TESSCO TECHNOLOGIES INC - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

 

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

 

 

 

Commission file number 001-33938 

 

 

TESSCO Technologies Incorporated

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes ☒   No ☐

 

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

 

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

 

Large accelerated filer  ☐   Accelerated filer  ☒   Non-accelerated filer  ☐ (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

Smaller reporting company  ☒   Emerging growth company  ☐

 

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.  Yes ☒  No ☐

 

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

 

The aggregate market value of Common Stock, $0.01 par value, held by non-affiliates of the registrant based on the closing sales price of the Common Stock as quoted on the Nasdaq Global Market as of September 29, 2019, was $93,599,964.

 

The number of shares of the registrant's Common Stock, $0.01 par value, outstanding as of May 29, 2020, was 8,641,700.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:  Portions of the definitive Proxy Statement for the registrant’s 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, scheduled to be held July 24, 2020, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

Part I

 

Item 1. Business.

 

General

 

TESSCO Technologies Incorporated (which we sometimes refer to as “Tessco”, “we”, or the “Company”) is a value-added technology distributor, manufacturer, and solutions provider serving commercial and retail customers in the wireless infrastructure and mobile device accessories markets. The Company was founded more than 35 years ago with a commitment to deliver industry-leading products, knowledge, solutions, and customer service. Tessco supplies over 46,000 products from more than 350 of the industry’s top manufacturers in mobile communications, Wi-Fi, Internet of Things, wireless backhaul, and more. Tessco is a single source for outstanding customer experience, expert knowledge, and complete end-to-end solutions for the wireless industry.

 

Our customers include a diversified mix of carrier and public network operators, tower owners, program managers, contractors, integrators, private system operators (including railroads, utilities, mining operators and oil and gas operators), federal, state and local governments, manufacturers, value-added resellers, retail carrier stores and their independent agents, as well as other local and national retailers. We currently serve an average of approximately 8,500 different customers per month.

 

We provide our customers with products, services, and solutions to help them support these primary applications:

 

 

We source and develop our product offerings from leading manufacturers throughout the world, and also offer innovative, high quality products developed and manufactured under our own proprietary brand, Ventev®.

 

Our operational platform removes complexity for customers and suppliers by streamlining the management of the supply chain and lowering total inventory and cost by providing guaranteed availability and complete, on-time delivery to the point of use.

 

We began our “total source” operations in 1982, reincorporated as a Delaware corporation in 1987, and have been listed on the Nasdaq Market (currently, Nasdaq Global Select) (symbol: TESS), since 1994. We operate under ISO 9001:2015 and TL 9000:2016 R (6) registrations.

 

For information regarding our website address and regarding material available free of charge through the website, see the information appearing under the heading “Available Information” included in Item 7 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 29, 2020.

 

Customers

 

The Company evaluates its business within two segments: commercial and retail. The commercial segment consists of the following two markets: (1) public carriers that are generally responsible for building and maintaining the infrastructure system and provide airtime service to individual subscribers; and (2) value-added resellers and integrators, which includes value-added resellers, the government channel and private system operator markets. The retail segment includes retailers, independent dealer agents and carriers.  Retail inventory typically has a shorter more defined life cycle and is, typically, ultimately used by individual end users. Commercial inventory typically has a life cycle that tends to be tied to changes in regulation or technology and includes products typically used by business entities or governments.

 

Sales to the public carrier market accounted for approximately 29% of our fiscal year 2020 revenues, sales to the value-added resellers and integrator market accounted for 47% of fiscal year 2020 revenues, and sales to our retail market accounted for 24% of fiscal year 2020 revenues. These percentages reflect a significant fiscal year 2020 shift in revenue toward the two Commercial Segment markets offset by a reduction in the Retail Segment.

 

Our top ten customer relationships totaled 31% of our total revenue for fiscal year 2020, and revenue from our largest customer accounted for 11% of our total revenues.

 

Approximately 96% of our sales have been made to customers in the United States during each of the past three fiscal years, although we currently sell to customers in almost 100 countries. Due to our diverse product offering and our wide customer base, our business is not significantly affected by seasonality in the aggregate. However, sales to our retailers generally peak in conjunction with significant handset launches and the winter holiday season and decline significantly in our fourth fiscal quarter. Also, our base station infrastructure sales could be affected by weather conditions in the United States, especially in our fourth fiscal quarter.

 

 

Products and Services

 

We principally offer competitively priced, manufacturer branded products, ranging from simple hardware items to sophisticated test equipment, with per item prices ranging from less than $1 to over $50,000 and gross profit margins ranging from less than 5% to 99%. We offer products classified into the following four categories: base station infrastructure; network systems; installation, test and maintenance products; and mobile devices and accessories, which accounted for approximately 53%, 16%, 5%, and 26% of fiscal year 2020 revenues, respectively.

 

Base station infrastructure products are used to build, repair and upgrade wireless broadband systems. These products include base station antennas, cable and transmission lines, small towers, lightning protection devices, connectors, power systems, enclosures, grounding, jumpers, miscellaneous hardware, and mobile antennas. Network systems products include fixed and mobile broadband radio equipment, wireless networking filtering systems, distributed antenna systems, two-way radios and security and surveillance products. Installation, test and maintenance products are used to install, tune, and maintain wireless communications equipment. Products include sophisticated analysis equipment and various frequency-, voltage- and power-measuring devices, as well as an assortment of tools, hardware, GPS, safety, replacement and component parts and supplies required by service technicians.  Mobile devices and accessory products include cellular, smart phone and data device accessories such as power supplies, cases, screen protectors, speakers, mobile amplifiers, bluetooth and corded headsets, mounts, car antennas, music accessories and data and memory cards.

 

While we principally provide manufacturer branded products, a variety of products are developed, manufactured and offered under Tessco-owned brand, Ventev. These products generally consist of mobile device accessory power solutions and network infrastructure products, such as radio enclosures, cable and antennas. Sales of these products were 11% of our total sales in fiscal year 2020.  This percentage reflects a significant reduction in sale of mobile device accessories in fiscal year 2020 as a result of a decline in overall retail sales.  Sales of mobile device accessories were significantly lower in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020, due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the retail market.

 

Tessco’s Technical Services and Solutions Development team is a key element of our offerings as a value-added distributor. This team includes Sales Engineering, Solution Architects, System Designers and Customer Technical Support (“CTS”). The broad product and supplier knowledge along with the multiple supplier certifications have also been recognized as a great benefit by our supplier partners and customers. The Sales Engineers provide regional coverage supporting Tessco’s customers on the total Solution portfolio. Solution Architects are specialists in their area of expertise providing consultation and system design. The CTS team are product level experts ensuring the correct devices are specified based on the application. This team can also recommend additional ancillary products (antennas, cables, power, enclosures, etc.) needed to provide a complete solution for the customer’s application.

 

These teams provide customer support on thousands of calls and thousands of support ticket-items per year. They have completed designs covering solutions for DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems), IOT (Internet of Things), WiFi, Networking, Wireless Broadband, Power Systems and Test Systems. These solutions teams support both existing and emerging markets, including Smart Cities, Smart Buildings, Small Cell, FirstNet, Utilities, Transportation, Network Service Providers (NSP) and fortune 500 companies.  

 

As part of our commitment to customer service, we typically allow most customers to return most products for any reason, for credit, within 30 days of the date of purchase. Total returns and credits have been less than 3% of revenues in each of the past three fiscal years.

 

Revenues from sales of products purchased from our largest wireless infrastructure and mobile device and accessories suppliers accounted for 23% and 7%, respectively, of total fiscal year 2020 revenues. Sales of products purchased from our ten largest suppliers generated approximately 50% of our total fiscal year 2020 revenues.

 

The amount of purchases we make from each of our approximately 350 suppliers may significantly increase or decrease over time.  As the level of business changes, we may request, or be requested by our suppliers, to adjust the terms of our relationships.  Therefore, our ability to purchase and re-sell products from each of our suppliers depends on being able to reach and maintain agreements with these suppliers on acceptable business terms.  In addition, the agreements and arrangements on which most of our larger supplier relationships are based are typically of limited duration and terminable for any or no reason by either party upon notice of varying lengths, usually between several months or otherwise short notice.  Generally, we believe that alternative sources of supply are available for many of the product types we carry, although we may be unable, or find it more difficult, to source branded products from other than the manufacturer.

 

The scope of products available for purchase from a given supplier may fluctuate and is generally limited only by the scope of the supplier’s catalog and available inventory. Therefore, we may source the same product type from multiple suppliers, although in some instances branded products are available only from the manufacturer or a particular supplier, and in some instances, customers might favor one supplier or brand over another. The terms of the supplier contract typically apply to all products purchased from a particular supplier, whether or not the item is specifically identified in the contract.

 

When negotiating with suppliers, we seek the most favorable terms available under the circumstances. Our preferred terms include among others, terms that provide for product warranty and return rights, as well as product liability and intellectual property indemnification rights, in each case consistent with our preferred business methods and objectives. We have not been able, nor do we expect in the future to be able, to negotiate the inclusion of all our preferred terms, or our preferred language for those terms, in every supplier contract. The degree of our success in this regard is largely a function of the parties’ relative bargaining positions.

 

We are dedicated to superior performance, quality and consistency of service in an effort to maintain and expand supplier relationships but there can be no assurance that we will continue to be successful in this regard in the future, or that competitive pressures or other events beyond our control will not have a negative impact on our ability to maintain these relationships or to continue to derive revenues from these relationships.

 

 

Method of Operation

 

We believe that we have developed a highly integrated, technologically advanced and efficient method of operation based on the following key tenets:

 

 

 

Market Development and Sales: In order to meet the needs of a dynamic and diverse marketplace, our sales and marketing activities are focused on our customers across three broad markets: 1) public carriers 2) value-added resellers and integrators, and 3) retailers.  This organization allows for the development of unique product and solution offerings to meet the needs of our diverse customer base.

We understand and anticipate our customers’ needs, resulting in comprehensive solutions and long-lasting relationships. Our customer base includes more than 195,000 fully opted in contacts across the full breadth of the wireless industry, with over 250,000 additional active contacts in our database, representing potential new customers. We are able to identify each contact’s unique need for information and the way in which they wish to receive it.  This can include targeted marketing materials, including email marketing, web marketing, advertisements, direct mailers, and trade show marketing, to drive purchases and new business development. For instance, our email publication The Wireless Update® is sent to a targeted list of 108,000 contacts each week.

Our dedicated sales team provides customer service and maintains key information about every customer or potential customer utilizing our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and marketing automation tools ensuring a positive experience at every interaction and allowing us to identify promising leads and allocate resources to convert them to customers. We serve approximately 8,500 customers each month and our goal is to create an experience that nurtures loyalty among our customers and delivers mutually beneficial outcomes in every transaction.

 

Solutions Development and Engineering and Product Management: We actively monitor advances in technologies and industry trends, through both market research and continual customer and manufacturer interaction to enhance our product offering as new wireless communications products and technologies are developed. To complement our broad product portfolio, we provide technical expertise and consultation to assist our customers in understanding technology and choosing the right products for their specific application. Our personnel, including those we refer to as “Solution Architects” offer applications engineering to market-specific needs such as:

 

 

These Solution Architects also offer design services such as:

 

In addition to determining the product offering, our Product and Solutions Development and Engineering Teams provide the technical foundation for both customers and our personnel. Our product management software is continually updated to add new products and additional technical information in response to manufacturer specification changes and customer inquiries. This system contains detailed information on each SKU offered, including full product descriptions, category classifications, technical specifications, illustrations, product cost, pricing and delivery information, alternative and associated products, and purchase and sales histories. This information is available on a real-time basis to all of our personnel for product development, procurement, technical support, cataloging and marketing.

 

Strategic Marketing – As a thought leader in the wireless industry, Tessco’s marketing materials educate the industry and promote our services and unique value proposition. Through WirelessNow, our retail focused industry publication, we offer product recommendations, trend reports, and expert market analysis to help thousands of retail customers improve sell through, drive traffic and sales, and maximize their revenue. Our weekly commercial digital newsletter, The Wireless Update, keeps 108,000 of our customers informed on the latest news in the industry, new products and solutions from our manufacturers, upcoming events and training opportunities, and more.  In addition, strategic marketing supports the organization through the development of compelling original content, training programs, and other customer and manufacturer programs that solve business challenges and increase the value Tessco provides to the industry.

 

Tessco.com® is our e-commerce site and the digital gateway to our comprehensive industry expertise, products, and solutions for wireless. In addition to access to our inventory of products for every solution, Tessco.com features:

 

 

Tessco.com empowers our customers to make better decisions by delivering product knowledge so they are fully informed. This destination also enables our manufacturers to reach a broad and diverse customer base with their product offer and brand features.

 

Customer Support and Order Entry: Our customer support teams are responsible for delivering sales and customer support services through an effective and efficient transaction system. We also continually monitor our customer service performance through customer surveys and process auditing. By combining our broad product offering with a commitment to superior customer service, we seek to reduce a customer's overall procurement costs by enabling the customer to consolidate the number of suppliers from which it obtains products, while also reducing the customer's need to maintain high inventory levels.

 

Our information technology system provides detailed information on every customer account, including recent inquiries, buying and credit histories, separate buying locations within a customer account and contact history for key personnel, as well as detailed product information, including technical, product availability and pricing information. The information technology system enables any customer support representative to provide any customer with personalized service and also allows non-technical personnel to provide a high level of technical product information and order assistance.

 

We believe that our commitment to providing prompt, professional and efficient customer service before, during and after the sale enables us to maximize sales, customer satisfaction and customer retention. The monthly average number of non-consumer customers decreased from approximately 10,500 for fiscal year 2019 to approximately 8,500 in fiscal year 2020, primarily due to the decline in retail market. Due to the addition of several larger new relationships, the average monthly purchase per customer increased from $4,800 in fiscal year 2019 to $5,300 in fiscal year 2020.

 

Procurement and Inventory Management: Our product management and purchasing system provides customers with a total source of broad and deep product availability, while attempting to maximize the return on our inventory investment.

 

We use our information technology system to monitor and manage our inventory. Historical sales results, sales projections and information regarding supplier lead times are all used to determine appropriate inventory levels. Our information technology system also provides early warning reports regarding upcoming inventory requirements. As of March 29, 2020, and March 31, 2019, we had an immaterial level of backlog orders. Most backlog orders as of March 29, 2020 are expected to be filled within 90 days of fiscal year-end. For fiscal years ended March 29, 2020, and March 31, 2019, inventory write-offs and reserves were 3.0% and 0.9% of total purchases, respectively. Inventory write-offs and reserves increased significantly for fiscal 2020, partially due to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In many cases, we are able to return slow-moving inventory to our suppliers pursuant to stock rotation agreements. Inventory turns for fiscal years 2020 and 2019 were 6.3 and 6.7, respectively.

 

Fulfillment and Distribution: Orders are received at our Timonium, Maryland, Reno, Nevada and San Antonio, Texas customer sales support centers. As orders are received, customer representatives have access to technical information, alternative and complementary product selections, product availability and pricing information, as well as customer purchasing and credit histories and recent inquiry summaries. An automated warehouse management system, which is integrated with the product planning and procurement system, allows us to ensure inventory control, to minimize multiple product shipments to complete an order and to limit inventory duplication. Bar-coded labels are used on every product, allowing distribution center personnel to utilize radio frequency scanners to locate products, fill orders and update

inventory records in real-time, thus reducing overhead associated with the distribution functions. We contract with a variety of freight line and parcel transportation carrier partners to deliver orders to customers.

 

Performance and Delivery Guarantee (PDG) charges are generally calculated on the basis of the weight of the products ordered and on the delivery service requested, rather than on distance to the customer. We believe that this approach emphasizes on-time delivery instead of shipment dates, enabling customers to minimize their inventories and reduce their overall procurement costs while guaranteeing date specific delivery, thereby encouraging them to make us their total source supplier.

 

Information Technology: Our information technology system is critical to the success of our operations. We have made and continue to make substantial investments in the development of these systems, which integrate cataloging, marketing, sales, fulfillment, inventory control and purchasing, financial control and internal and external communications. The information technology system includes highly developed customer and product databases and is integrated with our Configuration, Fulfillment and Delivery system. The information contained in these systems is available on a real-time basis to all of our employees as needed and is utilized in every area of our operations.

 

We believe that we have been successful to date in pursuing a highly integrated, technologically advanced and efficient method of operations; however, disruption to our day-to-day operations, including failure of our information technology or distribution systems, or freight carrier interruption, could impair our ability to receive and process orders or to ship products in a timely and cost-efficient manner.

 

Competition

 

The wireless communications distribution industry is competitive and fragmented, and is comprised of distributors such as Brightstar, D&H, Ingram Micro, Superior Communications and VoiceComm in our retail segment and Alliance Corporation, Anixter, Comstor, Graybar, KGPCo Logistics, Ingram Micro, Primus, Talley Communications, Tech Data, Site Pro 1, VAV Wireless, Westcon and Winncom in our commercial markets. In addition, many manufacturers sell and fulfill directly to customers. Barriers to entry for distributors are relatively low, particularly in the mobile devices and accessory market, and the risk of new competitors entering the market is high. In addition, the agreements or arrangements with our customers or suppliers looking to us for product and supply chain solutions are typically of limited duration and are often terminable by either party upon several months or otherwise short notice. Accordingly, our ability to maintain these relationships is subject to competitive pressures and challenges. Some of our current competitors have substantially greater capital resources and sales and distribution capabilities than we do. In response to competitive pressures from any of our current or future competitors, we may be required to lower selling prices in order to maintain or increase market share, and such measures could adversely affect our operating results. We believe, however, that our strength in service, the breadth and depth of our product offering, our information technology system, our knowledge and expertise in wireless technologies and the wireless marketplace, and our large customer base and purchasing relationships with approximately 400 manufacturers, provide us with a significant competitive advantage over new entrants to the market.

 

Continuing changes in the wireless communications industry, including risks associated with conflicting technology, changes in technology, inventory obsolescence, and consolidation among wireless carriers, could adversely affect future operating results.

 

We believe that the principal competitive factors in supplying products to the wireless communications industry are the quality and consistency of customer service, particularly timely delivery of complete orders, breadth and quality of products offered and total procurement costs to the customer. We believe that we compete favorably with respect to each of these factors. In particular, we believe we differentiate ourselves from our competitors based on the breadth of our product offering, our ability to quickly provide products and supply chain solutions in response to customer demand and technological advances, our knowledge and expertise in wireless technologies and the wireless marketplace, the level of our customer service and the reliability of our order fulfillment process.

 

Intellectual Property

 

We seek to protect our intellectual property through a combination of trademarks, service marks, confidentiality agreements, trade secret protection and, if and when appropriate, patent protection. Thus far, we have generally sought to protect our intellectual property, including our product data and information, customer information and information technology systems, through trademark filings and nondisclosure, confidentiality and trade secret agreements. We typically require our employees, consultants, and others having access to our intellectual property, to sign confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements. There can be no assurance that these confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements will be honored, or whether they can be fully enforced, or that other entities may not independently develop systems, technologies or information similar to that on which we rely.

 

TESSCO Communications Incorporated, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TESSCO Technologies Incorporated, maintains a number of registered trademarks and service marks in connection with our business activities, including: A Simple Way of Doing Business Better®,  Chargesync®,  LinkUPS®,  Solutions That Make Wireless Work®,  TerraWave Solutions®,  TESSCO®,  TESSCO Making Wireless Work®,  TESSCO Technologies®,  Tessco.com®,  Ventev®,  The Vital Link to a Wireless World®,  Wireless Now®, Wireless Solutions®,  The Wireless Update®,  Your Total Source®, and Your Virtual Inventory®, among many others. Our general policy is to file for trademark and service mark protection for each of our trademarks and trade names and to enforce our rights against any infringement.

 

We currently hold one patent related to our online order entry system and seven patents related to our Ventev® products. We intend, if and when appropriate, to seek patent protection for any additional patentable technology. The ability to obtain patent protection involves complex legal and factual questions. Others may obtain patent protection for technologies that are important to our business, and as a result, our business may be adversely affected. In response to patents of others, we may need to license the right to use technology patented by others, or in the event that a license cannot be obtained, to design our systems around the patents of others. 

 

 

Environmental Regulation

 

We are subject to various laws and governmental regulations concerning environmental matters and employee safety and health matters in the United States. Compliance with these federal, state and local laws and regulations related to protection of the environment and employee safety and health has had no material effect on our business. There were no material capital expenditures for environmental projects in fiscal year 2020, and there are no material expenditures planned for such purposes in fiscal year 2021.

 

Employees

 

As of March 29, 2020, we had 678 full-time equivalent employees. Of our full-time equivalent employees, 331 were engaged in customer and supplier service, marketing, sales and product management, 231 were engaged in fulfillment and distribution operations and 116 were engaged in administration and technology systems services. No employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. We consider our employee relations to be excellent.

 

Executive Officers

 

Executive officers are appointed annually by the Board of Directors and, subject to the terms of any applicable employment agreement, serve at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Information regarding our named executive officers is as follows:

 

 

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

 

We are not able to identify or control all circumstances that could occur in the future that may adversely affect our business and operating results. The following are certain risk factors that could adversely affect our business, financial position and results of operations. These risk factors and others described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K should be considered in connection with evaluating the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K because these factors could cause the actual results and conditions to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Additional risks and uncertainties that management is not aware of or focused on, or that management currently deems immaterial may also adversely affect our business, financial position and results of operations. If our business, financial position and results of operations are adversely affected by any of these or other adverse events, our stock price would also likely be adversely affected.

 

RISKS RELATING TO OUR BUSINESS

 

We face risks related to adverse global or national economic conditions or events (including health epidemics and trade wars and other outbreaks and events beyond our control) that could significantly disrupt our business and adversely affect our business, financial position and results of operations.

 

Our business, financial position and results of operations could be adversely affected by weak or unstable global or national economic conditions, including international trade protection measures and disputes, such as those between the United States and China, and public health issues or events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic discussed below. A significant portion of our product offerings, including a majority of our private label Ventev products and products we acquire from our suppliers, are manufactured in foreign countries, including China and Vietnam, and many of the component parts of our products manufactured in Vietnam are sourced from China. Our ability to meet our customers' demands depends, in part, on our ability to obtain timely and adequate delivery of inventory from our suppliers. Weak or unstable global or national economic conditions could  harm our suppliers’ businesses, contributing to product shortages or delays, supply chain disruptions, increased product costs and other adverse effects on their operations, which could hamper our ability or preclude us from obtaining timely and adequate delivery of inventory from our suppliers, as needed to support our business. In addition, many products produced for others in the industries we serve, and which our product offerings are intended to complement, are subject to many of the same risks and uncertainties as are ours, and perhaps others. If production or sales of those products are impacted by negative events, so will be the demand for our complementary products. Any of these events or occurrences could have a negative impact on our business, financial positions and results of operations.

 

In late December 2019, a strain of coronavirus, commonly referred to as COVID-19, surfaced in Wuhan, China. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared this coronavirus outbreak a health emergency of international concern. During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020, COVID-19 spread to the U.S. and resulted in most states imposing restrictions on travel, business operations and gatherings.  As a result, many of our retail customers were temporarily closed or significantly impacted by lower foot traffic.  We have also seen a significant, albeit a less significant, impact to our Commercial segment as many non-essential projects have been delayed or project venues have been unreachable.  Our business and results of operations have been, and may continue to be, adversely affected to the extent the coronavirus continues to harm the U.S. and world economy generally, or otherwise interferes with our supply chain or the manufacture of products that ours are intended to complement.

 

We may also experience negative effects from future health epidemics or outbreaks or other world events or disasters beyond our control.  These events are impossible to forecast and difficult to mitigate. As a consequence, our operating results for a particular period may be more difficult to predict. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 

We face significant competition in the wireless communications distribution industry.

 

The wireless communications distribution industry is competitive and fragmented, and is comprised of several national distributors, as well as numerous regional distributors. In addition, many manufacturers sell and fulfill directly to customers. Barriers to entry for distributors are relatively low, particularly in the mobile devices and accessory market,

and the risk of new competitors entering the market is high. Some of our current competitors have substantially greater capital resources and sales and distribution capabilities than we do. In response to competitive pressures from any of our current or future competitors, we may be required to lower selling prices in order to maintain or increase market share, and such measures could adversely affect our operating results. We are also seeing increased competition in the form of e-commerce sites as consumers and business are increasingly looking to the internet to purchase goods.

 

We offer no assurance that we will not lose market share, or that we will not be forced in the future to reduce our prices in response to the actions of our competitors, thereby reducing our gross margins. Furthermore, to remain competitive we may be forced to offer more credit or extended payment terms to our customers. This could increase our required capital, financing costs, and the amount of our bad debt expenses.

 

We typically purchase and sell our products and services on the basis of individual sales or purchase orders, and even in those cases where we have standing agreements or arrangements with our customers and suppliers, those agreements and arrangements typically contain no purchase or sale obligations and are otherwise terminable by either party upon several months or otherwise short notice.

 

Our sales to customers and our purchases from suppliers are largely governed by individual sales or purchase orders, so there is no guarantee of future business. In some cases, we have formal agreements or arrangements with significant customers or suppliers, but they are largely administrative in nature and are terminable by either party upon several months or otherwise short notice, and they typically contain no purchase or sale obligations. Many of our customer and supplier contracts contain “evergreen” clauses, although this too is largely a matter of administrative convenience, because the contracts are nevertheless typically terminable on short notice, and because no purchase and sale obligation in any event arises other than pursuant to an accepted purchase order. When negotiating with customers and suppliers, we seek the most favorable terms available under the circumstances. Our preferred supplier terms include, among others, terms that provide for product warranty and return rights, as well as product liability and intellectual property indemnification rights, in each case consistent with our preferred business methods and objectives. We have not been able, nor do we expect in the future to be able to negotiate the inclusion of all our preferred terms, or our preferred language for those terms, in every contract. The degree of our success in this regard is largely a function of the parties’ relative bargaining positions.

 

When unable to negotiate the inclusion of our preferred terms or preferred language in a particular supplier contract, we assess any increased risk presented, as well as mitigating factors, analyze our overall business objectives, and then proceed accordingly.  In some instances, we refuse the contract and seek other sources for the product, and in other instances business objectives and circumstances are determined to outweigh or mitigate any increased risk, or otherwise dictate that we proceed with the contract, notwithstanding.  We consistently seek to manage contractual risks resulting from supplier contracts not including our preferred terms or language. However, these risks persist, and even when we are successful in negotiating our preferred terms, performance of these terms is not assured.

 

If our suppliers refuse to, or for any reason are unable to, supply products to us in sufficient quantities to meet demand, or at all, and if we are not able to procure those products from alternative sources, we may not be able to maintain appropriate inventory levels to meet customer demand and our financial position and results of operations would be adversely affected. Similarly, if customers decide to purchase from other sources, instead of from us, or experience significant changes in demand internally or from their own customer bases, become financially unstable (including on account of unforeseen events or events beyond their control, such as the COVID-19 pandemic), or are acquired by another company, our ability to generate revenues from these customers may, or in some cases would, be significantly affected, resulting in an adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations. 

 

The loss or any change in the business habits of key customers or suppliers may have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

 

Because our standing arrangements and agreements with our customers and suppliers typically contain no purchase or sale obligations and are terminable by either party upon several months or otherwise relatively short notice, we are subject to significant risks associated with the loss or change at any time in the business habits and financial

condition of key customers or suppliers. We have experienced the loss and changes in the business habits of key customer and supplier relationships in the past and expect to do so again in the future. This is the nature of our business.

 

Sales of products purchased from our largest wireless infrastructure (23%) and mobile device and accessories (7%) suppliers, generated approximately 30% of our total revenues in fiscal year 2020, and sales of products purchased from our largest ten suppliers generated approximately 50% of fiscal year 2020 total revenues.  As is the case with many of our supplier and customer relationships, our contractual arrangements with these large suppliers are terminable by either party upon several months’ notice. If these contracts or our relationships with these suppliers terminate for any reason, or if any of our other significant supplier relationships terminate for any reason, and we are not able to sell or procure a sufficient supply of those products from alternative sources, or at all, our financial position and results of operations would be adversely affected. Our suppliers are subject to many if not all of the same (or similar) risks and uncertainties to which we are subject, as well as other risks and uncertainties, and we compete with others for their business. Accordingly, we are at a continual risk of loss of their business on account of a number of factors and forces, many of which are largely beyond our control.

 

In fiscal year 2020, our largest customer accounted for 11% of our total revenues. In the Commercial market, 29% of our commercial sales in fiscal 2020 were made to five customers. In the retail market, 35% of our retail sales in fiscal 2020 were made to five customers. Also, customer mix can change rapidly, and we may see changes in customer concentrations in the future.  If or when any of our significant customer relationships terminate for any reason, and we are not able to replace those customers and associated revenues, our financial position and results of operations would be adversely affected.

 

The loss of customer relationships and the corresponding reduction in the volume of product sales identified to those relationships, can also affect our negotiating ability with suppliers supplying those products.  This can affect our margins on sales of those products to other customers.  If we are unable to replace those products at favorable pricing and terms, or if we are unable to acquire those products from suppliers or offer those products to our customers on favorable terms, our competitiveness may suffer and result in reduced revenues and profits.  Like our suppliers, our customers are subject to many if not all of the same (or similar) risks and uncertainties to which we are subject, as well as other risks and uncertainties, and we compete with others for their business.  Accordingly, we are at continual risk of loss of their business on account of a number of factors and forces, many of which are largely beyond our control.

 

There can be no assurance that we will be successful in replacing any of our past, present or future supplier or customer relationships if and when lost, or that we will not suffer a substantial reduction in revenues as a result of loss of any such relationship. As such, supplier, customer, or revenue loss would adversely affect our financial position and results of operations.

 

Changes in customer or product mix could cause our gross margin percentage to decline.

 

We continually experience changes in customer and product mix that affects gross margin. Changes in customer and product mix result primarily from changes in customer demand, customer acquisitions or losses, selling and marketing activities and competition.   

 

Our business depends on the continued tendency of wireless equipment manufacturers and network operators to outsource aspects of their business to us in the future.

 

We provide functions such as distribution, inventory management, fulfillment, customized packaging, e-commerce solutions, and other outsourced services for many wireless manufacturers and network operators. Certain wireless equipment manufacturers and network operators have elected, and others may elect, to undertake these services internally. Additionally, our customer service levels, industry consolidation, competition, deregulation, technological changes or other developments could reduce the degree to which members of the global wireless industry rely on outsourced logistic services such as the services we provide. Any significant change in the market for our outsourced services could have a material adverse effect on our business. Our outsourced services are generally provided under short-term contractual arrangements. The failure to obtain renewals or otherwise maintain these agreements on terms, including price, consistent with our current terms could have an adverse effect on our business.

 

We require substantial capital to operate, and the inability to obtain financing on favorable terms will adversely impact our business, financial position and results of operations.

 

Our business requires substantial capital to operate and to finance accounts receivable and product inventory that are not financed by trade creditors. We have historically relied upon cash generated from operations, revolving credit facilities and trade credit from our suppliers to satisfy our capital needs and finance growth. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial markets continues to evolve, and as this occurs and new regulations come into effect, and as the financial markets change on account of other forces and events, the cost of acquiring financing and the methods of financing may change. Changes in our credit rating or other market factors may increase our interest expense or other costs of capital, or capital may not be available to us on competitive terms to fund our working capital needs. Our existing secured revolving credit facility contains various financial and other covenants that may limit our ability to borrow or limit our flexibility in responding to business conditions. In addition, even if the terms of our revolving credit facility would otherwise allow or require, our lenders may refuse to lend to us through no fault of ours. The inability to maintain or when necessary obtain adequate sources of financing could have an adverse effect on our business. Our existing secured revolving credit facility includes variable rate debt, thus exposing us to risk of fluctuations in interest rates. Such fluctuations in interest rates could have an adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations. We may in the future use interest rate swaps in an effort to achieve a desired proportion of fixed and variable rate debt. We would utilize these derivative financial instruments to enhance our ability to manage risk, including interest rate exposures that exist as part of our ongoing business operations. However, our use of these instruments may not effectively limit or eliminate our exposure to a decline in operating results due to changes in interest rates.

 

Our ability to maintain and borrow under our revolving credit agreement could be constrained by the level of eligible receivables and product inventory and by any failure to meet certain financial and other covenants in our revolving credit agreement.

   

Our borrowing availability under our secured revolving credit facility is determined in part by a borrowing base and is limited to certain amounts of eligible accounts receivable and inventory.  If the value of these accounts receivable and product inventory were to decrease significantly, the amount available for borrowing under the facility would decrease and our ability to borrow under the facility could be significantly impacted. Borrowing under the facility is also conditioned upon compliance with financial and other covenants included in the revolving credit agreement and a related guaranty and security agreement. Among these is a covenant to maintain a fixed charge coverage ratio at any time during which the borrowing availability is otherwise less than $10 million. There are no assurances that we will be able to comply with all applicable covenants in these agreements, and in the event that we do not, our ability to borrow under our secured revolving credit facility could be limited or suspended or could terminate. 

 

If we fail to meet our payment or other obligations under our secured revolving credit facility, our lenders could foreclose on, and acquire control of, a significant portion of our assets.

 

Indebtedness under our secured revolving credit facility is secured by continuing first priority security interests in our inventory, accounts receivable, and deposit accounts, and on all documents, instruments, general intangibles, letter of credit rights, and chattel paper relating to inventory and accounts, and to all proceeds of the foregoing.  If we fail to meet our payment or other obligations under our secured revolving credit facility, our lenders could foreclose on these assets, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. 

 

Compliance with regulations regarding the use of “conflict minerals” could limit the supply and increase the cost of certain of our products, and customers may seek other sources if we are unable to demonstrate to their satisfaction that our products are conflict free.

 

Increased focus on environmental protection and social responsibility initiatives led to the passage of Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the "Dodd-Frank Act"), and its implementing SEC regulations.  The Dodd-Frank Act imposes supply chain diligence and disclosure requirements for certain manufacturers of products containing specific minerals that may originate in or near the Democratic Republic of

the Congo (the "DRC") and finance or benefit local armed groups. These "conflict minerals" are commonly found in certain of the products that we acquire from suppliers and distribute to customers and are also found in certain products in our Ventev® product line that we contract to be manufactured by others or that we assemble.  The implementation of these regulations may limit the sourcing and availability of some of the raw materials used in certain of these products. This in turn may affect our ability to obtain sufficient quantities of our products and may affect related pricing. Because we are considered a manufacturer of certain of our Ventev® products, we are subject to additional “conflict minerals” diligence and disclosure requirements with regard to these products.   Some of our customers may elect to disqualify us as a supplier if we are unable to verify that the products we sell to them are DRC conflict free.

 

Weakness in the global economic environment may have significant effects on our customers and suppliers that could result in material adverse effects on our business, operating results, and stock price.

 

Weakness in the global economic environment – may include, among other things, significant reductions in available capital and liquidity from banks and other providers of credit, substantial reductions and/or fluctuations in equity and currency values worldwide, significant decreases in consumer confidence and consumer and business spending, high rates of unemployment and concerns that the worldwide economy experience other significant challenges – could materially adversely affect our customers’ access to capital or willingness to spend capital on our products, and/or their levels of cash liquidity with which to pay for our products. In addition, our suppliers’ access to capital and liquidity could be affected, which may in turn adversely impact their ability to maintain inventories, production levels, and/or product quality, or cause them to raise prices or lower production levels, or result in their ceasing operation.

 

The potential effects of weakness in the global economic environment are difficult to forecast and mitigate. As a consequence, our operating results for a particular period may be more difficult to predict. Any of the foregoing effects could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition, and could adversely affect our stock price.

 

We may be unable to successfully execute our merchandising and marketing strategic initiatives.

 

We are focusing our sales and marketing efforts and initiatives to maximize sales. If we fail to successfully execute these initiatives, our business, financial position and results of operations could be adversely affected.

 

The telecommunications products marketplace is dynamic and challenging because of the continued introduction of new products and services.

 

We must constantly introduce new products, services and product features to meet competitive pressures. We may be unable to timely change our existing merchandise sales mix in order to meet these competitive pressures, which may result in increased inventory costs, inventory write-offs or loss of market share.

 

Additionally, our inventory may also lose value due to price changes made by our significant suppliers, in cases where our arrangements with these suppliers do not provide for inventory price protection, or in cases where the supplier is unable or unwilling to provide these protections.

 

Consolidation among wireless service carriers could result in the loss of significant customers.

 

The wireless service carrier industry has experienced significant consolidation in recent years. If any of our significant customers or partners are acquired or consolidate with other carriers, or are otherwise involved in any significant transaction that results in them ceasing to do business with us, or significantly reducing the level of business that they do with us, our revenues from those customers could be affected, resulting in an adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.

 

The failure of our information technology or telecommunication systems, or our inability to maintain or upgrade our information technology or telecommunication systems without incident or delay, or undue cost, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

 

We are highly dependent upon our internal information technology and telecommunication systems, many of which are proprietary, to operate our business. These systems support all aspects of our business operations, including means of internal and external communication, inventory and order management, shipping, receiving and accounting. Most of our information technology systems contain a number of internally developed applications. In addition, all of these systems require continued maintenance and also require upgrading or replacement from time to time. There can be no assurance that these systems will not fail or experience disruptions, that we will be able to attract and retain qualified personnel necessary for the operation of such systems, that we will be able to expand and improve our systems, that we will be able to convert to new systems efficiently as and when necessary, or that we will be able to integrate new programs effectively with our existing programs, in each case without incident or delay, or undue cost.

 

We, like most businesses, are subject to risk of cyber-attack and incur significant costs in efforts to defend these attacks.

 

We like most businesses are continually subject to risk of cyber-attack and are continually engaged in an effort to defend against and to ward off attacks from hackers and others. We have experienced cyber-attacks from time to time.  Any of such problems, or any significant damage or destruction of these systems, including pursuant to or as a result of system security breaches, data protection breaches or other cyber-attacks, could result in significant disruption in our business and operations, harm our relationship with our customers or suppliers, and result in significant losses in revenues. Corrective action and compliance with applicable privacy and data protection laws could be costly. Any of these or similar events or occurrences could have an adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations. 

 

We depend heavily on e-commerce, and website security breaches or internet disruptions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

 

We rely on the internet (including Tessco.com®) for a significant percentage of our orders and information exchanges with our customers. The internet and individual websites have experienced a number of disruptions and slowdowns, some of which were caused by organized attacks. In addition, some websites have experienced security breakdowns. There can be no assurances that our website will not experience any material breakdowns, disruptions or breaches in security. If we were to experience a security breakdown, disruption or breach that compromised sensitive information, this could harm our relationship with our customers or suppliers. Disruption of our website or the internet in general could impair our order processing or more generally prevent our customers and suppliers from accessing information or placing orders. This could have an adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

 

System security breaches or data protection breaches could adversely disrupt our business and harm our reputation, financial position and results of operations.

 

We manage and store various proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data relating to our business. In addition, we routinely process, store and transmit large amounts of data, including sensitive and personally identifiable information, including customer credit card data and other information. Breaches of our security measures or the accidental loss, inadvertent disclosure or unapproved dissemination of proprietary information or sensitive or confidential data about us or our customers or suppliers, including the potential loss or disclosure of such information or data as a result of fraud, trickery or other forms of deception, could expose us, our customers or the individuals affected to a risk of loss or misuse of this information, result in litigation and potential liability for us, damage our brand and reputation or otherwise harm our business. In addition, the cost and operational consequences of implementing further data protection measures could be significant. Such breaches, costs and consequences could adversely affect our business, results of operations or cash flows.

 

We are also subject to payment card association operating rules, certification requirements and rules governing electronic funds transfers, including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a security standard applicable to companies that collect, store or transmit certain data regarding credit and debit cards, holders and transactions. 

From time to time we may not be fully or materially compliant with PCI DSS or other payment card operating rules.  Any failure to comply fully or materially with the PCI DSS now or at any point in the future may violate payment card association operating rules and the terms of our contracts with payment processors and merchant banks, and could subject us to fines, penalties, damages and civil liability, and could result in the loss of our ability to accept credit and debit card payments. Maintaining compliance with these regulations is costly and there is no guarantee that we will be successful or avoid fines, penalties, damages or civil liability, and even if successful, there is no guarantee that PCI DSS compliance will prevent illegal or improper use of our payment systems or the theft, loss or misuse of data pertaining to credit and debit cards, credit and debit card holders and credit and debit card transactions.

 

The inability to hire or retain certain key professionals, management and staff could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

The nature of our business includes (but is not limited to) a high volume of transactions, business complexity, wide geographical coverage, and broad scope of products, suppliers, and customers. In order to compete, we must attract, retain and motivate executives and other key employees, including those in managerial, technical, sales, marketing and support positions. Hiring and retaining qualified executives, information technology and business generation personnel are critical to our business.  Most of the members of our senior management team are parties to employment contracts or arrangements with us that provide for, among other things, various severance payments or benefits upon termination of their employment under certain circumstances, including termination by the Company without “cause” or for “good reason”, and those contracts generally renew from year to year, except for the employment contract with Mr. Mukerjee, our CEO, which commenced in August 2019 and expires in March 2023. The loss of any of the members of our senior management team, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

 

To attract, retain and motivate qualified employees, we rely heavily on stock-based incentive awards such as Performance Stock Units (PSUs) and stock options. If performance targets associated with PSUs are not met, or the value of such awards does not appreciate as measured by the performance of the price of our common stock and/or if our other stock-based compensation, such as stock options, otherwise ceases to be viewed as a valuable benefit, our ability to attract, retain and motivate our employees could be adversely impacted, which could negatively affect our business, financial position and results of operations and/or require us to increase the amount we spend on cash and other forms of compensation. Our ability to issue PSUs, stock options and other equity instruments is also limited by the provisions of and our available shares under our current and/or future stock incentive plans, which may be subject to shareholder approval. We may currently issue awards under our incentive plan only through June 4, 2029, and as of May 15, 2020, the most recent date when PSUs and other equity instruments were issued, there were 407,222 shares available for future awards. Therefore, our ability to offer stock-based incentive awards may be limited, which may have an adverse effect on our continued ability to attract and retain, and motivate, our employees, and, subsequently, on our business, financial position and results of operations. In addition, an increase in the number of shares for future awards, under either current or future compensation or incentive plans or arrangements could lead to dilution of our other stockholders.

 

The damage or destruction of any of our principal distribution or administrative facilities could materially adversely impact our business, financial position and results of operations.

 

If either of our distribution centers in Hunt Valley, Maryland or Reno, Nevada, were to be significantly damaged or destroyed, we could suffer a loss of product inventory and our ability to conduct our business in the ordinary course could be materially and adversely affected. Similarly, if our office locations in Maryland, Nevada or Texas were to be significantly damaged or destroyed, our ability to conduct marketing, sales and other corporate activities in the ordinary course could be adversely affected.

 

We depend on third parties to manufacture products that we distribute and, accordingly, rely on their quality control procedures.

 

Product manufacturers typically provide limited warranties directly to the end consumer or to us, which we generally pass through to our customers. If a product we distribute for a manufacturer has quality or performance problems, our ability to provide products to our customers could be disrupted, which could adversely affect our operations.

 

We are subject to potential declines in inventory value.

 

We are subject to the risk that the value of our inventory will decline as a result of price reductions by suppliers or technological obsolescence or failure. It is the policy of many of our suppliers to protect distributors like us from the loss in value of inventory due to technological change or failure, or the suppliers’ price reductions. Some suppliers (including those who manufacture our proprietary products), however, may be unwilling or unable to pay us for price protection claims or products returned to them under purchase agreements. No assurance can be given that such practices to protect distributors like us will continue, that unforeseen new product developments, product failure or product obsolescence will not adversely affect us, or that we will be able to successfully manage our existing and future inventories.

 

Our future operating results depend on our ability to purchase a sufficient amount of finished goods and bulk inventory to meet the demands of our customers.

 

Our ability to meet our customers' demands depends, in part, on our ability to obtain timely and adequate delivery of inventory from our suppliers. We have experienced shortages in the past that have negatively impacted our operations. Although we work closely with our suppliers to avoid these types of shortages, there can be no assurances that we will not encounter these problems in the future. Furthermore, certain of our products or components are available only from a single source or limited sources. We may not be able to diversify sources in a timely manner. A reduction or interruption in supplies or a significant increase in the price of supplies could have a negative impact on our results of operations or financial condition.

 

If our business does not perform well, or if we otherwise experience a decline in the fair values of a portion or all of our business, we may be required to recognize impairments of our intangible or other long-lived assets, which could adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition.

 

Indefinite lived intangible assets and goodwill that are not amortized are initially recorded at fair value, and are reviewed for impairment at least annually or more frequently if impairment indicators are present.

 

In assessing the recoverability of goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets, we make estimates and assumptions about sales, operating margin, growth rates and discount rates based on our budgets, business plans, economic projections, anticipated future cash flows and marketplace data. There are inherent uncertainties related to these factors and management’s judgment in applying these factors. We first perform a qualitative analysis to determine if it is more likely than not that goodwill or indefinite lived intangible assets are impaired. This analysis includes assumptions and estimates related to macroeconomic, industry and company specific events and trends. In the event that we find it is more likely than not that an impairment has occurred a quantitative analysis is performed. We could be required to evaluate the recoverability of goodwill and indefinite lived assets prior to the annual assessment if we experience disruptions to the business, unexpected significant declines in operating results, divestiture of a significant component of our business or sustained market capitalization declines. These types of events and the resulting analyses could result in indefinite lived asset impairment charges in the future. As of March 29, 2020, we had $795,000 of indefinite lived intangible assets, which represented approximately 0.4% of total assets.

 

Deferred income tax represents the tax effect of the differences between the book and tax bases of assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets are assessed periodically by management to determine if they are realizable. Factors in management’s determination include the current tax laws, historical results, performance of the business, projections of future taxable income, and the feasibility of ongoing tax planning strategies. If based on available information, it is more likely than not that the deferred income tax asset will not be realized then a valuation allowance must be established with a corresponding charge to net income. Such charges could have an adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

 

Our future results of operations may be impacted by prolonged weakness in the economic environment which may result in an impairment of the long-lived assets or the recording of a valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets, which could adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition.

 

We primarily rely on trademark filings and confidentiality agreements to protect our intellectual property rights.

 

In an effort to protect our intellectual property, including our product data, customer information and information technology systems, through trademark filings and nondisclosure, confidentiality and trade secret agreements, we typically require our employees, consultants and others having access to this information or our technology to execute confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements. These agreements, however, may not provide us with adequate protection against improper use or disclosure of confidential information, and these agreements may be breached. A breach of confidentiality could adversely affect our business. In addition, in some situations, these agreements may conflict with, or be subject to, the rights of third parties with whom our employees, consultants and others have previous employment or consulting relationships. Also, others may independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and techniques or otherwise gain access to our trade secrets. Adequate remedies may not exist in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure of our confidential information. The disclosure of our proprietary information or trade secrets could impair our competitive position and could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Others may obtain patent protection for technologies that are important to our business, and as a result, our business, financial position and results of operations may be adversely affected. In response to patents of others, we may need to license the rights to use the technology patented by others, or in the event that a license cannot be obtained, design our systems around the patents of others. There can be no assurances as to our ability to obtain any such licenses or to design around the patents of others, and our inability to do so could have an adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations.

 

We offer credit to our customers and, therefore, are subject to significant credit risk.

 

We sell our products to a large and diverse customer base. We finance a significant portion of such sales through trade credit, typically by providing 30-day payment terms. As a result, our business could be adversely affected in the event of a deterioration of the financial condition of our customers, resulting in the customers’ inability to repay us. This risk may increase if there is a general economic downturn affecting a large number of our customers and in the event our customers do not adequately manage their business or properly disclose their financial condition. Also, several of our larger customers, including tier 1 public carrier customers, require greater than 30-day payment terms which could increase our credit risk and decrease our operating cash flow. 

 

We may explore additional growth through acquisitions.

 

As part of our growth strategy, we may continue to pursue the acquisition of companies that either complement or expand our existing business. As a result, we from time to time evaluate potential acquisition opportunities, which may be material in size and scope. In addition to those risks to which our business and the acquired businesses are generally subject to, the acquisition of these businesses gives rise to transactional and transitional risks, and the risk that the anticipated benefits will not be realized.

 

Risks associated with the foreign suppliers from whom our products are sourced could adversely affect our financial performance.

 

The products we sell are sourced from a wide variety of domestic and international suppliers. Global sourcing of many of the products we sell is an important factor in our financial performance. Since the onset of the weakness in the global economic environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, certain of our suppliers, particularly those in the far-east, have experienced financial difficulties and we believe it is possible that a limited number of suppliers may either cease operations or require increased prices in order to fulfill their obligations. Changes in our relationships with suppliers or increases in the costs of purchased raw materials, component parts or finished goods could result in delays, inefficiencies or our inability to market products. In addition, our profit margins would decrease if prices of purchased raw materials, component parts, or finished goods increase and we are unable to pass on those increases to our customers. The adoption or expansion of trade restrictions or the occurrence of trade wars could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operation.

 

We rely on independent shipping companies to deliver inventory to us and to ship products to customers.

 

We rely on arrangements with independent shipping companies, for the delivery of our products from suppliers and to customers. The failure or inability of these shipping companies to deliver products, or the unavailability of their shipping services, even temporarily, could have a material adverse effect on our business. We may also be adversely affected by an increase in freight surcharges due to rising fuel costs and added security. This could adversely impact our selling, general and administrative expenses or lead to price increases to our customers which could decrease customer demand for our products.

 

Changes in accounting rules could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations.

 

We prepare our financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. These accounting principles are subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and various other bodies formed to interpret and create appropriate accounting policies. A change in these policies or a new interpretation of an existing policy could have a significant effect on our reported results and may affect our reporting of transactions.

 

Changes in income tax and other regulatory legislation.

 

We operate in compliance with applicable laws and regulations and make plans for our structure and operations based upon existing laws and anticipated future changes in the law. When new legislation is enacted with minimal advance notice, or when new interpretations or applications of existing laws are made, we may need to implement changes in our policies or structure. We are susceptible to unanticipated changes in legislation, especially relating to income and other taxes, import/export laws, hazardous materials and other laws related to trade, accounting and business activities. Such changes in legislation may have an adverse effect on our business.

 

We may be subject to litigation.

 

We may be subject to legal claims or regulatory matters involving stockholder, consumer, antitrust, intellectual property and other issues. Litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and unfavorable rulings could occur. An unfavorable ruling could include monetary damages or other adverse effects. Were an unfavorable ruling to occur, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on our business, financial position and results of operations for the period in which the ruling occurred or future periods.

 

We may incur product liability claims which could be costly and could harm our reputation.

 

The sale of our products subjects us to the risk of product liability claims. We have also been increasing our focus on sales of our proprietary Ventev® products and on providing an increased level of support services, including product and network designs, which also subjects us to risk of product liability and performance claim risk. We seek to allocate product liability risk to our suppliers where available, but may not be successful in doing so. We currently maintain product liability insurance, but our product liability insurance coverage is subject to various coverage exclusions and limits and may not be obtainable in the future on terms acceptable to us, or at all. We do not know whether claims against us with respect to our products and services, if any, would be successfully defended or whether we might be successful in allocating that risk to others, or whether our insurance would be sufficient to cover liabilities resulting from such claims. Any claims successfully brought against us could adversely affect our financial condition, and if substantial and relating to our products or industry generally, could adversely affect our business as a whole.

 

Our expanding offering of private labeled products may have a negative impact on our relationship with our manufacturer partners.

 

Our product offering includes a growing number of our own proprietary products, which represented approximately 11% of our sales in fiscal year 2020. Our proprietary products often compete with other manufacturers' branded items that we offer. A manufacturer may choose to not sell its products to us, or may substantially increase the price of products to us, in response to the competition created by the sales of our proprietary branded products. Either could have an adverse effect on our business and financial performance.

 

A significant portion of our product offerings, including a majority of our private label Ventev products and products we acquire from our suppliers, are manufactured in foreign countries, making the price and availability of these products susceptible to international trade risks and other international conditions.

 

A significant portion of our products are manufactured in foreign countries, including Vietnam and China.  The countries, specifically Mexico and China, in which many of our products currently are manufactured or may be manufactured in the future are or could become subject to trade restrictions imposed by the U.S., including increased tariffs or quotas, embargoes and customs restrictions, which would increase the cost or could reduce the supply of products available to us, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Recently, uncertainty has increased regarding tax and trade policies, border adjustments, tariffs and government regulations affecting trade between the U.S. and other countries, such as Mexico and China. This includes the imposition of tariffs or penalties on products manufactured outside the U.S., including the May 9, 2019 announcement of the United States government’s imposition of a 25% tariff on a range of products exported from China to the U.S. on or after May 10, 2019.  China thereafter announced a plan to impose tariffs on imports to China of a wide range of American products, in retaliation for the American tariffs. In January 2020, China and the U.S. entered the first phase of an economic and trade agreement.  There is no assurance that a broader trade agreement will be successfully negotiated between the U.S. and China to reduce or eliminate existing tariffs applicable to the business of the Company.

 

There is also a concern that the imposition of additional tariffs by the United States could result in the adoption of tariffs by other countries as well. Such tariffs on imports from foreign countries, as well as changes in tax and trade policies, such as a border adjustment tax or disallowance of certain tax deductions for imported product, could materially increase our manufacturing costs, the costs of our imported products or our income tax expense, which would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Tariffs imposed by China or other foreign countries on imports of our products could also adversely affect our international e-commerce sales. Any increase in manufacturing costs, the cost of our products or limitation on the amount of products we are able to purchase, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Unless we are able to sufficiently mitigate their effects as applicable to us, the persistence or increase of tariffs, may adversely affect us or our business.

Legislative or regulatory action could be taken that could limit our ability to use certain foreign suppliers to supply us with products. 

 

Members of the U.S. Congress and certain regulatory agencies have raised concerns about American companies purchasing equipment and software from Chinese telecommunications companies, including concerns relating to alleged violations of intellectual property rights by Chinese companies and potential security risks posed by U.S. companies purchasing technical equipment and software from Chinese companies. In October 2012, the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence issued a report asserting that network equipment manufactured by Chinese telecommunications companies poses a security threat to the United States and recommending the use of other network suppliers.  The report also recommends that Congress consider adopting legislation to address these and other purported risks. Any such legislative or regulatory requirement that restricts us from purchasing or utilizing equipment or software from Chinese or other foreign companies with which we do or seek to do business, any determination by foreign companies upon which we rely to cease doing business in the United States, any determination by any of our suppliers or customers not to do business with us on account of actual or perceived business relationships that we may have with these suspect Chinese or other foreign companies, or any determination that we otherwise make that it is either necessary or advantageous for us to cease doing business with such foreign companies, could limit our product offerings, result in increased costs of goods and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. 

 

Claims that our products infringe the proprietary rights of others could harm our business and cause us to incur significant costs.

 

Our industry has increasingly been subject to patent and other intellectual property rights litigation. We expect this trend to continue and accelerate and expect that we may be required to defend against this type of litigation, not only asserted against our own intellectual property rights, but also against the intellectual property of products which we have purchased for resale. Further, we may be obligated to indemnify and defend our customers if the products or services we supply to them are alleged to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights. While we may be able to seek indemnification from our suppliers to protect our customers and us from such claims, there is no assurance that we will be successful in negotiating contractual terms with our suppliers to provide for such indemnification, or that we will otherwise be successful in obtaining such indemnification or that we will be protected from such claims. We may also be prohibited from marketing products, could be forced to market products without desirable features, or could incur substantial costs to defend legal actions, including where third parties claim that we or suppliers who may or may not have indemnified us are infringing upon their intellectual property rights. In recent years, individuals and groups have begun purchasing intellectual property assets for the sole purpose of making claims of infringement and attempting to extract settlements from target companies. Even if we believe that such infringement claims are without merit, the claims can be time-consuming and costly to defend and divert management’s attention and resources away from our business. Claims of intellectual property infringement may require us to enter into costly settlements or pay costly damage awards, or face a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting us from marketing or selling certain products or services, which could affect our ability to compete effectively. If an infringement claim is successful, we may be required to pay damages or seek royalty or license arrangements, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms. Even if we have an agreement that indemnifies us against such costs, the indemnifying party may be unable or unwilling to uphold its contractual obligations to us.

We may be adversely affected by laws or regulations.

 

We are subject to various U.S. Federal, state and local, and non-U.S. laws and regulations. We cannot predict the substance or impact of pending or future legislation or regulations, or the application thereof. The introduction of new laws or regulations or changes in existing laws or regulations, or the interpretations thereof, could increase the cost of doing business for us or our customers or suppliers or restrict our actions and adversely affect our financial condition, operating results and cash flows. For example, annual disclosure and reporting requirements relating to the SEC’s conflict minerals rule require us to perform a reasonable country of origin inquiry and conduct further due diligence measures on our supply chain. There are costs and uncertainties associated with complying with these disclosure requirements, including for diligence to determine the sources of conflict minerals that we may find to be used in our products.  

RISKS RELATED TO OWNERSHIP OF OUR COMMON STOCK

 

A significant portion of our voting stock is controlled by our executive officers, directors and beneficial owners of 5% or more of our common stock.

 

Our executive officers, directors and beneficial owners of 5% or more of our common stock and their affiliates, in the aggregate, beneficially owned approximately 58% of our outstanding common stock as of March 29, 2020. Robert B. Barnhill, Jr., our Chairman of the Board, beneficially owned approximately 19% of our outstanding common stock as of March 29, 2020. These shareholders, and particularly if they decide to act together, have or would have the ability to significantly influence all matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election of directors and any significant corporate transaction requiring shareholder approval.

 

Effective as of the first quarter of fiscal 2021, our Board of Directors suspended our quarterly cash dividend. We may not be able to pay dividends on our common stock in the future, which could impair the value of our common stock.

 

Effective as of the first quarter of fiscal 2021, our Board of Directors suspended our quarterly cash dividend. We had paid a quarterly dividend on our common stock beginning with the second quarter of fiscal year 2010. Any future declaration of dividends remains subject to further determination from time to time by our Board of Directors. Our ability to pay dividends in the future will depend on our financial results, liquidity and financial condition, and a determination by our Board of Directors that the payment of dividends is then appropriate. Under Delaware law, dividends to shareholders may be made only from the surplus of a company, or, in certain situations, from the net profits for the current fiscal year or the fiscal year before which the dividend is declared.  Our secured revolving credit facility restricts our ability to pay cash dividends upon a default, and when our borrowing availability is below $15.0 million, or in certain more limited circumstances $11.3 million, and contains other financial covenants and ratios that could restrict future dividend payments. There is no assurance that we will or will be able to pay dividends at any time in the future, or if we are able to, that our Board of Directors will determine to declare dividends in the future, at previous rates or at all.  If we begin at some future date to pay dividends and then discontinue or reduce the amount or frequency of any such dividends, the value of our common stock may be impaired.

 

Our quarterly financial results may fluctuate, which could lead to volatility in our stock price.

 

Our revenue and operating results have fluctuated from quarter to quarter in the past and may continue to do so in the future. As a result, you should not rely on quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our operating results as an indication of our future performance. Fluctuations in our revenue and operating results could negatively affect the trading price of our stock. Most of our operating expenses, such as compensation expenses, do not vary directly with the amount of sales and are difficult to adjust in the short term. As a result, if sales in a particular quarter are below expectations for that quarter, we may not proportionately reduce operating expenses for that quarter, and therefore such a sales shortfall would have a disproportionate effect on our net income for the quarter. Therefore, our revenue and results of operations may, in the future, be below the expectations of analysts and investors, which could cause our stock price to decline. Factors that are likely to cause our revenue and operating results to fluctuate include the risk factors discussed throughout this section.

 

Without approval of our Board of Directors, it may be difficult for a third party to acquire control of the Company. This could affect the price of our common stock.

 

Certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, including advance notice bylaws, and applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL) may each make it more difficult for or may prevent a third party from acquiring control of us or changing our Board of Directors and management. We are afforded the protections of Section 203 of the DGCL, which will prevent us from engaging in a business combination with a person who acquires at least 15% of our common stock for a period of three years from the date such person acquired such common stock, unless Board of Director or shareholder approval were obtained. Some believe that the provisions described above, as well as any resulting delay or prevention of a change of control transaction or changes in our Board of Directors or management, could deter potential acquirers or prevent the completion of a transaction in which our shareholders could receive a substantial premium over the then current market price for their shares. We, on the other hand, believe that these provisions serve to protect our shareholders against abusive takeover tactics, to preserve and maximize the value of the Company for

all shareholders, and to better ensure that each shareholder will be treated fairly in the event of an unsolicited offer to acquire the Company.

 

Potential uncertainty resulting from unsolicited acquisition proposals and related matters may adversely affect our business.

 

In the past we have received, and in the future, we may receive, unsolicited proposals to acquire our company or our assets. For example, in September 2010, the Board of Directors received an unsolicited non-binding proposal for the acquisition of all of our stock. The review and consideration of acquisition proposals and related matters could require the expenditure of significant management time and personnel resources. Such proposals may also create uncertainty for our employees, customers and suppliers. Any such uncertainty could make it more difficult for us to retain key employees and hire new talent, and could cause our customers and suppliers to not enter into new arrangements with us or to terminate existing arrangements. Additionally, we and members of our Board of Directors could be subject to future lawsuits related to unsolicited proposals to acquire us. Any such future lawsuits could become time consuming and expensive.

 

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

 

None.

 

Item 2. Properties.

 

Our corporate headquarters and primary distribution center, known as the Global Logistics Center (GLC), is located in a Company-owned 184,000 square-foot facility north of Baltimore City, in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

 

Our sales, marketing and administrative offices are located in 102,200 square feet of leased office space near the GLC, in Timonium, Maryland. The monthly rent payments range from $179,700 to $203,800 throughout the remaining lease term, which expires on December 31, 2025.

 

In addition, we lease 66,000 square feet of office and warehouse space adjacent to the GLC in Hunt Valley, Maryland. The monthly rent for this facility ranges from $39,300 to $43,000 throughout the remaining lease term, which expires on July 31, 2023, subject to our annual option to terminate.

 

Additional sales and marketing offices are located in 13,100 square feet of leased office space in San Antonio, Texas. Monthly rent payments range from $18,600 to $19,100 and the lease expires October 31, 2021.

 

West coast sales and fulfillment are facilitated by our Company-owned 115,000 square-foot Americas Sales & Logistics Center (ALC) located in Reno, Nevada. The ALC is used to configure and fulfill product and supply chain solutions, provide disaster backup for the GLC, and allow for future growth of staffing and increased fulfillment capabilities.

 

While we anticipate the need for additional space, we believe our existing facilities are generally adequate for our current requirements and that suitable additional space will be available as needed to accommodate future expansion of our operations. 

 

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

 

Lawsuits and claims are filed against us from time to time in the ordinary course of business. We do not believe that any lawsuits or claims currently pending against the Company, individually or in the aggregate, are material, or will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. In addition, from time to time, we are also subject to review from federal and state taxing authorities in order to validate the amounts of income, sales and/or use taxes which have been claimed and remitted. Currently, our California sales tax returns for the period January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2018 and Illinois sales tax returns for the period March 1, 2018 through July 31, 2018 are under examination by applicable taxing authorities.

 

As we are routinely audited by state taxing authorities, we have estimated exposure and established reserves for our estimated sales tax audit liability.

 

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

Part II

 

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

 

Our common stock has been publicly traded since September 28, 1994, on the Nasdaq Market (currently Nasdaq Global Select), under the symbol "TESS."

 

As of May 29, 2020, the number of shareholders of record of the Company was 162. We estimate that the number of beneficial owners as of that date was approximately 3,049.

 

On July 28, 2009, we announced that our Board of Directors had decided to commence a cash dividend program and thereafter our Board of Directors declared dividends on a quarterly basis, through the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020. On April 28, 2020, the Board of Directors suspended Tessco’s dividend in an effort to further strengthen its cash position as the Company continues to monitor and address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Any future declaration of dividends and the establishment of any corresponding record and payment dates remains subject to further determination from time to time by the Board of Directors. Additional information with respect to the quarterly dividends declared in fiscal years 2020 and 2019 is contained in our Selected Financial Data. The declaration and payment of future dividends will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to, our earnings, financial condition, business development needs and regulatory considerations, and is at the discretion of our Board of Directors. Our revolving credit facility may limit the amount of cash dividends that we may pay based on financial covenants and ratios that may restrict the future payment of dividends. 

 

We also withhold shares from our employees and directors from time to time to facilitate employees’ minimum federal and state tax withholdings related to vested performance stock units, restricted stock and exercised stock options. For fiscal years 2020 and 2019 the total value of shares withheld for taxes were $201,000 and $111,000, respectively.

 

Our secured revolving credit facility with SunTrust Bank restricts our ability to pay dividends and to repurchase our shares, either upon a default or when our borrowing availability is below $15.0 million, or in certain more limited circumstances $11.3 million, and also limits to $2.0 million the aggregate dollar value of shares that may be withheld or repurchased in connection with satisfaction of tax withholding obligations related to vested equity grants during any 12 month period.  This revolving credit facility also contains other financial covenants and ratios that could restrict dividends and repurchases. At March 29, 2020 we had the ability to withhold or repurchase $1.8 million in additional shares of our common stock during fiscal 2020, without violating this covenant.

 

The information required by Item 201(d) of Regulation S-K, pursuant to paragraph (a) of Item 5 of Form 10-K, is incorporated by reference to the information set forth under the caption “Equity Compensation Plan Information” in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which is anticipated to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A no later than one hundred twenty (120) days following the end of the fiscal year reported on.

 

Stock Performance Graph

 

The graph set forth below shows the value of an investment of $100 on March 29, 2015 in each of the Company’s common stock, the Russell 2000 Index and a peer group for the period of March 29, 2015 to March 29, 2020. The graph assumes that all dividends, if any, were reinvested.

 

 

 

(1) – The Peer Group consists of the following: Anixter International Inc., ScanSource Inc., Tech Data Corp and W.W. Grainger Inc.

The peer group was selected based on a review of publicly available information about these companies and the Company’s determination that they are engaged in business similar to that of the Company.

 

Item 6. Selected Financial Data.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition (MD&A) should be read in conjunction with the other sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including Part I, “Item 1: Business,” Part II, “Item 6: Selected Financial Data,” and Part II, “Item 8: Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” The various sections of this MD&A contain a number of forward-looking statements, all of which are based on our current expectations and could be affected by the uncertainties and risk factors described throughout this filing, including Part I, “Item 1A: Risk Factors.” Our actual results may differ materially from those described in any such forward-looking statement.

 

Business Overview and Environment

 

TESSCO Technologies Incorporated (“Tessco”, “we”, “our”, “us”, or the “Company”) architects and delivers innovative product and value chain solutions to support wireless systems. Although we sell products to customers in almost 100 countries, approximately 96% of our sales are to customers in the United States. We have operations and office facilities in Timonium and Hunt Valley, Maryland, Reno, Nevada and San Antonio, Texas.

 

The Company evaluates its business within two segments: commercial and retail. The commercial segment consists of the following customer markets: (1) public carriers that are generally responsible for building and maintaining the infrastructure system and provide airtime service to individual subscribers; (2) value-added resellers and integrators, which includes value-added resellers, government channels and private system operator markets. The retail segment includes retailers, independent dealer agents and carriers.  Retail inventory typically has a shorter more defined life cycle and is, typically, ultimately used by individual end users. Commercial inventory typically has a life cycle that tends to be tied to changes in regulation or technology and includes products typically used by business entities or governments.

 

We offer a wide range of products that are classified into four categories: base station infrastructure; network systems; installation, test and maintenance; and mobile devices and accessories. Base station infrastructure products are used to build, repair and upgrade wireless telecommunications. Sales of traditional base station infrastructure products, such as base station radios, cable and transmission lines and antennas are in part dependent on capital spending in the wireless communications industry. Network systems products are used to build and upgrade computing and internet networks. In this category, we have also been growing our offering of wireless broadband, network equipment, security and surveillance products, which are not as dependent on the overall capital spending of the industry. Installation, test and maintenance products are used to install, tune, and maintain wireless communications equipment. This category is made up of sophisticated analysis equipment and various frequency-, voltage- and power-measuring devices, replacement parts and components as well as an assortment of tools, hardware and supplies required by service technicians. Mobile devices and accessory products include cellular phone and data device accessories.  Our customers generally have the ability to purchase from any of our product categories.

 

The wireless communications distribution industry is competitive and fragmented, and is comprised of several national distributors. In addition, many manufacturers sell direct. Barriers to entry for distributors are relatively low, particularly in the mobile devices and accessory market, and the risk of new competitors entering the market is high. Consolidation of larger wireless carriers has and will most likely continue to impact our current and potential customer base. In addition, the agreements or arrangements with our customers or suppliers looking to us for product and supply chain solutions are typically of limited duration and are terminable by either party upon several months or otherwise short

notice. Our ability to maintain these relationships is subject to competitive pressures and challenges. We believe, however, that our strength in service, the breadth and depth of our product offering, our information technology system, our large customer base and our purchasing relationships with approximately 350 manufacturers provide us with a significant competitive advantage over new entrants to the market.

 

Results of Operations

 

The following tables summarize the results of our operations for fiscal years 2020, 2019 and 2018:

 

 

Fiscal Year 2020 Compared to Fiscal Year 2019

 

Revenues. Revenue for fiscal year 2020 decreased by 11.0% as compared to fiscal year 2019. In the commercial segment, revenue decreased by 2.4%. Revenue in our public carrier market and value-added resellers and integrators market decreased by 0.4% and 3.6%, respectively. The decline in the commercial segment was primarily because we are not yet realizing the full benefits of our sales strategy refinements in the value-added resellers and integrators market. Revenues in our retail segment decreased by 30.1%. This decrease was largely driven by a combination of continued overall softness in our retail segment, significantly lower revenues from one of our more significant retail customers following its change in business model and subsequent transition of its business elsewhere, and the impact of COVID-19 in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020 that affected both of our business segments. We expect the challenges we have been facing in our retail segment to continue for the foreseeable future. We also expect the challenges we have been facing in our commercial segment to continue for the foreseeable future, but to a much lesser extent.

 

Cost of Goods Sold. Cost of goods sold for fiscal year 2020 decreased by 7.6% as compared to fiscal year 2019. In the commercial segment, cost of goods sold decreased by 1.6%. Cost of goods sold in our value-added resellers and integrators market decreased by 3.2%, partially offset by cost of goods sold increase in our public carrier market of 0.7%, The decline in the commercial segment was primarily due to a decrease in related revenue in the value-added resellers and integrators market. Cost of goods sold in our retail segment decreased by 21.0%. This decrease was largely driven by a decrease in retail segment revenue as discussed above. Cost of goods sold in the retail segment were also impacted by increased tariffs associated with imports of Ventev product from China, and inventory write-offs, including changes in inventory reserves, largely associated with the market softness, the discontinuance of several OEM phone devices and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Total inventory write-offs, including changes in inventory reserves, were $14.9 million and $5.1 million for fiscal years 2020 and 2019, respectively.

 

The imposition of tariffs on products that we imported increased the costs of those products and adversely affected our gross profits and overall financial performance. A significant portion of our Ventev products are manufactured in foreign countries, including China and increasingly of late, Vietnam. On May 9, 2019, the United States government announced a 25% tariff on a range of products from China that are exported to the U.S. Responding to this, we have been successful in moving the manufacturing of a majority of our Ventev products out of China in an effort to mitigate tariff costs, but we will continue to incur additional tariff costs on product we have manufactured in, or component parts we continue to source from, China.  In January 2020, China and the U.S. entered the first phase of an economic and trade agreement.  There is no assurance that a broader trade agreement will be successfully negotiated between the U.S. and China to reduce or eliminate existing tariffs applicable to the business of the Company

 

Gross Profit. Gross profit decreased by 24.3% in fiscal year 2020 as compared to fiscal year 2019. This compares to a decline in revenue of 11.0% in fiscal year 2020 as compared to fiscal year 2019. In the commercial segment, gross profit decreased from 20.1% to 19.5%. Within our commercial segment, gross profit in our public carrier market and value-added resellers and integrators market decreased from 12.9% to 12.0% and from 24.5% to 24.1%, respectively. We experienced margin compression within our public carrier market primarily due to a change in customer mix, with increased sales going to larger customers which require better pricing. Within the retail segment, gross profit decreased from 19.7% to 9.3% in fiscal year 2020 as compared to fiscal year 2019.  This decrease in gross profit was a result of a decrease in retail revenue, increased tariff costs, and the inventory write-offs discussed above. As a result of these drivers on gross profit, overall gross profit margin decreased to 17.0% in fiscal year 2020, compared to 20.0% in fiscal year 2019.

 

As discussed above, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a material impact on our results of operations in fiscal 2020.  Tessco’s distribution centers remain open and our office workers are largely working remotely.  However, the COVID-19 pandemic has primarily impacted our retail segment as a result of store closures and lower foot traffic due to “stay at home” or similar orders in various states.  Our commercial segment has also been impacted, but to a much lesser extent, due to delays in non-essential projects or inability of our customers to access project venues or locations.  We have recorded incremental reserves in accounts receivable, inventory and sales returns, totaling approximately $6.1 million during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020.  We expect the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to have an impact on our revenues and gross profit, particularly in the retail segment for at least the first half of fiscal 2020, and possibly into future periods.

 

Our ongoing ability to earn revenues and gross profits from customers and suppliers looking to us for product and supply chain solutions is dependent upon a number of factors. The terms, and accordingly the factors, applicable to each relationship often differ. Among these factors are the strength of the customer’s or supplier’s business, the supply and demand for the product or service, including price stability, changing customer or supplier requirements, and our ability to support the customer or supplier and to continually demonstrate that we can improve the way they do business. In addition, the agreements or arrangements on which our customer and supplier relationships are based are typically of limited duration, typically do not include any obligation in respect of any specific product purchase or sale and are terminable by either party upon several months or otherwise short notice. Our customer relationships could also be affected by wireless carrier consolidation or global financial crisis, including the COVID-19 pandemic or other events beyond our control.

 

We account for inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value and as a result write-offs/write-downs occur due to damage, deterioration, obsolescence, changes in prices and other causes. These expenses were 3% or less of overall purchases for each of the last three fiscal years.

 

Selling, General, Administrative and Restructuring Expenses. Total selling, general and administrative expenses decreased 4.8% during fiscal year 2020 as compared to fiscal year 2019. Total selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues increased from 18.7% in fiscal year 2019 to 20.0% in fiscal year 2020. The following are descriptions of changes in significant components of selling, general, administrative, goodwill charges and restructuring expenses.

 

 

The Company also incurred a $0.5 million restructuring charge related to severance expense for the first quarter of fiscal 2020, and a $11.7 million non-cash goodwill impairment loss during fiscal 2020. The goodwill impairment was due to the decline of results in fiscal year 2020 and future year projections, the significant reduction in our market capitalization during the second half of the fiscal year (due to decrease in stock price) and significant decline in market multiples considered in the market based valuation.

 

We continually evaluate the credit worthiness of our existing customer receivable portfolio and provide an appropriate reserve based on this evaluation. We also evaluate the credit worthiness of prospective and current customers and make decisions regarding extension of credit terms to such customers based on this evaluation. Accordingly, we recorded a provision for bad debts of $2,100,000 and $1,721,200 for fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2019, respectively. The increase in bad debts for fiscal year 2020 primarily relate to reserves recorded in the fourth quarter based on the uncertainly of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Interest, Net. Net interest expense increased from $853,800 in fiscal year 2019 to $1,116,300 in fiscal year 2020. The increase is primarily related to higher borrowing levels on our secured revolving credit facility. Refer to Note 6 of the financial statements included as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information on our borrowings.

 

Income Taxes, Net Income and Diluted Earnings Per Share. The effective tax rates in fiscal year 2020 and 2019 were 26.3% and 23.9%, respectively. The increase in the effective tax rate is primarily a result of provisions in the recently enacted CARES Act which allows the Company to carry back certain net operating losses up to five years. These net operating losses were applied against net income that was taxed at a higher federal rate prior to the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act which was signed into law in December 2017 (the “2017 Tax Act”) and went into effect in the third quarter of fiscal 2018.  The benefit of the carry back provision of the CARES Act was partially offset by valuation allowances recorded in fiscal year 2020 on the deferred tax assets. As a result of the factors discussed above, net income and diluted earnings per share for fiscal year 2020 decreased 488.9% and 489.2%, respectively, compared with fiscal year 2019.

 

Fiscal Year 2019 Compared to Fiscal Year 2018

 

Revenues. Revenue for fiscal year 2019 increased by 4.6% as compared to fiscal year 2018. In the commercial segment, revenue increased by 8.7% for fiscal year 2019 as compared to fiscal year 2018. Revenue in our public carrier market for fiscal year 2019 increased by 36.4% as compared to fiscal year 2018, largely due to increased spending among our Tier 1 public carrier and contractor customers, and also due in part to better execution of our selling strategy in this market. The growth was partially offset by a decline in the value-added resellers and integrators market by 3.2% for fiscal year 2019 as compared to fiscal year 2018. The revenue growth within our commercial segment was partially offset by a 3.5% decrease in our retail segment revenue for fiscal year 2019 as compared to fiscal year 2018. This decrease was due in part to lower sales of key phone launches and less retail store traffic.  

 

Cost of Goods Sold. Cost of goods sold for fiscal year 2019 increased by 5.5% as compared to fiscal year 2018. In the commercial segment, cost of goods sold increased by 10.0% for fiscal year 2019 as compared to fiscal year 2018. Cost of goods sold in our public carrier market increased by 39.0% for fiscal year 2019 as compared to fiscal year 2018, largely due to increased spending among our Tier 1 public carrier and contractors customers. The growth was partially offset by a decline in the value-added resellers and integrators market of 3.9% for fiscal year 2019 as compared to fiscal year 2018. The cost of goods sold growth within our commercial segment was partially offset by a 3.1% decrease in our retail segment cost of goods sold for fiscal year 2019 as compared to fiscal year 2018. This decrease was due in part to lower sales of key phone launches and less retail store traffic.

 

Gross Profit. Gross profit increased by 0.9% in fiscal year 2019 as compared to fiscal year 2018. In the commercial segment, gross profit increased by 3.8%. This increase was primarily driven by increases in our public carrier market of 21.4% and was offset by a decrease in value-added resellers and integrators market of 0.8%. We experienced margin compression within our public carrier market primarily due to a change in customer mix, with increased sales going to larger customers which required better pricing. Within the retail segment, gross profit decreased by 5.0% in fiscal year 2019 as compared to fiscal year 2018.  This decrease in gross margin was a result of product mix and the decrease in sales. Overall gross profit margin decreased to 20.0% in fiscal year 2019, compared to 20.7% in fiscal year 2018, primarily due to changes in customer mix, including the increase in lower margin sales in the public carrier market.

 

Selling, General, Administrative and Restructuring Expenses. Total selling, general, administrative and restructuring expenses increased 0.8% during fiscal year 2019 as compared to fiscal year 2018. Total selling, general, administrative and restructuring expenses as a percentage of revenues decreased from 19.4% in fiscal year 2018 to 18.7% in fiscal year 2019. The following are descriptions of changes in significant components of selling, general, administrative and restructuring expenses.

 

 

We continually evaluate the credit worthiness of our existing customer receivable portfolio and provide an appropriate reserve based on this evaluation. We also evaluate the credit worthiness of prospective and current customers and make decisions regarding extension of credit terms to such customers based on this evaluation. Accordingly, we recorded a provision for bad debts of $1,721,200 and $797,100 for fiscal year 2019 and fiscal year 2018, respectively.

 

Interest, Net. Net interest expense increased from $429,100 in fiscal year 2018 to $853,800 in fiscal year 2019. The increase is primarily related to higher borrowing levels on our secured revolving credit facility. Refer to Note 6 the financial statements included as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information on our borrowings.

 

Income Taxes, Net Income and Diluted Earnings Per Share. The effective tax rates in fiscal year 2019 and 2018 were 23.9% and 30.5%, respectively. The effective tax rate was lower for fiscal 2019, primarily due to the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act which was signed into law in December 2017 (the “2017 Tax Act”) and went into effect in the third quarter of fiscal 2018. As a result of the factors discussed above, net income and diluted earnings per share for fiscal year 2019 increased 6.7% and 6.6%, respectively, compared with fiscal year 2018.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

In summary, our cash flows were as follows:

 

 

We generated $0.9 million of net cash from operating activities during fiscal year 2020. This inflow was driven by net loss (net of depreciation and amortization, goodwill impairment loss, and non-cash stock compensation expense) and a decrease in accounts receivable, partially offset by an increase in prepaid expenses and an increase in deferred income taxes. Accounts receivable decreased due to the timing of sales at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020 as compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019. Prepaid expenses increased due to an increase in prepaid income taxes. Due to the recently enacted CARES Act, the Company is able to carry back net operating losses up to five years and receive a refund of taxes paid in prior years.

 

We generated $8.2 million of net cash from operating activities during fiscal year 2019. This inflow was driven by net income (net of depreciation and amortization and non-cash stock compensation expense), an increase in accounts payable and a decrease in inventory, partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable. Accounts payable increased due to strategic purchase of inventory during the fourth quarter with extended terms to support our public carrier business. Inventory decreased due to an intentional reduction of overall inventory in line with our efforts to manage working capital. Accounts receivable increased due to the timing of sales at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019 as compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018.

 

We used $9.2 million of net cash from operating activities during fiscal year 2018. This outflow was driven by increases in accounts receivable and inventory, partially offset by net income (net of depreciation and amortization and non-cash stock compensation expense), and an increase in accounts payable. Increasing sales to our public carrier customers required significant investments in inventory and at times resulted in larger accounts receivable balances. Accounts payable also increased in response to our higher inventory levels. Both current and potential opportunities within