unique about our business is our proprietary fit, our ability to manage an array of sizes, and optimizing our in-stock position throughout each season. Our best-selling pant has 58 size combinations and a unique specification as compared to an average retailer who may only have 15 different size combinations. We maintain a consolidated inventory across all channels that enables us to manage our in-stock position of all sizes effectively, ultimately improving customer service. Moreover, our planning and allocation methodologies, with respect to store assortment planning, help to optimize each location’s market potential without excessive inventory levels.

Our DXL retail stores, e-commerce site, dxl.com, and mobile app cater to all income demographics and offer our customers merchandise to fit a variety of lifestyles from casual to business, young to mature, in all price ranges and in all large sizes from XL and up. In addition, we also offer a selection of shoes in sizes 10W to 18W on our website at dxl.com. Our Casual Male XL retail stores primarily carry moderate-priced national brands and our own brands of casual sportswear and dresswear. We also operate Casual Male XL outlets and DXL outlets for our value-oriented customers. Through digital marketplaces, we are able to extend our reach, by providing a select offering of our merchandise to new customers who may not be current DXL customers.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

We aspire to be a haven for the Big + Tall man, striving to provide him superior fit, extensive assortment and a unique experience. We are excited about the growth that we have seen over the past few years from our brand repositioning and digital transformation efforts and we are eager to maintain this momentum moving forward into fiscal 2023.

In fiscal 2023, keys areas that we will be focused on as we continue to grow our business are:

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MERCHANDISE

We offer our customers an extensive assortment of apparel consisting of both our own brands and over 100 well-known national brands, within our “good,” “better” and “best” price points. Regardless of our customers’ age, socioeconomic status, or lifestyle preference, we are able to assemble a wardrobe to fit their apparel needs. With over 5,000 styles available, we carry an extensive selection of tops in sizes up to 7XL and 7XLT with additional assortments up to 8XL, bottoms with waist sizes 38” to 70”, and shoes in sizes 10W to 18W.

What sets us apart from our competitors is our proprietary fit. We are different because our fit is different. Our merchandise is not just an extension of regular sizes. The fit is built from unique specifications for every size and style, with specific design features for the big and tall customer.

Our stores are merchandised to showcase entire outfits by lifestyle, including traditional, active, modern, tailored and denim. This format allows us to merchandise key items and seasonal goods in prominent displays and makes coordinating outfits easier for the customer while encouraging multi-item purchases. This lifestyle layout also allows us to manage store space and product assortment effectively in each market to target local demographics. The key item strategy is also fully integrated by lifestyle, allowing us to focus on merchandise presentation and offer our customers a compelling value proposition.

Merchandise assortments in our DXL stores are organized not only by lifestyle but, within each lifestyle, the assortments are shown in a “good,” “better” and “best” visual presentation. With the “best” merchandise assortments featured most prominently in the DXL store, our customers can visualize current fashion trends and select their wardrobes within their desired price points in a convenient manner.

Big and tall is all we do and through our own brands and exclusivity with national brands, we estimate that more than 80% of our inventory assortment, in units, is not available elsewhere. Several of the national brands that we carry, in sizes 2XL and above, are sold exclusively by us in our stores and on our website and may otherwise only be available on the brand’s website, if at all. In January 2023, we announced that we were adding Life is Good® and Original Penguin® Golf to our list of exclusive brands for Spring 2023. In addition to our exclusive brands, we also work with several other national brands to offer a unique, curated merchandise assortment, in sizes 2XL and above, that are exclusively sold in our stores and on our website and are not available from the brand’s own website. These offerings are a subset of the larger merchandise offering that we carry for these respective brands. The penetration of national brands in a specific DXL store can range from 39% to 80%, depending on several factors, but on average, approximately half of the assortment is branded apparel.

Value-Priced Apparel -“Good” Merchandise

For our value-oriented customers, we carry Champion, Lee, Wrangler and Reebok. Within our product assortment for Champion, we offer exclusive styles specially curated for our customers. In addition, we carry several value-priced private label lines:

Harbor Bay® was our first proprietary brand and it is a traditional line that continues to represent a significant portion of our business, specifically in terms of our core basic merchandise.

Oak Hill® is a premier line catering to those customers looking for slightly more style and quality than our Harbor Bay line but still in a traditional lifestyle.

Synrgy™ targets the customer looking for a contemporary/modern look.

True Nation® is a denim-inspired line consisting of vintage-screen t-shirts and wovens and is geared towards our younger customers.

Society of One® is an activewear brand that offers versatile styling options and is grounded by performance technology.

Moderate-Priced Apparel -“Better” Merchandise

We offer our customer an extensive selection of quality sportswear and dress clothing at moderate prices carrying well-known brands such as: Cutter & Buck®, Levi's®, Columbia, Carhartt®, and Jockey®. Our exclusive brands in this price range include O’Neill® and Nautica®, Adidas Golf® and vineyard vines®. Within our product assortment for Callaway®, Lacoste®, Majestic and Tommy Bahama® we also offer exclusive styles specially curated for our customers.

Higher-End Fashion Apparel -“Best” Merchandise

Within this higher-end price range, we carry a broad selection of quality apparel from well-known branded manufacturers, such as The North Face®, Polo Ralph Lauren®, Jack Victor®, Michael Kors®, and Tallia®. Our exclusive brands in this price range include Brooks Brothers®, JOE’S® Jeans, 7 for all Mankind®, and Robert Barakett®. Within our product assortment for Psycho Bunny®, Lucky and Robert Graham® we also offer exclusive styles specially curated for our customers. Polo Ralph Lauren builds one collection a quarter for our customers that is exclusive to DXL.

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Shoes

Our DXL website offers an assortment of footwear, with a broad selection from casual to formal, in varying price points. We currently have a selection of more than 200 styles of shoes, ranging in sizes from 10W to 18W, including designer brands such as Cole Haan®, Timberland®, Sketchers®, New Balance®, Reebok® and Deerstags.

STORE CHANNEL

DXL Men’s Apparel Stores

As of January 28, 2023, we operated 218 DXL retail stores. Our DXL store concept brings all of our brands together in one format. Within this format, we cater to our diverse customer base, with merchandise representing all price points, from our higher-end brands to value-oriented brands, and all lifestyles, from business to denim. The size of our DXL stores averages 7,600 square feet. Our DXL stores are located on real estate that is highly visible, often adjacent to high-performing regional malls or other high-traffic shopping areas.

Our DXL stores offer up to three times the product offering of a Casual Male XL store. Depending on the customers in each respective market, we can adjust the appropriate mix of merchandise, with varying selections from each of our price points, to cater to each demographic market.

In many markets, rebranding a Casual Male XL store to a DXL store provides a viable alternative to the more costly endeavor of relocating a Casual Male XL store to new DXL real estate. In addition, the converted stores benefit from DXL advertising. We are actively reviewing opportunities to relocate or convert Casual Male XL stores to DXL and we are reviewing white space opportunities in markets where our store footprint is underpenetrated. We expect to continue to invest in stores over the next several years as we further strengthen the store portfolio.

Casual Male XL Retail Stores

As of January 28, 2023, we operated 28 Casual Male XL full-price retail stores, located primarily in strip centers or stand-alone locations. The majority of the merchandise carried in our Casual Male XL stores is moderate-priced basic or fashion-neutral items, such as jeans, casual slacks, t-shirts, polo shirts, dress shirts and suit separates. These stores also carry a full complement of our “better” own brand collections. The average Casual Male XL retail store is approximately 3,300 square feet.

DXL Outlet /Casual Male XL Outlet Stores

As of January 28, 2023, we operated 16 DXL outlet stores and 19 Casual Male XL outlet stores designed to offer a wide range of casual clothing for the big & tall customer at prices that are generally 20-25% lower than our moderate-priced merchandise. Much of the merchandise in our outlet stores is offered at discounted prices to cater to the value-oriented customer. In addition to own brands and national brands at our “good” price tier, our outlets also carry clearance product obtained from DXL and Casual Male XL stores, offering the outlet customer the ability to purchase brand and fashion product for a reduced price.

The average DXL outlet is approximately 5,000 square feet and the average Casual Male XL outlet store is approximately 3,000 square feet.

DIRECT CHANNEL

Our direct business is a critical channel for growing sales and market share through new customer acquisition and digital engagement of the active file. Since fiscal 2019, comparable sales from our direct business in fiscal 2022 have grown 58.3%, with our total direct business representing 31.1% of our total retail sales in fiscal 2022, as compared to 23.1% of our retail sales in fiscal 2019. Through our digital efforts and marketplace presence, we are creating brand awareness and attracting a new customer to DXL. Growing our new-to-file and retaining that customer remains one of our key priorities for fiscal 2023.

We define our direct business as sales that originate online, whether through our website, our app, those initiated online at the store level, our Guest Engagement Center, or through a third-party marketplace. We want to serve our customers wherever and how they want to shop, whether in-person at a store, over the telephone, or online via a computer, smartphone or tablet.

A key to being a successful integrated commerce retailer is having the ability to showcase all of our store inventories online, resulting in additional transactions that are initiated online, but are ultimately completed in store. In addition, our stores are able to fulfill an order for an item that is out-of-stock in our warehouse. This capability has not only resulted in incremental sales, but it has also helped us reduce clearance merchandise at the store level and manage margins.

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DXL Website and App

Our DXL website and app have been instrumental in our growth over the past three years, with sales from our website and app together increasing 53.6% from fiscal 2019. We continue to see our consumers shift to online shopping helping to drive higher new customer acquisition for the website business.

Digital Sales at Store Level

In support of our integrated commerce approach, our store associates use our website to help fulfill our in-store customers’ clothing needs. If a wider selection of a lifestyle, color or size of an item is not available in our store, then our store associates can order the item for our customer online through our direct channel and have it shipped to the store or directly to the customer. Our customers also have the ability to shop-by-store and pick-up in store on the same day.

Digital Marketplaces

We continue to broaden our reach through digital, third-party marketplaces. A large portion of our assortment is available on Amazon.com, Target.com and Walmart.com. Digital marketplaces provide us an opportunity to drive awareness, grow our customer base and introduce new customers to our brand.

MERCHANDISE PLANNING AND ALLOCATION

Our merchandise planning and allocation function is critical to the effective management of our inventory, store assortments, product sizes and overall gross margin profitability. The merchandise planning and allocation team has an array of planning and replenishment tools available to assist in maintaining an appropriate level of inventory, in-stock positions at the stores and for the direct channel, and pre-season planning for product assortments for each store and the direct channel. Additionally, in-season reporting identifies opportunities and challenges in inventory performance. Over the past several years, we have made, and we will continue to make, investments in implementing best practice tools and processes for our merchandise planning and allocation.

Our evergreen merchandise made up approximately 43% of our merchandise assortment in fiscal 2022. Our planning and allocation team estimates quantity and demand several months in advance to optimize gross margin and minimize end-of-season merchandise for all seasonal merchandise. We develop customized assortment strategies by store that accentuate lifestyle preferences for each particular store.

Our merchandising data warehouse provides the merchandising team with standardized reporting for monitoring assortment performance by product category and by store, identifying in-stock positions by size and generally monitoring overall inventory levels relative to selling. At season end, we analyze the overall performance of product categories, overall assortments and specific styles by store to focus on the opportunities and challenges for the next season’s planning cycle.

Utilizing a set of specific universal reporting tools, the merchandise planning and allocation team is able to fulfill their daily, weekly and monthly roles and responsibilities. These reporting tools provide focused and actionable views of the business to optimize the overall assortment by category and by store. We are confident that our inventory performance is optimized by having all members of the merchandise planning and allocation team follow a standardized set of processes with the use of standardized reporting tools.

STORE OPERATIONS

We believe that our store associates are critical to creating the highest quality experience for our guests. The culture in our stores is to be guest centric in an effort to engage and build a relationship with our customers. Our overall goal is to accomplish three key initiatives in our stores. The first is that we strive to build relationships with all of our guests. The second is that we believe our stores need to be clean, neat and organized in an effort to allow the "just-looking" customer to find what he needs with ease. The last component is our stores serving as mini-distribution centers. The majority of our stores are able to fulfill customer orders that were placed online in one of our digital channels. Our associates are well versed in not only the product selection carried in their specific store, but also the product selection carried online. With a point-of-sale system that can access items online for the guest who is physically in the store, our associates are able to fulfill all of their customers’ needs.

Our multi-unit, field management team receives extensive training on recruiting associates who are the correct fit for our stores. All store associates participate in our DXL FIT Expert Training and Certification program as part of our commitment to deliver a great guest experience. All new DXL store management team hires are trained extensively through senior peer trainers throughout the country. We believe having a mix of internal promotes (store manager to Regional Sales Manager) as well as external hires with extensive multi-unit background gives us an inclusive and diverse Regional Sales management team. Regional Vice Presidents give us touch-points in the field in addition to our Regional Sales Managers and store management team to ensure consistency in executing our standards and all programs and processes we deem important to our success.

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Each new member of the store management team goes through extensive training with their Regional Sales Manager and a peer Store Manager. We believe our training system, together with monitoring sales metrics to help identify opportunities for further training, will improve sales productivity and strengthen our customer’s brand loyalty.

Our field organization is overseen by our Chief Stores Officer, Regional Vice Presidents, Regional Sales Managers, and a Store Operations Team, who provide management development and guidance to individual store managers. Each Regional Sales Manager is responsible for hiring and developing store managers at the stores assigned to that Regional Sales Manager’s market, and for the overall operations and profitability of those stores. Each store is staffed with a store manager, assistant manager and key holders. The store manager is responsible for achieving certain sales and operational targets. Our stores have an incentive-based commission plan for managers and selling staff to encourage associates to focus on our customer’s wardrobing needs and sales productivity.

MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

We believe that our marketing initiatives are critical to driving our sales growth by increasing traffic to our stores, website and app. We have been working to transform our brand positioning by focusing on a key customer insight and leveraging our distinct advantages of superior fit, depth of assortment, great styles and largely exclusive brands and an experience like no other. Our focus is to acquire new customers and achieve a greater lifetime value across our entire customer file.

Over the past few years, we have shifted our marketing strategy away from a broad-based mass advertising to a more targeted, personalized, data-driven model where we can segment and ultimately engage differently with each of our customers based on their shopping behaviors across all our buying channels. We adopted a stringent, analytical perspective to our marketing program, focusing on understanding incremental outcomes in addition to the “return on ad spend” throughout all our programs. This data-driven philosophy extends across all our marketing initiatives as we look at new ways to engage our customers. Our on-going work on enhancing our customer segmentation will ultimately drive our long-term marketing strategy, enabling us to create targeted and personalized content and messaging to our various customer segments. Our marketing programs include email, direct mail, our loyalty program, direct marketing, digital marketing, social media, and streaming media, among others.

In late fiscal 2022, we relaunched our loyalty program, The DXL Rewards Club, reengineered to drive better engagement with our customers by offering enrolled customers exclusive offers, more opportunities to earn points by engaging with us in multiple ways, beyond the store or online purchase. We are further building upon our goal to strengthen our customer experience and keep our customers active and engaged.

In March 2023, we launched our new brand initiative “Wear What You Want” ℠ inviting our customer to not only experience the depth of our assortment but also the breadth of exclusivity across our brands, offering brands and styles not available elsewhere. We are providing him the freedom to choose his own style and wear what he wants. Big + Tall is all we do, and we trade on the belief that we offer superior fit, assortment, and experience to him and through this initiative we are eager to develop relationships with our customers that are built on respect, trust, and belonging.

We expect our marketing costs in fiscal 2023 to be approximately 5.7% of sales as compared to 6.0% of sales in fiscal 2022.

GLOBAL SOURCING

Our global sourcing strategy is a balanced approach, which considers quality, cost and lead-time, depending on the requirements of the program. We believe our current sourcing structure meets our operating requirements and provides capacity for growth. The growth and effectiveness of our global direct sourcing program is a key component to the strength of merchandise margins.

We have built a strong internal team with extensive experience that is responsible for managing an international network of vendors and suppliers across the globe. We have established strong relationships with many of the leading factories and mills across the globe. Our sourcing network consists of over 34 factories in eight countries which are experts in big & tall sizing and production. In fiscal 2022, approximately 52% of all our product needs were sourced directly. We manufacture a significant percentage of our own brand merchandise in Southeast Asian countries consisting of Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia and India. We continue to reduce dependency on China, with less than 10% of own brands sourced from China, inclusive of our raw materials and trims, and have moved certain programs into the Western Hemisphere with duty-free opportunities such as Nicaragua and Mexico.

In 2020, we retained Elevate Ltd., a global leader in supply chain assessment, and instituted 4-Pillar audits of our manufacturing facilities. Our intent is to increase our social, environmental and ethical sustainability by utilizing Elevates audit tool, "ERSA", which stands for ELEVATE Responsible Sourcing Assessment. ERSA 2.0 covers social compliance, human rights, environmental business ethics, and worker’s sentiment surveys. All audits can be found on their EIQ tool which is a web-based analytical system on which we participate in their Ethical Trade Audit platform. For fiscal 2023, we have retained Elevate Ltd. to also perform environment assessment audits. Our intention is to increase our audit pillars to include all of our raw material suppliers that procure fabric, trims and inner components of our products.

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In an effort to minimize foreign currency risk, all payments to our direct sourced vendors are made in U.S. dollars with payment on account.

DISTRIBUTION

All of our retail distribution operations are centralized at our headquarters located in Canton, Massachusetts. We believe that having a centralized distribution facility maximizes the selling space and in-stock position of our stores and reduces the necessary levels of back-room stock. In addition, the distribution center provides order fulfillment services for our e-commerce business. In-bound calls for our e-commerce business are primarily fulfilled by our distribution center and if an order cannot be fulfilled by our distribution center, the order is completed at the store level.

Our supply chain technology provides visibility for imports and domestic deliveries giving our buyers accurate shipping information and allowing the distribution center to plan staffing for arriving freight, resulting in reduced costs and improved receipt efficiency.

Our warehousing application and labor management system enable us to streamline our distribution processes, enhance our in-transit times, and reduce our distribution costs. We will continually work to make improvements and upgrades to our software.

For store shipments and domestic customer deliveries, we primarily use United Parcel Services and FedEx. We are able to track all deliveries from the warehouse to our individual stores, including the status of in-transit shipments. In addition, we are able to provide our direct customers with Authorized Return Service and Web labels, making returns more convenient for them.

In order to service our International customers, we have contracted with a global e-commerce company for payment and shipment services. Through this service, international customers view and pay for products in their local currency. Our vendor then ships directly to our customer, which we believe helps avoid potential fraud and currency exchange rate risks.

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS

The infrastructure of our management information systems is a priority to us. We believe that the investments we have made in this regard have improved our overall efficiency and improved our access to information enabling timely, data-driven decisions.

Our management information systems consist of a full range of retail merchandising and financial systems, which include merchandise planning and reporting, distribution center processing, inventory allocation, sales reporting, and financial processing and reporting. We believe that our current infrastructure provides us the ability and capacity to process transactions more efficiently and provides our management team with comprehensive tools with which to manage our business. Our direct and retail channels maintain a shared inventory system and we operate a single-system platform for our DXL and Casual Male XL stores to deliver improved efficiencies.

In an effort to improve our inventory management, we have created a standardized set of “best practices” for both our merchandise planning and allocation groups. Using a retail business intelligence solution, we are able to integrate data from several sources and provide enterprise-wide analytics reporting. Over the past few years, we have continued to develop a custom Assortment Suite application to leverage business intelligence and predictive analytics to provide high-impact insights into core merchandising tasks and began the roll-out a new point-of-sale system.

COMPETITION

Our business faces competition from a variety of sources, including department stores, mass merchandisers, other specialty stores and discount and off-price retailers that sell big & tall men’s clothing. While we have successfully competed on the basis of merchandise assortment, comfort and fit, customer service and desirable store locations, there can be no assurances that other retailers, including e-commerce retailers, will not adopt purchasing and marketing concepts similar to ours. Discount retailers with significant buying power, such as Walmart, Kohl's and J.C. Penney, represent a source of competition for us. The direct business has many competitors, including the King Size catalog and website as well as online marketplaces, such as Amazon.

The United States big & tall men’s clothing market is highly competitive with many national and regional department stores, specialty apparel retailers, single market operators and discount stores offering a broad range of apparel products similar to ours, the similarity being that the clothes they sell are intended for big and tall men. Besides retail competitors, we consider any casual apparel manufacturer operating in outlet malls throughout the United States to be a competitor in the casual apparel market. We believe that we are the only national operator of men’s apparel stores focused exclusively on the men’s big & tall market.

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SEASONALITY

Historically, and consistent with the retail industry, we have experienced seasonal fluctuations as it relates to our operating income, net income, and free cash flow. Traditionally, a significant portion of our operating income, net income, and free cash flow is generated in the second and fourth quarters. Our inventory is typically at peak levels by the end of the third quarter, which represents a significant use of cash, which is then relieved in the fourth quarter as we sell-down our inventory through the holiday shopping season.

TRADEMARKS/TRADEMARK LICENSE AGREEMENTS

We own several service marks and trademarks relating to our businesses, including, among others, “Destination XL®”, “DXL®”, “DXL Mens Apparel®”, “Big on Being Better®”, “Casual Male®”, “Casual Male XL®”, “Harbor Bay®”, “Oak Hill®”, “Continuous Comfort®”, “Synrgy™”, “Society of One®”, “True Nation®” and “Wear What You Want℠”. We also hold a U.S. patent for an extendable collar system, which is marketed as “Neck-Relaxer®” and a U.S. copyright for a no-iron hang tag.

SUSTAINABILITY

At DXL, we recognize the importance of addressing and prioritizing environmental, social and governance ("ESG") issues throughout our business. During fiscal 2021, we formed the Sustainability Committee, consisting of a cross-disciplinary team from corporate management that engaged with a third-party firm to assist us in the development of the Company's initial ESG strategy and initiatives. The committee reports to the senior management team of the Company and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of our Board of Directors is responsible for the oversight of our initiatives. Our senior management team is working with the committee to develop short- and long-term ESG goals, as well as an action plan. Information regarding our current efforts, our initial limited reporting of Scope 1 and 2 emissions, social and environmental compliance of our factories and our ongoing ESG initiatives can be found on our corporate website at https://investor.dxl.com. The information included in, referenced to, or otherwise accessible through our website, is not incorporated by reference in, or considered to be part of, this document or any document unless expressly incorporated by reference therein.

HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

As of January 28, 2023, we had 1,480 employees. We hire additional temporary employees during the peak Holiday season. None of our employees is represented by any collective bargaining agreement. Our associates are our greatest asset and we are committed to providing them a safe and healthy work environment. Each associate is required to sign a set of policies that include, among other policies, the code of ethics, anti-harassment and procedures for raising a complaint. Our policies also contain protection of human rights and prohibit, among other things, the use of child labor or forced, bonded or indentured labor.

Inclusion and Diversity

We are committed to inclusivity, acceptance, and equality. Since 2017, we have had a diversity and inclusion initiative called “Normalizing the Brand.” The program brings awareness to unconscious bias and focuses on ensuring that the composition of our organization looks and feels like the communities where we live and serve. We have policies and training in place with respect to anti-discrimination and anti-harassment, among others, and provide our associates with access to an anonymous hot-line for reporting any concerns. Throughout the year, we require our associates to participate in educational videos. In 2021, we joined with CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, a coalition of over 2,000 CEOs, pledging to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. By signing on to this commitment, we have pledged to take action to cultivate a workplace where diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected, and where employees feel encouraged to discuss diversity and inclusion without retribution.

Workplace, Culture and Career Development

We are committed to providing our associates an environment where they have an opportunity to provide input on issues affecting the Company’s workforce and the employer-associate relationship. Periodically through the year, we encourage feedback and ideas from our associates through our annual engagement surveys and periodic pulse surveys. Perhaps most importantly, we promote professional and career development and mentorship programs. In 2014, our Associate Engagement & Development Committee implemented the DXLG Mentor Program, which pairs up to 20 mentees with mentors for one-year periods. In April 2016, the DXL Women’s Leadership Group was formed with a mission of “Women supporting, educating and empowering each other @ DXLG”. It started as a pilot program and quickly expanded to now include over 40 female leaders, both people and process managers, in the corporate office and field. In addition, for the past four years, we have presented Leadercast, a platform for leadership development content (held annually in May) as a host site at our corporate headquarters. We also presented Leadercast Women, which was held annually in October until 2022. For the past three years, the programs were made available via an online platform.

Our Associate Engagement & Development Committee organizes “Lunch, Learn, Lead” and “Coffee Talk” sessions throughout the year to provide our associates an opportunity to gain insight on a variety of topics, such as, DXL’s social responsibility initiatives,

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TED talks, Global Sourcing, Normalizing the Brand and Technology. We also joined with Marist College to provide our DXL associates and their immediate adult family members a 25% discount toward on-line tuition costs.

Compensation and Benefits

Our compensation programs are designed to pay our associates competitively in the market, based on their skills, qualifications, role, and abilities. Our benefits are designed to help employees and their families stay healthy and help them balance their work and personal lives. These benefits include health and wellness, paid time off, employee assistance, competitive pay, career growth opportunities, paid volunteer time, product discounts, and a culture of recognition. The challenges created by the global pandemic brought mental health awareness to the forefront. We are continually looking for programs and opportunities to offer our associates to ensure physical and mental wellness. Some of our current and past programs have included access to free apps such as CALM, an app that provides our home office associates an opportunity to incorporate meditation and other mindfulness activities into their daily routines as well as BurnAlong, a free online health, wellness and fitness platform available to all associates. We also highlight mental health awareness as part of our “Lunch, Learn, Lead” series and provide other relevant content within our learning management system. We also provide an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which provides 24/7 assistance to associates and their family members for a variety of issues such as stress, family, parenting, and finances.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

Our corporate website is www.dxl.com. Our investor relations site is http://investor.dxl.com. We make available through our website, free of charge, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to such reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as soon as reasonably practicable after we have electronically filed such material with, or furnished such materials to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information for issuers that file electronically with the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

The following risk factors are the important factors of which we are aware that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in any of our forward-looking statements. We operate in a continually changing business environment and new risk factors emerge from time to time. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on our future results, performance or achievements. We cannot assure you that our projected results or events will be achieved or will occur.

Risks Related to Our Company and Our Industry

We may not be successful in executing our strategy and growing our market share.

For us to be successful in the future and maintain growth, we must be able to continue increasing our share of the big & tall men’s apparel market. Our growth is dependent on our ability to continue to build upon our DXL brand, maintain our existing customers and attract new customers. Our failure to execute our strategy successfully could prevent us from growing our market share, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, cash flows and financial position, including if we were unable to:

Our marketing programs and efforts to drive traffic and convert that traffic into an increased loyal customer base are critical to achieving market share growth within the big & tall men’s apparel market and may not be successful.

Our ability to increase our share of the big & tall men’s apparel market is largely dependent on effectively marketing our brand and merchandise to all of our target customers in several diverse market segments so that they will become loyal shoppers who spend a greater portion of their wallets on our product offerings. In order to grow our market share, we depend on the success of our marketing and advertising in a variety of ways, including streaming media advertising, advertising events, an updated loyalty program, direct mail, and digital marketing, including social media and customer prospecting. Our business is directly impacted by the success of these efforts and those of our vendors. Future marketing efforts by us, our vendors or our other licensors, may be more costly than prior years and, if not successful, may negatively affect our ability to meet our sales goals and gain market share.

Our direct business is a significant component of our growth strategy, and the failure to develop our digital infrastructure could disrupt our business and negatively impact our sales.

We have made significant investments in capital spending and labor to develop our direct channels and increased investments in digital marketing to attract new customers. The growth of our overall sales is dependent on customers’ continuing to expand their online purchases in addition to in-store purchases. Comparable sales from our direct business in fiscal 2022 increased 58.3% from fiscal 2019. While it is our objective to continue to grow this business, there can be no assurance that this growth will continue or be sustainable.

Our success in growing our direct business will depend in part upon our development of an increasingly sophisticated e-commerce experience and infrastructure. Increasing sophistication requires that we provide additional website features, functionality and messaging in order to be competitive in the marketplace and maintain market share. We continually update our website features, but we cannot predict future trends and required functionality or our adoption rate for customer preferences. In addition, we are vulnerable to additional risks and uncertainties associated with e-commerce sales, including security breaches, cyber-attacks, consumer privacy concerns, changes in state tax regimes and government regulation of internet activities. Our failure to respond to these risks and uncertainties appropriately could reduce our direct sales, increase our costs and diminish our growth prospects, which could negatively affect our operating results.

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If we are unable to develop and implement our integrated commerce initiatives successfully, our market share and financial results could be adversely affected.

Our customer’s shopping behavior continues to evolve across multiple channels and we are working to meet his needs, with the real time store inventory visibility, our mobile app, and BOPIS (buy online pick up in stores). We consider ourselves a customer-centric integrated commerce retailer, and we continue to make ongoing investments in our information technology systems to support these evolving capabilities.

Integrated commerce is rapidly evolving and our success depends on our ability to anticipate and implement innovations in sales and marketing technology and logistics in order to appeal to existing and potential customers who increasingly rely on multiple channels to meet their shopping needs. In addition, our competitors are also investing in these initiatives, some of which may be more successful than our initiatives.

If the investment in our integrated commerce initiatives is not successful, our systems are unable to support such initiatives, or if our competitors are more successful, our financial results and our market penetration may be adversely affected.

The loss of, or disruption in, our centralized distribution center could negatively impact our business and operations.

The majority of our merchandise for our stores and e-commerce operations is received into our centralized distribution center in Canton, Massachusetts, where it is then processed, sorted and shipped to our stores or directly to our customers. We depend in large part on the orderly operation of this receiving and distribution process, which depends, in turn, on adherence to shipping schedules and effective management of the distribution center. Although we believe that our receiving and distribution process is efficient and well-positioned to support our strategic plans, events beyond our control, such as disruptions in operations due to fire or other catastrophic events, employee matters or shipping problems, labor shortages, or disruptions in our distribution center, could result in delays in the delivery of merchandise to our stores or directly to our customers.

With all of our management information systems centralized in our corporate headquarters, any disruption or destruction of our system infrastructure could materially affect our business. This type of disaster is mitigated by our offsite storage and disaster recovery plans, but we would still incur business interruption that may impact our business a significant period of time.

Although we maintain business interruption and property insurance, we cannot be sure that our insurance will be sufficient, or that insurance proceeds will be timely paid to us, in the event our distribution center is shut down for any reason or if we incur higher costs and longer lead times in connection with a disruption relating to our distribution center.

Our business is seasonal and is affected by general economic conditions.

Our business is seasonal. Historically, a significant portion of our operating income has been generated during our second and fourth quarters. If, for any reason, we miscalculate the demand for our products during our these quarters, our sales in that quarter could decline, resulting in higher labor costs as a percentage of sales, lower margins and excess inventory, which could cause our annual operating results to suffer.

In addition, our operations may be negatively affected by local, regional or national economic conditions, such as levels of disposable consumer income, inflation, consumer debt, interest rates, consumer confidence and other macro issues. Due to our seasonality, the possible adverse impact from such risks is potentially greater if any such risks occur during our second and fourth quarters.

The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its variants have had, and other global health pandemics may have, an adverse effect on our business, financial results, liquidity, supply chain and workforce.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its variants caused global uncertainty and disruption and had a material impact on our business, predominately in fiscal 2020 and early 2021. In fiscal 2022, the pandemic continued to have a lingering negative effect on the global economy that directly impacted our business, specifically as it related to the economy, rising interest rates, labor shortages, increased material costs, global supply chain issues, inflationary pressures, and changes in consumer spending behaviors. Our business may be negatively impacted as it relates to the risk and uncertainty of a potential COVID-19 resurgence, new variants or a new global health pandemic and could materially affect our financial results, access to sources of liquidity and inventory.

Our business may be adversely affected due to disruptions in the global supply chain.

Disruptions in the global supply chain in foreign ports and shortages of vessels and shipping containers may impact our ability to import inventory in a timely manner. The impact of COVID-19 and labor shortages on domestic ports have also created a similar disruption in the supply chain and may continue to cause delays in the receipt and shipment of inventory. In addition, the ongoing war in Ukraine may cause additional tariffs, sanctions, import/export restrictions and future actions that may have a negative impact on the

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supply chain and may limit the availability of certain raw materials and associated cost. Furthermore, in the event that commercial transportation is curtailed or substantially delayed, we may not be able to maintain adequate inventory levels of important merchandise on a consistent basis, which would negatively impact our sales and potentially erode the confidence of our customer base, leading to loss of sales and an adverse impact on our results of operations. Further, we may continue to incur incremental freight costs which could negatively harm our gross margin rates.

Our business may be adversely affected if we are unable to manage our store portfolio successfully.

We lease all of our store locations. Renewing and renegotiating these leases at acceptable lease terms is critical to the profitability of our stores. While we worked closely with our landlords to renegotiate and restructure a majority of our lease portfolio from the onset of the pandemic, there still may be certain stores that may not be profitable and we may not be able to renew existing agreements. We will continue to evaluate our store portfolio to optimize store profitability. As part of that evaluation, we may choose not to renew certain lease locations.

Our plan is to grow our store portfolio over the next several years and we have identified multiple white space opportunities in new or underpenetrated markets. We are also actively reviewing opportunities to relocate or convert the majority of our remaining Casual Male XL stores to DXL. If we are unable to find locations or obtain favorable lease terms, we may not be able to grow or maintain our current store base and the lack of store growth could negatively affect our ability to growth revenue and market share.

We are dependent on third parties for the manufacture of the merchandise we sell.

We do not own or operate any manufacturing facilities and are therefore entirely dependent on third parties to manufacture the merchandise we sell. Without adequate supplies of merchandise to sell to our customers in the merchandise styles and fashions demanded by our particular customer base, sales would decrease materially and our business would suffer. We are dependent on these third parties’ ability to fulfill our merchandise orders and meet our delivery terms. In the event that manufacturers are unable or unwilling to ship products to us in a timely manner or continue to manufacture products for us, we would have to rely on other current manufacturing sources or identify and qualify new manufacturers. We might not be able to identify or qualify such manufacturers for existing or new products in a timely manner and such manufacturers might not allocate sufficient capacity to us in order to meet our requirements. Our inability to secure adequate and timely supplies of private-label merchandise would negatively impact proper inventory levels, sales and gross margin rates, and ultimately our results of operations.

In addition, even if our current manufacturers continue to manufacture our products, they may not maintain adequate controls with respect to product specifications and quality and may not continue to produce products that are consistent with our standards. If we were forced to rely on manufacturers who produce products of inferior quality, then our brand and customer satisfaction would likely suffer which would negatively impact our business. These manufacturers may also increase the cost to us of the products we purchase from them. The Company publishes a Code of Conduct, which is a part of every agreement requiring compliance by the manufacturing facilities.

The United States Treasury Department has placed sanctions on China’s Xinjiang Production and Construction Corporation ("XPCC") for serious human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region ("XUAR"). In addition, in January 2021, the US Customs Border Protection (“CBP”) issued a Withhold Release Order on Products Made in Xinjiang region of China. In response to the problems in Xinjiang, we developed a Compliance Certificate of Traceability for our cotton vendors. Although we prohibit our vendors from doing business with XPCC, we could be subject to penalties, fines or sanctions and our brand could be harmed if any of the vendors from which we purchase product is found to have done business, directly or indirectly, with XPCC.

We work with a third-party audit vendor to ensure a responsible and ethical supply chain. We are and will continue to pursue our corporate responsibilities and create a positive effect on human rights as well as the environment. If, despite third-party audits, the manufacturing facilities engage in workplace or human rights violations and we are unable to identify or correct it, it may negatively affect our business and harm our brand.

Our business may be negatively impacted and we may be liable if third parties misappropriate proprietary information of our customers and breach our security systems.

We may be harmed by security risks we face in connection with our electronic processing and transmission of confidential customer information. The majority of our retail sales are settled through credit and debit card transactions. While our Board of Directors has a Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Committee to oversee the monitoring and management of cyber risk and data privacy for our Company, and we have not had any security breaches to date, any breach could expose us to risks of loss, litigation, and liability and could adversely affect our operations as well as cause our shoppers to stop shopping with us as a result of their lack of confidence in the security of their personally identifiable information, which could have a negative impact on our sales and profitability. We attempt

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to limit exposures to security breaches and sensitive customer data through the use of “tokens” in connection with both in-store and online credit card transactions, which eliminates the storage of credit card numbers. Like many retailers, we have seen an increase in cyberattack attempts, predominantly through phishing and social engineering scams, and in particular, ransomware. While none of these attempts has been successful, there can be no assurance that our continued security measures will be effective or sufficient in the future. If third parties are able to penetrate our network security or otherwise misappropriate the personal information or credit card information of our customers or if third parties gain unauthorized and improper access to such information, we could be subject to liability. These liabilities could include claims for unauthorized purchases with credit card information, impersonation or other similar fraud claims, or claims for other misuses of personal information, including unauthorized marketing purposes, and could ultimately result in litigation. Liability for misappropriation of this information could be significant.

Further, if a third party were to use this proprietary customer information in order to compete with us, it could have a material adverse impact on our business and could result in litigation.

Our business is highly competitive, and competitive factors may reduce our revenues and profit margins.

The United States big & tall men’s apparel market is highly competitive with many national and regional department stores, mass merchandisers, specialty apparel retailers, discount stores and online retailers offering a broad range of apparel products similar to the products that we sell. Besides retail competitors, we consider any manufacturer of big & tall men’s merchandise operating in outlet malls throughout the United States to be a competitor. It is also possible that another competitor, either a mass merchant or a men’s specialty store or specialty apparel catalog, could gain market share in big & tall men’s apparel due to more favorable pricing, locations, brand and fashion assortment and size availability. Many of our competitors and potential competitors may have substantially greater financial, manufacturing and marketing resources than we do.

The presence in the marketplace of various fashion trends and the limited availability of shelf space also can affect competition. We may not be able to compete successfully with our competitors in the future and could lose market share. A significant loss of market share would adversely affect our revenues and results of operations.

In addition, we maintain exclusivity arrangements with several of the brands that we carry. If we were to lose any of these exclusivity arrangements or brands altogether, our revenues may be adversely affected.

Our ability to operate and expand our business and to respond to changing business and economic conditions will depend on the availability of adequate capital.

The operation of our business, the rate of our expansion and our ability to respond to changing business and economic conditions, depend on the availability of adequate capital, which in turn depends on cash flow generated by our business and, if necessary, the availability of equity or debt capital.

The amount that we are able to borrow and have outstanding under our credit facility at any given time is determined using an availability formula based on eligible assets. As a result, our ability to borrow is subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as advance rates and the amount and quality of inventory, which could reduce the funds available to us under our credit facility. In addition, because of the disruptions in the supply chain, inventory levels may be lower than expected. This directly impacts our borrowing base and there can be no assurance that we can effectively manage the balance of maintaining inventory and sufficient availability, especially during peak selling periods.

We cannot make assurances that our cash flow from operations or cash available under our credit facility will be sufficient to meet our needs. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows from operations in the future, we may have to obtain additional financing. If we incur additional indebtedness, that indebtedness may contain significant financial and other covenants that may significantly restrict our operations and we cannot ensure we would be able to obtain refinancing or that such additional financing would be on favorable terms.

We may be unable to achieve our environmental, social and governance goals.

We are committed to corporate social responsibility and sustainability and we recognize the importance of environmental, social and governance ("ESG") issues. Our Sustainability Committee, comprising a cross-discipline of corporate management, has engaged with a third-party firm to assist us in the development of the Company's ESG policies and initiatives.

Achievement of our initiatives is subject to risks and uncertainties and we may fail to achieve our objectives. We may also incur additional costs and require additional resources to monitor, report, and comply with such ESG practices and regulations. We may also face pressure from our stockholders, customers and employees to make accelerated and material advancements in these ESG matters.

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In addition, an increasing number of our stakeholders are considering sustainability factors when making related decisions regarding employment, brand loyalty and investment. Failure to establish effective policies, procedures and metrics may negatively affect our reputation, and it may be more difficult for us to compete effectively, all of which would have an adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

We may be unable to predict fashion trends and customer preferences successfully.

Customer tastes and fashion trends are volatile and tend to change rapidly. Our success depends in large part upon our ability to predict effectively and respond to changing fashion tastes and consumer demands and to translate market trends to appropriate saleable product offerings. If we are unable to predict or respond to changing styles or trends successfully and misjudge the market for products or any new product lines, our sales will be impacted and we may be faced with a substantial amount of unsold inventory or missed opportunities. In response, we may be forced to rely on additional markdowns or promotional sales to dispose of excess, slow-moving inventory, which would decrease our revenues and margins. In addition, the failure to satisfy consumer demand, specifically in our DXL stores and from our website, could have serious longer-term consequences, such as an adverse impact on our brand value and the loss of market share to our competitors.

The loss of any of our key trademarks or licenses could adversely affect demand for our products.

We own and use a number of trademarks and operate under several trademark license agreements. We believe that certain of these trademarks have significant value and are instrumental in our ability to create and sustain demand for and to market our products. We cannot be certain that these trademarks and licensing agreements will remain in effect and enforceable or that any license agreements, upon expiration, can be renewed on acceptable terms or at all. In addition, any future disputes concerning these trademarks and licenses may cause us to incur significant litigation costs or force us to suspend use of the disputed trademarks.

Fluctuations in the price, availability and quality of raw materials and finished goods could increase costs.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ban of Xinjiang cotton, we are seeing cost increases in labor and across raw materials. We have secured raw materials in key item programs to reduce the impact on our gross margin. Fluctuations in the price, availability and quality of fabrics or other raw materials used in the manufacturing of our merchandise could have a material adverse effect on our gross margin or on our ability to meet our customers’ demands. The prices for fabrics depend on demand and market prices for the raw materials used to produce them. To the extent that we cannot offset these cost increases with other cost reductions or efficiencies, such higher costs will need to be passed on to our customers. Such increased costs could lead to reduced customer demand, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and cash flow.

If our long-lived assets become impaired, we may need to record significant non-cash impairment charges.

Periodically, we review our long-lived assets for impairment whenever economic events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. Specifically, if an individual store location is unable to generate sufficient future cash flows, we may be required to record a partial or full impairment of that store’s right-of-use assets and its property and equipment. In addition, significant negative industry or general economic trends, disruptions to our business and unexpected significant changes or planned changes in our use of the assets (such as store relocations or closures) may also result in impairment charges. Due to the uncertainty that remains regarding the duration of the pandemic and its impact on our store locations, we may need to take additional impairment charges. Any such impairment charges, if significant, could adversely affect our financial position and results of operations.

General Risks That May Affect Our Business

Changes to LIBOR may negatively impact us.

The London interbank offered rate (“LIBOR”) is the basic rate of interest used in lending between banks on the London interbank market and is widely used as a reference for setting the interest rate on loans globally. Our current credit facility provides us an option to convert some of our prime-based borrowings into short-term LIBOR contracts.

LIBOR will be phased out by June 2023. In the absence of a LIBOR rate, our credit facility with Citizens Bank, N.A. provides for a successor rate, based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR"). As such, while we do not expect that we will have to renegotiate our credit facility, we may have to amend our credit facility to effect the change before June 2023 and we do not know whether it could result in increased interest costs. In the absence of a favorable LIBOR or successor rate, our borrowings bear interest based on the Federal Funds rate. At January 28, 2023, there were no outstanding borrowings under our credit facility, however, we

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cannot provide assurance that future interest rate charges will not have a material negative impact on our business, financial position, or operating results.

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

Our future success is dependent on the personal efforts, performance and abilities of our key management, which includes our executive officers as well as members of our senior management. The loss of any of our senior management may result in a loss of organizational focus, poor operating execution, an inability to identify and execute strategic initiatives, an impairment in our ability to identify new store locations, and an inability to consummate possible acquisitions. The competition is intense for the type of highly skilled individuals with relevant industry experience that we require and we may not be able to continue to attract and retain new employees of the caliber needed to achieve our objectives.

Labor shortages or increases in labor costs due to new regulations could harm our business.

Since the end of the pandemic, we have continued to experience labor shortages primarily in our distribution facility and in our stores. If such labor shortages continue, especially during peak-selling periods, it may negatively impact our ability to process inventory in a timely manner and effectively staff our stores. Because of the tight labor market our hourly rates have increased to attract candidates. If we are unable to pass on these higher costs through price increases or reduced workforce hours, our margins and profitability may be adversely impacted which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Failure to comply with laws, rules and regulations could negatively affect our business operations and financial performance.

Our business is subject to federal, state, and increasing local rules and regulations, such as state and local wage and hour laws, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), securities laws, import and export laws (including customs regulations), privacy and information security regulations, unclaimed property laws, and many others. The effect of some of these laws and regulations may be to increase the cost of doing business and may have a material impact on our earnings. In addition, the complexity of the regulatory environment in which we operate and the related cost of compliance are both increasing due to legal and regulatory requirements and increased enforcement. We may also be subject to investigations or audits by governmental authorities and regulatory agencies, which can occur in the ordinary course of business or which can result from increased scrutiny from a particular agency towards an industry, country or practice. If we fail to comply with laws, rules and regulations or the manner in which they are interpreted or applied, we may be subject to government enforcement action, class action litigation or other litigation, damage to our reputation, civil and criminal liability, damages, fines and penalties, and increased cost of regulatory compliance, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial performance.

Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Stock

Our stock price has been and will likely continue to be volatile and fluctuate substantially.

The market price of our common stock has been and will likely continue to fluctuate substantially as a result of many factors, some of which are beyond our control. For example, from September 8, 2021, when we relisted on the Nasdaq Global market through January 27, 2023, the reported price of our common stock has ranged from a low of $3.27 on July 1, 2022, to a high of $8.99 on November 17, 2021. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the market price of our common stock include the following:

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Our certificate of incorporation, as amended, limits transfers of our common stock and may, along with state law, inhibit potential acquisition bids that could be beneficial to our stockholders.

Our certificate of incorporation, as amended, contains provisions that restrict any person or entity from attempting to purchase our stock, without prior permission from the Board of Directors, to the extent that such transfer would (i) create or result in an individual or entity becoming a five-percent stockholder of our stock, or (ii) increase the stock ownership percentage of any existing five-percent stockholder. These provisions provide that any transfer that violates such provisions shall be null and void and would require the purported transferee, upon demand by us, to transfer the shares that exceed the five percent limit to an agent designated by us for the purpose of conducting a sale of such excess shares. These provisions would make the acquisition of our Company more expensive to the acquirer and could significantly delay, discourage, or prevent third parties from acquiring our Company without the approval of our Board of Directors.

In addition, we are subject to certain provisions of Delaware law, which could also delay or make more difficult a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving us. In particular, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in certain business combinations with any interested stockholder for a period of three years unless specific conditions are met. In addition, certain provisions of Delaware law could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us, including, without limitation, discouraging a proxy contest or making more difficult the acquisition of a substantial block of our common stock. The provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

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Item 2. Properties

Our corporate offices and retail distribution center are located at 555 Turnpike Street in Canton, Massachusetts. The property consists of a 755,992 gross square foot building located on approximately 27.3 acres. We owned the property until January 30, 2006, at which time we entered into a sale-leaseback transaction, whereby we entered into a twenty-year lease agreement for an initial annual rent payment of $4.6 million, with periodic increases every fifth anniversary of the lease.

As of January 28, 2023, we operated 218 Destination XL retail stores, 16 Destination XL outlet stores, 28 Casual Male XL retail stores and 19 Casual Male XL outlet stores. We lease all of these stores directly from owners of several different types of centers, including life-style centers, shopping centers, freestanding buildings, outlet centers and downtown locations. The store leases are generally 5 to 10 years in length and contain renewal options extending their terms by between 5 and 10 years. Following this discussion is a listing by state of all store locations open at January 28, 2023.

Sites for new stores are selected based on several factors, including population and density levels, the demographic profile of the area in which the site is located, the types of stores and other retailers in the area, the location of the store within the center and the attractiveness of the store layout. We also utilize financial models to project the profitability of each location using assumptions such as the center’s sales per square foot averages, sales to invested capital ratio, and return on investment requirements.

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Store count by state at January 28, 2023

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we are subject to various legal proceedings and claims that arise in the ordinary course of business. Management believes that the resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse impact on our future results of operations or financial position.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

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PART II.

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information

Our common stock is listed for trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “DXLG”.

Holders

As of March 15, 2023, based upon data provided by the transfer agent for our common stock, there were approximately 77 holders of record of our common stock. The number of holders does not include individuals or entities who beneficially own shares but whose shares are held of record by a broker or clearing agent.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

On March 15, 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program. Under the stock repurchase program, the Company was authorized to repurchase up to $15.0 million of its common stock through open market and privately negotiated transactions.

The timing and the amount of any repurchases of common stock was determined based on the Company’s evaluation of market conditions and other factors. The stock repurchase program commenced in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 and expired on March 15, 2023. There were no stock repurchases during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022.

Stock Performance Graph

The following Performance Graph compares our cumulative stockholder return with a broad market index (Standard & Poor’s 500) and one published industry index (Dow Jones U.S. Apparel Retailers) for each of the most recent five years ended January 31. The cumulative stockholder return for shares of our common stock (“DXLG”) and each of the indices is calculated assuming that $100 was invested on January 31, 2018. We paid no cash dividends during the periods shown. The performance of the indices is shown on a total return (dividends reinvested) basis. The graph lines merely connect January 31 of each year and do not reflect fluctuations between those dates. In addition, we have included a chart of the annual percentage return of our common stock, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones U.S. Apparel Retailers.

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Annual Return Percentage

Indexed Returns

The performance graph above shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liability of that section. This graph will not be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.

Item 6.

Reserved.

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following is a discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations for fiscal 2022 as compared to fiscal 2021. Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 29, 2022 (fiscal 2021) includes a discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations comparing fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2020 in Item 7 of Part II, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

As noted above in Part 1, this section also contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company’s plans, estimates and beliefs. The Company's actual results could materially differ from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to those differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed below and elsewhere in this report, particularly in “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements.” The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in light of those risks and uncertainties and in conjunction with our accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto.

Certain figures discussed below may not foot due to rounding.

Segment Reporting

We have two principal operating segments: our stores and direct business. We consider our stores and direct business segments to be similar in terms of economic characteristics, production processes and operations, and have therefore aggregated them into one reportable segment, retail segment, consistent with our integrated commerce approach. The Company’s wholesale business was a third operating segment until in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, when the Company ended its relationship with its primary wholesale customer. Due to the immateriality of the wholesale segment’s revenues, profits and assets, its operating results were aggregated with the retail segment for all periods presented.

Comparable Sales and E-Commerce (Direct) Sales Definition

Our customer’s shopping experience continues to evolve across multiple channels and we are continually adapting to meet the customer's needs. The majority of our stores have the capability of fulfilling online orders if merchandise is not available in the warehouse. As a result, we continue to see more transactions that begin online but are ultimately completed at the store level. Similarly, if a customer visits a store and the item is out of stock, the associate can order the item through our website. A customer also has the ability to order online and pick-up in a store or at curbside. We define store sales as sales that originate and are fulfilled directly at the store level. E-commerce sales, which we also refer to as direct sales, are defined as sales that originate online, whether through our website, at the store level or through a third-party marketplace.

Stores that have been open for 13 months are included in comparable sales. Stores that have been remodeled or re-located during the period are also included in our determination of comparable stores sales. Stores that have been expanded by more than 25% are considered non-comparable for the first 13 months. The method of calculating comparable sales varies across the retail industry and, as a result, our calculation of comparable sales is not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other retailers.

Non-GAAP Measures

We monitor certain non-GAAP financial measures on a regular basis in order to track the progress of our business. These measures include free cash flow, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin. We believe these measures provide helpful information with respect to the Company’s operating performance and that the inclusion of these non-GAAP measures is important to assist investors in comparing our performance in fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2021. However, these measures may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies and should not be considered superior to or as a substitute for net income, net income per diluted share or cash flow from operating activities in accordance with GAAP. See “Non-GAAP Reconciliations” below for additional information on these non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations to comparable GAAP measures.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Our fiscal year is a 52- or 53-week period ending on the Saturday closest to January 31. Fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2021 were both 52-week periods.

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EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

We are pleased with the financial results we achieved in fiscal 2022, with our second record-breaking year of sales, eight consecutive quarters of positive comparable sales growth and second year of double-digit adjusted EBITDA margins. Our sales growth in fiscal 2022 exceeded plan, with total comparable sales growth of 10.9% compared to fiscal 2021, on top of a comparable sales increase of 14.1% in fiscal 2021, as compared against fiscal 2019, pre-pandemic. We believe that our brand repositioning resonated with our customer and enabled us to grow sales while maintaining a strong margin. From a cost perspective, SG&A costs increased in fiscal 2022 to support this sales growth, primarily payroll-related costs and marketing costs. Our marketing spend in fiscal 2022 increased to 6.0% of sales as compared to 4.7% in fiscal 2021 to help drive customer acquisition. These increases in SG&A expenses resulted in a slight decrease in adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2022 as compared to fiscal 2021 as we made deliberate investments in our business to drive our digital transformation and brand repositioning to support sales growth.

For fiscal 2022, we reported net income of $89.1 million, or $1.33 per diluted share, as compared to net income of $56.7 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, in fiscal 2021. Net income for fiscal 2022 included the release of substantially all of the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets expected to be realized in future periods, which resulted in a non-recurring tax benefit of $31.6 million, or $0.47 per diluted share.

As a result of our earnings, we generated $59.9 million in cash flow from operations during fiscal 2022, resulting in $50.3 million of free cash flow. We used $12.7 million of that free cash flow to repurchase shares of common stock pursuant to our stock repurchase program during fiscal 2022. At January 28, 2023, we were debt-free and had cash and cash equivalents of $52.1 million and full availability under our credit facility of $78.4 million. We also were in a healthy inventory position at year-end, with clearance levels well below historical levels. We expect that our strong liquidity position at the end of fiscal 2022 will help support our growth initiatives, including store development projects of which we are expecting to open 3 new DXL stores in fiscal 2023, while also remodeling 5 existing DXL stores and converting 10 of our existing Casual Male XL stores to DXL stores.

Heading into fiscal 2023, we remain focused on our primary objective of serving the underserved Big + Tall consumer by providing to him the opportunity to wear what he wants. In early March, we launched our new brand initiative Wear What You Want℠, further supporting this positioning. By increasing brand awareness and introducing our customer to the breadth of exclusivity in our assortment, we will give him the freedom to choose his own style and we believe this will result in market share gains for us. We also recognize that there are many macro-economic pressures, including inflation, raising interest costs, raising fuel costs, material costs,

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and labor shortages that could impact us and our growth strategy as we head into fiscal 2023 and could impact consumer spending but we are optimistic that we can continue to build upon the growth of the past two years.

As discussed below under "Liquidity and Capital Resources", subsequent to the end of fiscal 2022, on March 14, 2023, our Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase plan, effective March 16, 2023, pursuant to which we are authorized to repurchase up to $15.0 million of outstanding common stock through March 16, 2024.

SALES

For fiscal 2022, total sales increased 8.1% to $545.8 million from $505.0 million for fiscal 2021. Comparable sales increased 10.9%, with stores up 11.3% and the direct business up 9.9%.

All regions of the country performed well in fiscal 2022 with southeast, south central and northeast stores our strongest performers. The increase in sales was driven primarily by increases in dollars per transaction and conversion. The increase in dollars per transaction was attributable to fewer promotions driving lower markdowns and deeper penetration in high-ticket categories such as tailored clothing.

Our website and app continue to represent the majority of our direct sales and were the primary drivers of the growth in our direct business in fiscal 2022. While our third-party marketplaces represented a smaller portion of our direct business, sales increased by more than 50% and continued to attract a new customer to DXL in fiscal 2022.

As previously discussed, in the first quarter of fiscal 2022, we ended our wholesale relationship with Amazon.

GROSS MARGIN

The gross margin rate for fiscal 2022, inclusive of occupancy costs, was 49.9% compared to 49.5% in fiscal 2021. Our gross margin rate improved by 40 basis points, driven by a 90 basis point improvement in occupancy costs due to increased leverage from sales partially offset by a 50 basis point decrease in merchandise margins. The decrease in merchandise margin was due to increased costs for raw materials, increased shipping costs driven by higher fuel costs and surcharges, and a higher penetration of our marketplace business, which includes commission costs. These increases were partially offset by lower promotional markdowns. We continue to optimize our pricing and promotional cadence to mitigate cost increases for raw materials and shipping and preserve our margin rates.

SELLING, GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales were 36.4% for fiscal 2022, as compared to 34.2% in fiscal 2021.

On a dollar basis, SG&A expense for fiscal 2022 increased $25.8 million. The increase was primarily due to an increase in marketing costs from 4.7% to 6.0% of sales to drive customer acquisition and engagement, payroll costs to support sales growth and fill open positions, and an increase in performance-based incentive accruals.

Management views SG&A expenses through two primary cost centers: Customer Facing Costs and Corporate Support Costs. Customer Facing Costs, which include store payroll, marketing and other store operating costs, represented 20.8% of sales for fiscal 2022 as compared to 19.1% of sales for fiscal 2021. Corporate Support Costs, which include the distribution center and corporate overhead costs, represented 15.6% of sales, compared to 15.1% of sales for fiscal 2021.

IMPAIRMENT (GAIN) OF ASSETS

Asset impairment charges primarily represent the write-down of operating lease right-of-use assets and the write-down of store property and equipment, where the carrying value exceeds fair value. In addition, any subsequent gains recognized in connection with a store closure related to a previously recorded operating lease right-of-use asset impairment will be included as an offset to impairment charges, with the remainder of the gain included as a reduction in store occupancy costs.

For fiscal 2022, the Company recorded a non-cash gain of $0.6 million on the reduction of its operating lease liability in connection with its decision to close certain retail stores, which resulted in a revaluation of the lease liability. Of the total non-cash gain of $0.6

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million, $0.4 million related to leases where the right-of-use assets had previously been impaired, and therefore was recorded as a reduction of the previously recorded impairment charge with the remaining $0.2 million recorded as a reduction to occupancy costs.

The impairment gain of $0.4 million was partially offset by a $0.2 million impairment charge for the write-down of store property and equipment. The net gain of $0.2 million is included as Impairment (Gain) of Assets on the Consolidated Statement of Operations for fiscal 2022.

For fiscal 2021, the Company recorded a non-cash gain of $2.7 million on the reduction of its operating lease liability in connection with its decision to close certain retail stores, which resulted in a revaluation of the lease liability. Of the total non-cash gain, $2.3 million related to leases where the right-of-use assets had previously been impaired, and therefore, the gain was recorded as a reduction of the previously-recorded impairment. The remaining gain $0.4 million was recorded as a reduction to occupancy costs.

DEPRECIATION AND AMORTIZATION

Depreciation and amortization expense for fiscal 2022 was $15.4 million, as compared to $17.2 million in fiscal 2021. Our depreciation expense decreased over the past few years, as many of our assets have become fully depreciated and we have had modest capital spending over the past several years.

INTEREST EXPENSE, NET

Net interest expense for fiscal 2022 was $0.3 million, as compared to $4.4 million for fiscal 2021. Interest costs in fiscal 2022 were minimal because the Company had no debt during the year. Interest expense was partially offset by interest income earned on the Company's U.S. government-backed investments and money market accounts. The interest expense for fiscal 2021 included a prepayment penalty of $1.1 million in connection with the Company's early prepayment of its $17.5 million FILO loan in the third quarter of fiscal 2021 as well as $0.9 million for the write-off unamortized debt issuance costs associated with both the FILO loan and our prior credit facility.

INCOME TAXES

Since the end of fiscal 2013, we had maintained a full valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets. During the second quarter of fiscal 2022, we determined that it was more likely than not that we would be able to realize the benefit of substantially all of our deferred tax assets in the United States. In reaching this determination, we considered the cumulative three years of profitability, our expectations regarding the generation of future taxable income as well as the overall improvement in our business and our current market position. As a result, for fiscal 2022, the valuation allowance against the Company's deferred tax assets decreased by $47.6 million, of which $31.6 million was recorded as a non-recurring tax benefit related to the release of the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets expected to be realized in future periods. At January 28, 2023, we continued to provide a valuation allowance of $2.4 million, primarily against certain state and foreign net operating losses ("NOLs").

Realization of our deferred tax assets, which relate principally to federal net operating loss carryforwards, of which approximately $39.3 million will expire from fiscal 2034 through fiscal 2037, is dependent on generating sufficient taxable income. In addition, there are $39.6 million of federal net operating loss carryforwards that do not expire. For state income tax purposes, we have $65.0 million of net operating losses that are available to offset future taxable income, the majority of which will expire from fiscal 2024 through fiscal 2045.

For fiscal 2022, we recorded an income tax benefit of $30.8 million, which included a non-recurring tax benefit of $31.6 million related to the release of the valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets. For fiscal 2021, we recorded an income tax provision of $0.9 million, primarily related to income tax in states where NOL usage was statutorily limited. See Note F of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

NET INCOME

Net income for fiscal 2022 was $89.1 million, or $1.33 per diluted share, as compared to net income of $56.7 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, in fiscal 2021. Net income for fiscal 2022 includes an income tax benefit of $31.6 million, or $0.47 per diluted share, related to the release of the valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets. The increase in earnings for fiscal 2022 as compared to fiscal 2021 was due to gross margin improvement and a decrease in interest expense that offset the increase in SG&A expenses needed to support sales growth.

SEASONALITY

A comparison of sales in each quarter of the past two fiscal years is presented below. The amounts shown are also not necessarily indicative of actual trends, because such amounts also reflect the addition of new stores and the remodeling and closing of other stores

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during these periods. Consistent with the retail apparel industry, our business is seasonal. (Certain columns may not foot due to rounding)

EFFECTS OF INFLATION

We continued to see the effect of inflationary pressures on raw materials, freight, shipping and labor during fiscal 2022. If such inflationary pressures increase, the effects may have an increased impact on our financial results in fiscal 2023.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Our primary sources of liquidity are our cash and cash equivalents, cash generated from operations and availability under our credit facility, which is discussed below. We believe these sources of liquidity will be sufficient to fund our working capital requirements, commitments, capital expenditures and our stock repurchase program. Cash that is in excess of our forecasted needs may be invested in money market accounts and U.S. government-backed securities.

We believe that our cash and cash equivalent balances, cash generated from operations, and borrowings available to us under our credit facility will be adequate to meet our liquidity needs and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months. However, we remain cautious regarding the effect that the current macroeconomic conditions, including inflation and rising interest costs, may have on consumer spending as well as the continuing geopolitical impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on our business and the global economy.

At January 28, 2023, our material contractual obligations primarily consisted of our operating lease obligations, as disclosed in Note E, Leases, to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. In addition to our lease obligations, at January 28, 2023, we were also contractually committed pursuant to a merchandise purchase obligation to meet minimum purchases of $10.0 million in fiscal 2023.

The following table sets forth financial data regarding our liquidity position at the end of the past two fiscal years:

For fiscal 2022, cash flow from operations decreased to $59.9 million as compared to $75.5 million for fiscal 2021. Free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure, decreased to $50.3 million for fiscal 2022 as compared to $70.3 million for fiscal 2021. The decrease in free cash flow was due to our replenishment of inventory, the payout of incentive-based awards, and an increase in capital expenditures.

Cash flow used from financing activities for fiscal 2022 was $13.7 million as compared to $73.8 million for fiscal 2021. The primary reason for the decrease was that in fiscal 2021 we repaid all amounts outstanding under our credit facility and made an early repayment of our long-term debt. This was partially offset by funds raised from the stock offering in February 2021 and funds used during fiscal 2022 to repurchase shares of our common stock, as discussed below.

Credit Facility

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We have a $125.0 million revolving credit agreement with a five-year term, which will expire on October 28, 2026 (the "Credit Facility"). The Credit Facility includes a sublimit of $20.0 million for commercial and standby letters of credit and a sublimit of up to $15.0 million for swingline loans. Borrowings made pursuant to the Credit Facility will be made pursuant to either a Base Rate loan or LIBOR Rate loan, at the Company's option. Base Rate loans bear interest, at a rate equal to (i) the greater of: (a) the Prime Rate, (b) the Federal Funds effective rate plus 0.50% per annum and (c) the daily LIBOR rate plus 1.00% per annum, plus (ii) a varying percentage, based on the Company’s average excess availability, of either 0.25% or 0.50%. LIBOR Rate loans, which may be either for 1 month or 3 months, bear interest at (i) the LIBOR rate, or the Benchmark Rate as defined in the credit agreement plus (ii) a varying percentage based on the Company’s average excess availability, of either 1.25% or 1.50%.

We had no outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facility at January 28, 2023. At January 28, 2023, outstanding standby letters of credit were $3.8 million and outstanding documentary letters of credit of $1.8 million. The Credit Facility was not utilized during the year, resulting in average unused excess availability during fiscal 2022 of $84.2 million. Unused excess availability at January 28, 2023 was $78.4 million. Our obligations under the Credit Facility are secured by a lien on substantially all of our assets. The Company was subject to an unused line fee of 0.25% of the total commitment less average outstanding letters of credit.

Our Credit Facility is described in more detail in Note D to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Stock Repurchase Program

In March 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a stock repurchase program whereby we were authorized to repurchase up to $15.0 million of our common stock through open market and privately negotiated transactions. During fiscal 2022, we repurchased 2.9 million shares at an aggregate cost, including fees, of $12.7 million from available cash on hand. Shares of repurchased common stock are held as treasury stock. The stock repurchase program expired on March 15, 2023.

Subsequent to the end of fiscal 2022, on March 14, 2023, the Company's Board of Directors approved a new stock repurchase program, effective March 16, 2023. Under the program, we are authorized to repurchase up to $15.0 million of our common stock through open market and privately negotiated transactions. The timing and the amount of any repurchases of common stock will be determined based on the Company’s evaluation of market conditions and other factors. The stock repurchase program will expire on March 16, 2024, but may be suspended, terminated or modified at any time for any reason.

INVENTORY

At January 28, 2023, total inventories increased to $93.0 million from $81.8 million at January 29, 2022. Inventory at January 28, 2023 is approximately 13.7% higher than the prior year but we were in a better inventory position than we were at the end of 2021. As compared to fiscal 2019, or pre-pandemic levels, we reduced our inventory by 9.2%, and our inventory turnover was up over 30%. At January 28, 2023, our clearance inventory was 7.9% of our inventory, as compared to 6.0% at January 29, 2022, and below our historical benchmark of approximately 10.0%. Given the ongoing macro-economic concerns around inflation and consumer spending, managing our inventory will remain a primary focus for us in fiscal 2023.

OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS

We have no off-balance sheet arrangements as defined by 303(a)(4) of Regulation S-K.

CAPITAL EXPENDITURES

The following table sets forth the open stores and related square footage at January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022 respectively:

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During fiscal 2022, we rebranded one of our Casual Male XL stores to a DXL and remodeled two DXL stores. We closed nine stores and did not open any new store locations during the year. Below is a summary of the store activity from January 29, 2022 to January 28, 2023:

(1) Represents a Casual Male XL store that was remodeled and rebranded to a DXL store.

Our capital expenditures for fiscal 2022 were $9.6 million, as compared to $5.3 million in fiscal 2021. The capital expenditures for fiscal 2022 primarily related to information technology projects to support our distribution center, marketing, stores and website.

We believe that our store portfolio is a vital asset to our business strategy and we expect to invest in stores over the next several years as we further strengthen the store portfolio. Over the next three to five years, based on our preliminary store development plan, we believe that we could potentially open up to 50 new stores. For fiscal 2023, our plan is to convert 10 of our existing Casual Male XL store to DXL stores, remodel 5 of our existing DXL stores, close 5 stores and open 3 new DXL stores. We expect our capital expenditures to range from $19.0 million to $21.0 million in fiscal 2023.

Non-GAAP Reconciliations

We monitor certain non-GAAP financial measures on a regular basis in order to track the progress of our business, including the measures below. We believe these measures provide helpful information with respect to the Company’s operating performance to shareholders, investors and analysts, and that the inclusion of these non-GAAP measures is important to assist investors in comparing our performance in fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2021, on a comparable basis. However, these measures may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies and should not be considered superior to or as a substitute for operating net income, net income per diluted share or cash flows from operating activities in accordance with GAAP. (Certain amounts in the following tables may not foot due to rounding.)

Free Cash Flow

Free cash flow is a metric that management uses to monitor liquidity. Management believes this metric is important to investors, because it demonstrates the Company’s ability to maintain liquidity while supporting its capital projects and new store growth. We calculate free cash flow as cash flow provided by operating activities less capital expenditures. Free cash flow excludes the mandatory and discretionary repayment of debt. The following table provides a reconciliation of free cash flow:

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EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin

EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin are presented because we believe that these measures are useful to investors in evaluating our performance. Management uses EBITDA as a key metric to measure profitability and economic productivity. EBITDA is calculated as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as EBITDA before impairment (gain) of assets. Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by sales.

The following table is a reconciliation of net income on a GAAP basis to EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin, on a non-GAAP basis, for each fiscal year:

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES; USE OF ESTIMATES

Our financial statements are based on the application of significant accounting policies, many of which require our management to make significant estimates and assumptions (see Note A to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements). We believe that the following items involve some of the more critical judgments in the application of accounting policies that currently affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Long-Term Incentive Plans

Stock awards are primarily granted pursuant to our Long-Term Incentive Plans (“LTIPs”). During fiscal 2022, we had three active LTIPs: the 2020-2022 LTIP, the 2021-2023 LTIP and the 2022-2024 LTIP. See Note H to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional discussion of our LTIPs. Awards under each LTIP consist of 50% time-based awards and 50% performance-based awards. All time-based awards are amortized over each LTIP’s respective vesting periods.

The performance-based component of each LTIP is a dollar-denominated award, settled in a variable number of equity awards and/or cash awards. Any award will only be granted if such performance targets are achieved. Accordingly, each quarter the Company reviews its expected achievement against such performance targets to assess whether an accrual is necessary. The performance metric for each of these LTIPs is a three-year total shareholder return against peers. As such, the accruals are based on projections that extend beyond a year and are subject to change quarter to quarter based on actual performance. All accruals are recorded as a liability. If performance targets are achieved and equity awards are granted, the related cost of those awards will be reclassified from the accrual to stock-based compensation on grant date.

The performance targets under the 2020-2022 LTIP were achieved at the end of fiscal 2022. Based on that achievement, subsequent to the end of fiscal 2022, on March 6, 2023, the Compensation Committee approved a total performance award of $2.8 million to be granted on March 26, 2023 in a combination of 50% cash and 50% RSUs. All awards are subject to further vesting through August 31, 2023. Accordingly, at January 28, 2023, $2.3 million of the $2.8 million award was accrued.

With respect to the performance-based component of the 2021-2023 LTIP and the 2022-2024 LTIP, which approximate $2.1 million and $2.5 million, respectively, at target, awards will be granted at the end of the respective performance period if the performance targets are achieved. Through the end of fiscal 2022, we accrued approximately $1.6 million and $0.8 million for performance under the 2021-2023 LTIP and the 2022-2024 LTIP, respectively.

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Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

We evaluate property and equipment and operating lease right-of-use assets for impairment when facts and circumstances indicate that the carrying values of such assets may not be recoverable. Our judgment regarding the identification of impairment indicators is based on operational performance at the store level. Factors considered by us that could result in an impairment triggering event include significant changes in the use of assets, a current period operating or cash flow loss, underperformance of a store relative to historical or expected operating results, and an accumulation of costs significantly in excess of the amount originally expected for the construction of the long-lived store assets. We will recognize an impairment when the undiscounted cash flow estimated to be generated by those assets is less than the assets’ carrying amount. If actual market conditions are less favorable than management’s projections, future write-offs may be necessary. The model for undiscounted future cash flows includes assumptions, at the individual store level, with respect to expectations for future sales and gross margin rates as well as an estimate for occupancy costs used to estimate the fair value of the respective store’s operating lease right-of-use asset. The amount of impairment, if any, is measured based on projected discounted future cash flows using a discount rate reflecting the Company’s average cost of funds.

In addition, any subsequent gains recognized in connection with a store closure related to a previously recorded operating lease right-of-use asset impairment will be included as an offset to impairment charges, with the remainder of the gain included as a reduction in store occupancy costs.

For fiscal 2022 and 2021, we recognized a net gain of $0.2 million and $2.3 million, respectively, within Impairment (Gain) of Assets on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. .

Leases

In accordance with ASU 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)” our operating leases are reported as right-of-use assets with corresponding lease liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. As discussed above, we evaluate, at the individual store level, the right-of-use assets for impairment at least annually but also when facts and circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Furthermore as the interest rate implicit in the Company’s leases is not readily determinable, the Company utilizes its incremental borrowing rate, based on information available at the lease measurement date to determine the present value of future payments. See Note A to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

We have reviewed accounting pronouncements and interpretations thereof that have effective dates during the periods reported and in future periods. See Note A to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report for information on recent accounting pronouncements and the impact of impending standards on our future filings.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

In the normal course of business, our financial position and results of operations are routinely subject to a variety of risks, including market risk associated with interest rate movements on borrowings and foreign currency fluctuations. We regularly assess these risks and have established policies and business practices to protect against the adverse effects of these and other potential exposures.

Interest Rates

We utilize cash from operations and from our Credit Facility to fund our working capital needs. Our Credit Facility is not used for trading or speculative purposes. In addition, under our Credit Facility we have available letters of credit as sources of financing for our working capital requirements. Borrowings under the Credit Facility, which expires October 28, 2026, bear interest at variable rates based on the prime rate or LIBOR.

At January 28, 2023, we had no outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facility and no long-term debt. At January 28, 2023, approximately $29.1 million of our cash equivalents were invested in U.S. treasury bills and $18.6 million in money market accounts.

Based upon a sensitivity analysis as of January 28, 2023, assuming a hypothetical 10% change in interest rates, there would have been no material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

Foreign Currency

Our DXL store located in Toronto, Canada, which closed on February 28, 2022, conducted business in Canadian dollars. For the year ended January 28, 2023, sales from this store were immaterial to consolidated sales. As such, we believe that movement in foreign currency exchange rates did not have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations.

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Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Destination XL Group, Inc.

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Stockholders and Board of Directors
Destination XL Group, Inc.:

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Destination XL Group, Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) as of January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), changes in stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended January 28, 2023, and the related notes (collectively, the consolidated financial statements). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended January 28, 2023, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of January 28, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, and our report dated March 16, 2023 expressed an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Basis for Opinion

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

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated 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 consolidated 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 consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matter

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of a critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

Impairment of long-lived store assets

As discussed in Note A to the consolidated financial statements, the Company reviews its long-lived assets, which include property and equipment and operating lease right-of-use assets, for events or changes in circumstances that might indicate the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable. The Company’s judgment regarding the identification of impairment indicators is based on operational performance at the store level. Factors considered by the Company that could result in an impairment triggering event include significant changes in the use of assets, a current period operating or cash flow loss, underperformance of a store relative to historical or expected operating results, and an accumulation of costs significantly in excess of the amount originally expected for the construction of the long-lived store assets. At January 28, 2023, the Company had property and equipment and operating lease right-of-use assets of $39.1 million and $124.4 million, respectively.

We identified the assessment of impairment triggering events related to long-lived store assets, specifically property and equipment and operating lease right-of-use assets, as a critical audit matter. A high degree of auditor judgment was required to evaluate the Company’s assessment of (1) stores with current period operating or cash flow losses, and (2) underperforming stores based on current period operating or cash flow results relative to their respective historical and expected results.

The following are the primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter. We evaluated the design and tested the operating effectiveness of certain internal controls related to the Company’s process of identifying and evaluating potential

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impairment triggering events. This included a control related to the Company’s assessment of (1) stores with current period operating or cash flow losses, and (2) underperforming stores relative to historical or expected operating results. For certain stores, we evaluated the Company’s analysis of potential impairment triggering events by comparing actual operating and cash flow results to historical results, expected results, and the remaining net book value of store assets. We performed sensitivity analyses to assess the impact that reasonably possible changes to future cash flows have on the Company’s evaluation of potential impairment triggering events. We also reviewed board of directors meeting minutes and available industry and analyst information to assess the Company’s identification and evaluation of potential triggering events.

/s/ KPMG LLP

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2013.

Boston, Massachusetts

March 16, 2023

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DESTINATION XL GROUP, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022

(In thousands, except share data)