Vera Bradley, Inc. - Annual Report: 2013 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended February 2, 2013

OR

For the Transition Period From              to             

Commission File Number: 001-34918

VERA BRADLEY, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(877) 708-8372

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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

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

None

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

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

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

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

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  x

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

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

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of July 28, 2012 was $441,178,250.

The registrant had 40,602,546 shares of its common stock outstanding as of April 2, 2013.

DOCUMENT INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for the 2013 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This annual report contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical or current fact included in this report are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements refer to our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, strategies, future performance, and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “believe,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “can have,” and “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. For example, all statements we make relating to our estimated and projected earnings, revenues, costs, expenditures, cash flows, growth rates, and financial results, our plans and objectives for future operations, growth, initiatives, or strategies, or the expected outcome or impact of pending or threatened litigation are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected, including:

We derive many of our forward-looking statements from our operating plans and forecasts, which are based upon detailed assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, we caution that it is difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and it is impossible for us to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results.

For a discussion of these risks and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in our forward-looking statements, please refer to “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this report.

We caution you that the risks and uncertainties identified by us may not be all of the factors that are important to you. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements included in this report are made only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

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PART I

Our Company

Vera Bradley is a leading designer, producer, marketer, and retailer of stylish and highly functional accessories for women. Our products include a wide offering of handbags, accessories, and travel and leisure items. Over our 30-year history, Vera Bradley has become a true lifestyle brand that appeals to a broad range of consumers. Our brand vision is accessible luxury that inspires a casual, fun, and family-oriented lifestyle. Our brand positioning emphasizes the high quality, distinctive and vibrant styling, and functional design of our products. Frequent releases of new designs help keep the brand fresh and our customers continually engaged.

We generate net revenues by selling products through two reportable segments: Direct and Indirect. As of February 2, 2013, our Direct segment consisted of sales of Vera Bradley products through our 65 full-price and 11 outlet stores in the United States; 15 department store locations in Japan; our websites, verabradley.com and verabradley.co.jp; and our annual outlet sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana. As of February 2, 2013, our Indirect segment consisted of sales of Vera Bradley products to approximately 3,400 specialty retailers, substantially all of which are located in the United States, as well as select department stores and third party e-commerce sites. For financial information about our reportable segments, refer to Note 14 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements set forth in Part II, “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” of this report.

The Company utilizes a 52-53 week fiscal year end. Effective January 1, 2008, we changed our fiscal year to end on the Saturday closest to January 31. As such, fiscal year 2013 ended on February 2, 2013 and reflected a 53-week period; fiscal years 2012 and 2011 ended on January 28, 2012, and January 29, 2011, respectively, and reflected 52-week periods.

Reorganization Transaction and Stock Split

Vera Bradley, Inc. was formed as an Indiana corporation on June 23, 2010, for the purpose of reorganizing the corporate structure of Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., which was incorporated in Indiana on November 15, 1982. On October 3, 2010, the shareholders of Vera Bradley Designs, Inc. contributed all of their shares of Class A Voting Common Stock and Class B Non-Voting Common Stock of Vera Bradley Designs, Inc. to Vera Bradley, Inc. in return for shares of Vera Bradley, Inc. Class A Voting Common Stock and Class B Non-Voting Common Stock on a one-for-one basis. In addition, effective October 3, 2010, Vera Bradley Designs, Inc. converted from an “S” Corporation to a “C” Corporation for income-tax purposes. Further, on October 18, 2010, Vera Bradley, Inc. recapitalized all of its Class A Voting Common Stock and Class B Non-Voting Common Stock into a single class of common stock and effectuated a 35.437-for-1 stock split of all outstanding shares of its common stock. These events collectively are referred to as the “Reorganization.” As a result of the Reorganization, Vera Bradley Designs, Inc. became a wholly owned subsidiary of Vera Bradley, Inc.

The only significant asset of Vera Bradley, Inc. is its investment in Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., and all of our operations are conducted through Vera Bradley Designs, Inc. Except where context requires or where otherwise indicated, the terms “Company,” “Vera Bradley,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to Vera Bradley Designs, Inc. and its subsidiaries before the Reorganization and to Vera Bradley, Inc. and its subsidiaries, including Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., after the Reorganization. All historical common stock and per share common stock information has been changed to reflect the stock split.

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Our History

Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia Miller founded the Company in 1982 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, after recognizing a lack of stylish travel accessories in the market. Within weeks, the friends created Vera Bradley, named after Ms. Bradley Baekgaard’s mother, and began manufacturing and marketing their distinctive products. The founders, together with the executive management team, have been instrumental in our growth and success. The following timeline sets forth a summary of significant milestones in Vera Bradley’s history:

The passion for design and customer service established by our founders has driven our growth over the past 30 years and remains the cornerstone of Vera Bradley today. As Chief Creative Officer, Ms. Bradley Baekgaard continues to play a role in the team responsible for our day-to-day creative functions, including product development and store design. Ms. Miller retired in October 2012 as our National Spokesperson, but continues to serve on the Board of Directors.

Evolution of Our Business

Beginning in 2005, we embarked on a series of strategic initiatives designed to take advantage of the growing interest in the Vera Bradley brand. These initiatives were designed to strengthen and enhance our business and operating model, expand our demographic and geographic market opportunity, and position us for future growth. The core components of these initiatives included the following:

Merchandising Strategy. To appeal to a broader range of consumers, we developed a mix of pattern and product offerings specifically targeted at different consumer demographics, refined our product release strategy to

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significantly expand our product portfolio, and increased the number of new patterns released as well as the frequency of new product launches. In addition, we substantially enhanced our visual merchandising strategy, focusing on a consistent presentation of Vera Bradley as a lifestyle brand. In fiscal 2012, we established a dedicated merchant function and elevated the role of marketing to work more collaboratively with the design team to continue improving our process of bringing products to market.

Multi-Channel Distribution Capability. In 2006, we initiated a Direct channel strategy that was designed to expand our brand presence and broaden our consumer demographic while complementing the growing Indirect segment of our business. The first step in establishing the Direct segment of our business was selling directly to consumers through verabradley.com beginning in 2006. In September 2007, we opened our first full-price store. As of February 2, 2013, we operated 65 full-price stores and 11 outlet stores, and 15 department store locations in Japan. In addition, in fiscal 2013 we had more than 61 million visits to verabradley.com.

Infrastructure Investment. Beginning in 2005, we made a series of investments to strengthen our supply chain capabilities, information systems, and product development processes, resulting in substantial cost savings and a more flexible and scalable operating structure. During this period, we shifted our production from a primarily domestic manufacturing model to a more cost-effective global sourcing platform. In 2007, we opened a state-of-the-art distribution facility in Roanoke, Indiana, which was doubled in size to approximately 400,000 square feet as a result of an expansion that was completed in fiscal 2013.

Our Brand

For over 30 years, we have created, developed, and solidified a true lifestyle brand that resonates with a broad range of female consumers. Our brand vision is accessible luxury that inspires a casual, fun, and family-oriented lifestyle. Employees, family members, and friends are often depicted throughout our advertising in fun, friendly, and family-oriented settings, accentuating our brand image in an authentic manner. Our visual merchandising strategy, particularly in our full-price stores, seeks to create the feeling of home. We believe that our lifestyle brand is well positioned to extend into complementary product categories. The strength of our brand is demonstrated during our annual outlet sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a sales event that attracts tens of thousands of highly enthusiastic shoppers from across the country.

Our brand positioning emphasizes the high quality, distinctive and vibrant styling, and functional design of our products. At the same time, our frequent releases of new patterns and styles keep the brand fresh, inspire our customers to express their individuality and sense of style in a colorful way, and encourage multiple purchases. We also provide consumers a consistently fresh set of patterns, styles, and products from which to choose that fit with different ages, wardrobes, seasons, and personalities.

We offer a broad assortment of products that meets our customers’ different functional needs, including: handbags such as purses, totes, and specialty bags; accessories such as wallets, wristlets, smartphone cases, technology accessories, and eyewear; and travel and leisure items such as weekend bags, duffel bags, and garment bags. We believe this combination of patterns, styles, and products allows us to appeal to all age brackets, including teens, young women, mature women, mothers, and grandmothers. Although our customers represent a broad range of demographic segments, our market research has shown that they generally have a common attitude toward the brand: Vera Bradley is a colorful way of allowing them to express their individuality and sense of style.

Competitive Strengths

We believe the following competitive strengths differentiate us within the marketplace and provide a strong foundation for our future growth:

Strong Brand Identity and Positioning. We believe the Vera Bradley brand is highly recognized for its distinctive and vibrant style. Vera Bradley is positioned in the market as a lifestyle brand that inspires consumers to express their individuality and sense of style. We have also positioned our brand to highlight the high quality and

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functional attributes of our products. The Vera Bradley brand is more price accessible than many competing brands, which allows us to attract a wide range of consumers and inspire repeat purchases.

Exceptional Customer Loyalty. We believe that, as consumers become familiar with the Vera Bradley brand and begin using our products, they become loyal and enthusiastic brand advocates. We believe enthusiasm for our brand inspires repeat purchases and helps us expand our customer base. Our customers often purchase our products as gifts for family members and friends, who, in turn, become loyal customers.

Product Development Expertise. Our product development team combines an understanding of consumer preferences with a knowledge of color, fashion, and style trends to design our products. Our highly creative design associates utilize a disciplined product design process that seeks to maximize the productivity of our product releases and drive consumer demand.

Dynamic Multi-Channel Distribution Model. We offer our products through a diverse choice of shopping options across channels that are intimate, highly shop-able, fun, and characteristic of our brand. Whether they are at a Vera Bradley store, a specialty retail store, a department store, or verabradley.com, we believe consumers have an opportunity to find the brand in places that match their unique shopping interests. Our multi-channel distribution model enables us to maximize brand exposure and customer access to our products.

Established Network of Indirect Retailers. Our Indirect business consists of an established and diverse network of over 3,400 specialty retailers and department store partners. This channel of gift, apparel and accessories, travel, and other specialty retailers, located throughout the United States, provides a strong foundation for our growth. Our Indirect retailers include some of the brand’s strongest advocates, and their passion has been instrumental in the development of our brand.

Distinctive Retail Stores. Our stores provide a shopping experience that is uniquely “Vera Bradley.” We bring the Vera Bradley brand to life in our stores through visual presentation of our wide range of product offerings, the stylish, inviting décor of our stores, and personalized service from our friendly and knowledgeable sales associates. We believe the distinctive shopping experience and personalized service encourage repeat visits and multiple purchases.

Unique Company Culture. We were founded in 1982 by two friends, Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia Miller, who built our company around their passion for design and commitment to customer service. We believe our founders created a unique company culture that attracts passionate and motivated employees who are excited about our products and our brand. Our employees share our founders’ commitment to Vera Bradley customers. We believe that a fun, friendly, and welcoming work environment fosters creativity and collaboration and that, by empowering our employees to become personally involved in product design, testing, and marketing, they become passionate and devoted brand advocates.

Experienced Management Team. Our senior management team led by Michael C. Ray, our Chief Executive Officer, has extensive experience across a diverse range of disciplines in product design, merchandising, marketing, store development, supply chain management, and finance. The current management team has been instrumental in the development and execution of our long-term strategies.

Growth Strategies

We believe there are significant opportunities to expand our business and increase our net revenues and net income through the execution of the following growth strategies:

Grow in Underpenetrated Markets. Our historic growth focused primarily on the eastern United States, and accordingly, the Vera Bradley brand is most recognized in that region. In recent years, we have successfully expanded our Direct and Indirect channels in key developing markets, including in the Midwest and Southwest. In addition, in fiscal 2012 we expanded internationally by entering the Japanese market. We believe the success

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of our expansion efforts is a testament to the strength and portability of our brand and the power of our multi-channel distribution capabilities. We intend to utilize these strengths to further penetrate our existing markets and successfully expand our business into other foreign markets and relatively underpenetrated U.S. markets.

Expand Our U.S. Store Base. We plan to expand our retail presence in the United States by opening new stores. We believe that the market in the United States can support at least 300 Vera Bradley full-price stores. We plan to open approximately 20 new stores annually during each of the next five fiscal years.

Drive Comparable-Store Sales and Our E-Commerce Business. We have several ongoing initiatives to drive comparable-store sales growth, including focusing on store-level merchandising programs and enhancing in-store customer service and selling capabilities. As a key element of our Direct channel strategy, we intend to grow our e-commerce business through focused marketing efforts, online merchandising initiatives, and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. We believe our retail and e-commerce businesses are complementary and facilitate frequent contact with our customers.

Expand Our Product Offerings. We design products to “accessorize a woman’s life” and believe this core competence serves as a platform for growth within and beyond our current product lines. We have expanded our product offerings to include new line extensions, such as focused gift and special occasion offerings, including this year’s back to campus and tech accessory products, and brand extensions, such as our paper and stationery collection. We believe that opportunities exist to “accessorize a woman’s life” through complementary product collections that fit within our positioning as a lifestyle brand.

Our Product Release Strategy

We introduce new patterns seasonally. Within each season, we generally introduce two to four patterns. These patterns are incorporated into the designs of a wide range of products, including handbags, accessories, and travel and leisure items, that are part of the core seasonal release. These product assortments each season can be classic styles, updates to older designs, or new product introductions.

Between our seasonal offerings we introduce smaller assortments specific to a category (e.g., a Vera Bradley Baby gift assortment) or customer segment (e.g., a more fashion-forward resort collection).

To keep our assortment current and fresh and to focus our inventory investments on our best performers, we discontinue patterns at regular intervals. We sell our remaining inventory of retired products primarily through our website, outlet stores, and at our annual outlet sale.

Our Products

The following chart presents net revenues generated by each of our three product categories and other revenues as a percentage of our total net revenues for fiscal 2013, 2012, and 2011:

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Handbags. Handbags are a core part of our product offerings and are the primary component of every seasonal assortment. The category consists of classic and new styles developed by our product development team to meet consumer demand and drive repeat purchases. Our handbag product category extends beyond handbags to include totes and specialty bags such as crossbodies, baby bags, backpacks, and laptop portfolios. Handbags play a prominent role in our visual merchandising, and we focus on showcasing the different patterns, colors, and features of each bag.

Accessories. Accessories, our second largest revenue category, include technology accessories and fashion accessories such as wallets, wristlets, eyeglass cases, cosmetics cases, paper and gift products. Our accessories are attractively priced and allow the consumer to include some color in her wardrobe, even if tucked into another bag. Our product development team consistently updates the accessories assortment based on consumer demand and fashion trends.

Travel and Leisure Items. Our travel and leisure product category includes duffel bags, garment bags, rolling luggage, and travel accessories, such as travel cosmetic cases. The first Vera Bradley product offering included duffel bags, which consistently have been a strong performer. We believe their popularity, as well as the appeal of our other travel and leisure items, results from our vibrant designs, functional styles, and lightweight fabrications.

Product Development

We have implemented a fully integrated and cross-functional product development process that aligns design, market research, merchandise management, sales, marketing, and sourcing. Product development is a core capability that makes our products unique and provides us with a competitive advantage. Our designs and aesthetics set our products apart and drive customer loyalty. Our product development team mixes an understanding of the needs of our target customers with knowledge of upcoming color and fashion trends to design new collections as well as new product categories that will resonate in the market.

We typically begin the development stage of our products in the Vera Bradley portfolio 12 – 18 months in advance of their release. The development of each new pattern includes the design of an overall print, a complementary fabric backing, and three sizes of coordinating trim materials. To seek fresh perspectives, we collaborate with independent designers to create unique patterns for each season. We oversee the development and exercise the final approval of all patterns and designs. Once developed, we generally copyright each pattern, including the print, fabric backing and coordinating trim. We believe that great design is not only central to our product development efforts, but also is a fundamental part of our brand development and growth strategies. In the past several years, we have made investments to evolve and integrate our product development expertise, including opening a design office in New York City, as well as opening a design center in Roanoke, Indiana.

Our product development team works to ensure that new collections contain an assortment of products and styles that are in line with both fashion trends and customer needs and regularly updates classic styles to enhance functionality. In addition, we actively pursue opportunities to expand our product offerings through new line and brand extensions. Our product development team monitors fashion trends and customer needs by attending major trend shows in Europe and the United States, subscribing to trend monitoring services, and engaging in comparison-shopping.

Our product development team is also responsible for assortment planning, pricing, forecasting, promotional development, and product lifecycle management. Forecasting is based on seasonal market research and in-store testing. We gather seasonal market research through a variety of methodologies, including scheduled interviews and online and in-person surveys. We conduct seasonal in-store testing by releasing test products in our full-price stores and evaluating their success in the marketplace prior to product introduction on a larger scale. The team assures that we offer a broad range of patterns, fabrics, styles, and functionality features in a cost-effective manner. We believe that with our cross-functional, collaborative approach, we are able to introduce and sell our merchandise in a way that clearly communicates the Vera Bradley brand and the Vera Bradley lifestyle.

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Marketing

We believe that the growth of our brand and our business is influenced by our ability to introduce and sell our merchandise in a way that clearly conveys the Vera Bradley lifestyle. We use marketing as critical tools in our efforts to promote our brand.

Direct Mail. The seasonal Vera Bradley catalogs are key vehicles for promoting the brand and product portfolio. Each catalog is sent to a targeted customer mailing list. In addition to distributing the catalog, we produce and distribute a number of other marketing pieces, including postcards and mini-mailers. We believe our direct mail media generates excitement and awareness about the brand and seasonal introductions and allow us to reach both new and loyal customers in their homes.

Advertising. We employ print and outdoor advertising to increase overall brand awareness. Our advertisements are placed primarily in national magazines that have a readership similar to our target demographics. These publications have recently included Seventeen, InStyle, Better Homes and Gardens, and Real Simple. We continually assess our advertising strategies and tactics.

Public Relations and Product Placement. Vera Bradley has received considerable exposure in the press, including in publications such as InStyle, O the Oprah Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Southern Living, and The New York Times. In addition, we have expanded our marketing efforts to promote product placement in feature-length films and on prime-time television shows such as Modern Family and New Girl.

Social Media and Online Marketing. In recent years, we have greatly increased traffic to verabradley.com and have increased awareness of our brand through online marketing and social networking sites. We have captured more than 2.0 million customer e-mail addresses in our online customer file, with many of these customers providing age, occupation, and location data. This captured information provides us with deeper insight into the products and categories that are in the highest demand, and allows us to better target our customers with appropriate messages. As of February 2, 2013, we had approximately 1.4 million Facebook fans, over 52 thousand Twitter followers, and over 3 million visits to our blog, The Inside Stitch. We believe these media not only connect us with our fans, but also allow us to target them through cross-channel marketing.

Channels of Distribution

We distribute our products through our Direct and Indirect segments. This multi-channel distribution model not only enables us to have operational flexibility, but also maximizes the methods by which we can access potential customers.

Direct Segment

Full-Price Stores. We have developed a retail presence through our full-price stores, all located in the United States, which provides us with a format to showcase the image and products of Vera Bradley. As of February 2, 2013, we operated 65 full-price stores. Our full-price stores average approximately 1,800 square feet per store. Our stores are designed to create a feeling of home with a high standard of visual merchandising. The welcoming nature of our full-price stores provides our customers with a comfortable shopping experience in a setting that showcases our merchandise and conveys the Vera Bradley lifestyle. Our sales associates are passionate about our products and customer service, which, we believe, translates into a superior shopping experience.

E-Commerce. In 2006, we began selling our products through the verabradley.com website. The objective of verabradley.com is to provide both a mechanism for marketing directly to consumers and a storefront where consumers can find the entire Vera Bradley collection. In fiscal 2013, we invested in upgrades to our website allowing for a more user friendly homepage, enabling us to ship to over 13 international countries, and enhancing the checkout experience. In fiscal 2013, we had over 61 million visits to verabradley.com.

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Outlet Stores. Our outlet stores are a vehicle for selling retired merchandise at discounted prices, while maintaining brand integrity. We believe our outlet stores are an integral part of our distribution strategy, as this format provides an additional channel of distribution for our products and enables us to better target value-oriented customers. Our outlet stores average approximately 3,000 square feet per store. As of February 2, 2013, we operated 11 outlet stores.

International. We launched a marketing campaign to connect with the Japanese consumer on April 18, 2011. This campaign included seven temporary pop-up stores in several department stores including Isetan Shinjuku and Marui Yurakucho located across Tokyo and Kyoto. The international channel includes the Japanese website verabradley.co.jp launched in fiscal 2012. During fiscal 2013, we increased our Japanese presence to a total of 15 department store locations.

Annual Outlet Sale. Our annual outlet sale is held in the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Exposition Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The annual outlet sale is an important tradition for Vera Bradley, has many loyal followers, and is an opportunity for us to sell our retired merchandise at discounted prices in a brand-right fashion. We attracted more than 62,500 attendees to our 2012 annual outlet sale.

Store Location Selection Strategy

Our store location decisions are made case by case, depending on the retail strategy we have developed for the particular market. This includes actual and planned penetration in both Indirect and Direct segments, as well as existing e-commerce demand. At this time, we do not believe any market has been fully penetrated. We believe that expansion of our store base complements our Indirect segment by increasing brand awareness and reinforcing our brand image. In addition to analyzing store economics, we pay particular attention to the location within the shopping center, the size and shape of the space, and desirable co-tenancies. Along with seeking co-tenants that we believe share our target customer, we seek a balanced mix of moderate and high-end retailers to encourage high levels of traffic. Our target full-price store size is approximately 1,800 square feet, but we are able to work with spaces as small as 1,000 square feet or, depending on our market strategy and relevant economic factors, spaces as large as 2,800 square feet.

Store Operations

The focus of our store operations is providing consumers with a comfortable shopping experience. We strive to make the experience interactive through special store events, such as showcasing newly launched products or celebrating our namesake’s birthday. Our customer service philosophy emphasizes friendly service, merchandise knowledge, and passion for the brand. Consequently, an essential requirement for the success of our stores is our ability to attract, train, and retain talented, highly motivated district managers, store managers, and sales associates. Our district and store managers are our primary link to the consumer, and we continually invest in their development.

Store Economics

We believe that our innovative retail concept and distinctive retail experience contribute to the success of our stores, most of which generate strong productivity and returns. We expect our full-price stores to average approximately 1,800 square feet per store, and we expect to invest approximately $0.4 million per new store, consisting of inventory costs, pre-opening costs, and build-out costs, less tenant-improvement allowances. New full-price stores generate on average between $1.2 million and $1.4 million in net revenues during the first twelve months, and the payback on our investment is expected to occur in less than 18 months.

Indirect Segment

As of February 2, 2013, we had approximately 3,400 Indirect retailer partners, the majority of which were specialty retailers with whom we have had long-standing relationships. No single account represented more than

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5.0% of total Indirect net revenues in fiscal 2013, with the top ten accounts representing in the aggregate less than 16.0% of total Indirect net revenues. The majority of our Indirect retailers have been customers for over five years. In fiscal 2012, we launched our products in the department store channel.

Sales Force

We believe that having an in-house sales force results in more consistent brand presentation and messaging, enhanced support for our Indirect retailers, and a more predictable, scalable, and cost-efficient business model. As of February 2, 2013, our sales team consisted of 87 in-house, full-time sales consultants. The compensation structure for our sales consultants consists of a combination of fixed pay and sales-based incentives.

In addition to acquiring new and growing existing accounts, our sales consultants serve as a support center for our Indirect retailers by assisting and educating them in areas such as merchandising and visual presentation, marketing of the brand, product selection, and inventory management. Our sales consultants also participate in our semi-annual product introduction and education event for our Indirect retailers. Our visual merchandising program provides our sales consultants with a framework to guide our Indirect retailers regarding optimal product placement and display that is intended to reinforce the message that our brand is distinct from those of our competitors.

Manufacturing and Supply Chain Model

Our manufacturing and supply chain model is designed to maximize flexibility in order to meet shifting demands in the market. Our model utilizes offshore raw material suppliers and a blend of offshore and domestic manufacturing. We place a strong emphasis on continuous improvement and have employed lean manufacturing concepts. Our broad-based, multi-country manufacturing and supply chain model is designed to achieve efficient, timely, and accurate order fulfillment while maintaining appropriate levels of inventory.

Our sourcing strategy is part of the larger cross-functional product development process. The overall objective for our sourcing team is to build and sustain collaborative partnerships throughout our supply chain, with a focus on identifying appropriate countries and partners to manufacture our products. The sourcing team leverages its expertise in negotiation, relationship management, and change management to maintain a strong global supply chain.

We strive to maintain the appropriate balance of inventory to enable us to provide a high level of service to our customers, including prompt and accurate delivery of our products. We have an active sales and operations planning process that helps us balance the supply and demand issues that we encounter in our business, optimize our inventory levels, and anticipate inventory needs. We have also integrated our planning, forecasting, and segmentation processes under one function called Inventory Planning and Deployment. This integrated function along with the creation of a Merchant function, has allowed for further improvements to our inventory management processes.

The majority of our products are cotton-based. Our other products are made primarily from specialty fabrics (including nylon and microfiber) and paper. We source our materials from various suppliers in Asia, with the majority coming from China and South Korea. Our global supply chain and purchasing teams work together with select suppliers enabling us to optimize the mix of cost, lead time, quality, and reliability within our global supply network. All of our suppliers must comply with our quality standards, and we use only a limited number of pre-approved suppliers who have demonstrated a commitment to delivering the highest quality products. In December 2008, we opened an office in Dongguan, China, which enables us to increase our control over the manufacturing and supply chain process and monitor compliance with our quality standards.

A significant majority of our finished goods products are manufactured externally overseas. These products are made by a variety of global manufacturers located primarily in China. We are not dependent upon any single

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manufacturer for our products. When determining the size of orders placed with our manufacturers, we take into account forward-looking demand, lead times for specific products, current inventory levels, and minimum order quantity requirements. Overseas production has resulted in substantial cost savings and a reduction of capital investment. With the oversight of our office in China and our independent contractors, we believe these financial benefits have been realized without sacrificing the level of quality inherent in our products or service to our customers.

The remainder of our products are manufactured in the United States to provide flexibility in our supply chain. This production, almost all of which is internal to Vera Bradley, enables us to manufacture a finished product in two weeks. This capability allows us to manufacture finished product to respond quickly to shifts in marketplace demand and changes in consumer preferences. In fiscal 2013, approximately 7% of our units were produced in our domestic manufacturing facility.

Distribution Center

In 2007, we consolidated our warehousing and shipping functions into one, 217,320 square-foot distribution center, located in Roanoke, Indiana. In fiscal 2013, we completed a 200,000 square-foot expansion of the distribution facility. This highly automated, computerized facility allows Vera Bradley employees to receive information directly from the order-collection center and quickly identify the products and quantities necessary for a particular order. The recent expansion resulted in capacity gains in the areas of inbound receiving, inventory storage, order fulfillment, value-add processing and shipping. The facility’s advanced technology enables us to more accurately process and pack orders, as well as track shipments and inventory. We believe that our systems for the processing and shipment of orders from our distribution center have enabled us to improve our overall customer service through enhanced order accuracy and reduced turnaround time.

We strive to maintain the appropriate balance of inventory to enable us to provide a high level of service to our customers, including prompt and accurate delivery of our products. We have an active Inventory Planning and Deployment function that strives to balance the supply and demand issues that we encounter in our business, optimize our inventory levels, and anticipate inventory needs.

Our products are shipped primarily via FedEx and common carriers to our stores, our Indirect retailers, and directly to our customers who purchase through our website. We believe we are positioned well to support the order fulfillment requirements of our growing business, including business generated through our website.

Management Information Systems

We believe that high levels of automation and technology are essential to maintain our competitive position. We maintain computer hardware, systems applications, and networks to enhance and accelerate the design process, to support the sale and distribution of our products to our customers, and to improve the integration and efficiency of our operations. Our management information systems are designed to provide, among other things, comprehensive order processing, production, accounting, and management information for the product development, retail, sales, marketing, manufacturing, distribution, finance, and human resources functions of our business. We use several systems, including MICROS-Retail, SAP, JDA, and SCALE, for our information technology requirements.

Competition

We face strong competition in each of the product lines and markets in which we compete. We believe that all of our products are in similar competitive positions with respect to the number of competitors they face and the level of competition within each product line. Due to the number of different products we offer, it is not practicable for us to quantify the number of competitors we face. Our products compete with other branded products within their product categories and with private label products sold by retailers. In our Indirect business,

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we compete with numerous manufacturers, importers, and distributors of handbags, accessories, and other products for the limited space available for the display of such products to the consumer. Moreover, the general availability of contract manufacturing allows new entrants access to the markets in which we compete, which may increase the number of competitors and adversely affect our competitive position and our business. In our Direct business, we compete against other independent retailers, department stores, catalog retailers, gift retailers, and Internet businesses that engage in the retail sale of similar products.

The market for handbags, in particular, is highly competitive. Our competitors include not only established companies that are expanding their production and marketing of handbags, but also frequent new entrants to the market. We directly compete with wholesalers and direct sellers of branded handbags and accessories, such as Coach, Nine West, Liz Claiborne, Dooney & Bourke, and Michael Kors.

In varying degrees, depending on the product category involved, we compete on the basis of design (aesthetic appeal), quality (construction), function, price point, distribution, and brand positioning. We believe that our primary competitive advantages are consumer recognition of our brand, customer loyalty, product development expertise, and our widespread presence through our multi-channel distribution model. Some of our competitors have achieved significant recognition for their brand names or have substantially greater financial, distribution, marketing, and other resources than we do. Further, we may face new competitors and increased competition from existing competitors as we expand into new markets and increase our presence in existing markets.

Copyrights and Trademarks

The development of each new pattern includes the design of an overall print, a complementary fabric backing, and coordinating trim materials. Once developed, we generally copyright each pattern, including the print, fabric backing, and coordinating trim. We currently have in excess of 500 copyrights.

We also own all of the material trademark rights used in connection with the production, marketing, and distribution of all of our products, both in the United States and in the other countries in which our products are principally sold. Our trademarks include “Vera Bradley.” We aggressively police our trademarks and copyrights and pursue infringers both domestically and internationally. We also pursue counterfeiters domestically and internationally through leads generated internally, as well as through external sources monitoring use in the market. Our trademarks will remain in existence for as long as we continue to use and renew them on their expiration dates. We have no material patents.

Employees

As of February 2, 2013, we had 2,438 employees. Of the total, 1,319 were engaged in retail selling positions, 361 were engaged in manufacturing functions, 32 were engaged in product design, and 491 were engaged in corporate support and administrative functions. The remaining employees were engaged in other aspects of our business. None of our employees is represented by a union. We believe that our relations with our employees are good, and we have never encountered a significant work stoppage.

Government Regulation

Many of our imported products are subject to existing or potential duties, tariffs, or quotas that may limit the quantity of products that we may import into the United States and other countries or impact the cost of such products. To date, we have not been restricted by quotas in the operation of our business, and customs duties have not comprised a material portion of the total cost of a majority of our products. In addition, we are subject to foreign governmental regulation and trade restrictions, including U.S. retaliation against prohibited foreign practices, with respect to our product sourcing and international sales operations.

We are subject to federal, state, local, and foreign laws and regulations governing environmental matters, including the handling, transportation, and disposal of our products and our non-hazardous and hazardous

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substances and wastes, as well as emissions and discharges into the environment, including discharges to air, surface water, and groundwater. Failure to comply with such laws and regulations could result in costs for corrective action, penalties, or the imposition of other liabilities. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations has not had a material effect upon our earnings or financial position. If we violate any laws or regulations, however, it could have a material adverse effect on our business or financial performance.

Executive Officers

The following table sets forth certain information concerning each of our executive officers:

Michael C. Ray has served as our Chief Executive Officer since 2007 and as a director since June 2010. From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Ray served as our Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing. From 1999 to 2004, he served as our National Sales Director. Mr. Ray joined Vera Bradley in 1998 as Director of Finance and served us in that capacity until being promoted to National Sales Director in 1999. He is a board member of the Riley Children’s Foundation in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Mr. Ray has been instrumental in our growth and the development and execution of our long-term strategic plans. He provides our board of directors with an in-depth knowledge of our products, industry, challenges, and opportunities, and he communicates management’s perspective on important matters.

Barbara Bradley Baekgaard co-founded Vera Bradley in 1982 and has served as a director since then. From 1982 through June 2010, she also served as Co-President. From the outset, Ms. Bradley Baekgaard has provided leadership and strategic direction in our brand’s development by providing creative vision to areas such as marketing, product design, assortment planning, and the design and visual merchandising of our stores. In May 2010, she was appointed Chief Creative Officer. She currently serves as a board member of the Indiana University Cancer Center Development and the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer.

As Co-Founder of Vera Bradley, Ms. Bradley Baekgaard serves a key leadership role on our board of directors and provides the board with a broad array of institutional knowledge and historical perspective as well as an in-depth knowledge of business strategy, branding, product development, and store design.

Kevin J. Sierks has served as our Interim Chief Financial Officer since January 2013 and our Vice President – Controller and Chief Accounting Officer since December 2011. Prior to joining Vera Bradley, from 2007 to 2011 Mr. Sierks served as Vice President – Controller at Biomet, Inc., a large orthopedic medical device company. Mr. Sierks previously served as Director of Accounting and U.S. Shared Services at Boston Scientific Corporation from 2005 to 2007. From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Sierks served as Director of Financial Reporting and Business Development at Guidant Corporation, which was acquired by Boston Scientific Corporation in 2006. Formerly, Mr. Sierks was with Deloitte & Touche from 1995 to 2002, departing as an Audit Manager. Mr. Sierks is a Certified Public Accountant.

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Kimberly F. Colby has served as our Executive Vice President – Design since 2005. From 2003 through 2005, she served as our Vice President of Design. From 1989 to 2003, Ms. Colby served as our Design Director responsible for Marketing and Product Development. Ms. Colby’s professional history includes retail advertising, public relations, direct mail creative direction and management, special event planning, and interior design.

C. Roddy Mann has served as our Executive Vice President – Strategy and Business Development since April 2010 and is responsible for the development of our strategies and new business opportunities in both our Indirect and Direct channels. From 2007 to April 2010, Mr. Mann served as our Vice President – Strategy, Sales and Marketing. From 2006 to 2007, he served as Vice President – Strategic Initiatives. Prior to joining Vera Bradley, Mr. Mann was a Vice President at LakeWest Group, a consulting firm based in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1999 to 2006. In 2006, in a consulting capacity, Mr. Mann assisted us with the development of our Direct retail store strategy and execution plans.

Matthew C. Wojewuczki has served as our Executive Vice President – Operations since April 2010. From 2003 to April 2010, Mr. Wojewuczki served as our Vice President – Operations. Prior to joining Vera Bradley, he served as Vice President of Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management of Wabash Alloys, a secondary aluminum producer, from 2000 to 2003. From 1997 to 2000, he served as a principal consultant in the Management Consulting Services Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers. In addition, Mr. Wojewuczki is a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, where he holds the rank of Major.

Bonita Inza has served as our Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing - Chief Experience Officer since March 2013. Prior to joining Vera Bradley, Ms. Inza served as Senior Vice President of Associate and Customer Engagement at Bath & Body Works from 2011 to 2012. From 2006 to 2011, Ms. Inza served on the senior management team at T-Mobile USA, where she held roles of Vice President of Retail, Vice President of Concept Development and Vice President Product Innovation, Design, and Delivery. Prior to T-Mobile, Ms. Inza served over 25 years in senior executive roles at Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, and GUESS?.

David O. Thompson has served as our Vice President – Direct Sales since 2008. Prior to joining Vera Bradley, Mr. Thompson was a Senior Consultant, Manager and Vice President at LakeWest Group from 1998 to 2008. Prior to working at LakeWest Group, he served in various retail positions at OfficeMax, based in Cleveland, Ohio, and Bradless, based in Braintree, Massachusetts. With over 20 years of experience in the retail industry, Mr. Thompson has expertise in retail operations, web operations business process improvements and information technology in traditional retail, catalog and e-commerce channels.

Anastacia S. Knapper has served as our Vice President – General Counsel, Corporate Secretary since December 2011. Prior to joining Vera Bradley, Ms. Knapper served as the Vice President – General Counsel, Corporate Secretary for CTS Corporation from January 2011 to November 2011 and the Vice President – General Counsel, Corporate Secretary for Haynes International, Inc. from August 2006 to December 2010. Formerly Ms. Knapper was with Ice Miller LLP from August 2000 to August 2006, where she departed as a Senior Associate.

Available Information

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are available free of charge on our website, www.verabradley.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). No information contained on our website is intended to be included as part of, or incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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You should carefully consider all of the information in this report, particularly the following factors, which could materially affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations in future periods. The risks described below are not the only risks that we face. Additional risks not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations in future periods.

Risks Related to Our Business

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

The success of our growth strategies, alone or collectively, will depend on various factors, including the appeal of our product designs, retail presentation to consumers, competitive conditions, and economic conditions. If we are unsuccessful in implementing some or all of our strategies or initiatives, our future operating results could be adversely impacted.

Successful implementation of our strategies will require us to manage our growth. To manage our growth effectively, we will need to continue to increase production while maintaining strict quality control. We also will need to continue to improve and invest in our systems and processes to keep pace with planned increases in demand. We could suffer a decline in sales if our products do not continue to meet our quality control standards or if we are unable to respond adequately to increases in customer demand for our products.

We are continuing to invest in our specialty retailers to support them in growing along with Vera Bradley. This channel will continue to evolve over time as we balance the channel dynamics between the specialty retailers, department stores, our Direct stores, and e-commerce.

Additionally, our current growth strategy includes plans to expand internationally. We currently plan to open additional retail space in Japan. We do not yet have significant experience operating in Japan, and we face established competitors. Furthermore, Japan has different operational characteristics, including but not limited to employment and labor, transportation, logistics, real estate, and local reporting or legal requirements. In addition, consumer demand and behavior, as well as tastes and purchasing trends may differ in Japan, and as a result, sales of our product may not be successful, or the margins on those sales may not be in line with those we currently anticipate. If our international expansion plans are unsuccessful, our financial results could be adversely affected.

Changes in general economic conditions, and their impact on consumer confidence and consumer spending, could adversely impact our results of operations.

Our performance is subject to general economic conditions and their impact on levels of consumer confidence and consumer spending. In recent years, consumer confidence and consumer spending deteriorated significantly, influenced by fluctuating interest rates and credit availability, changing fuel and other energy costs, fluctuating commodity prices, higher levels of unemployment and consumer debt levels, reductions in net worth based on market declines, home foreclosures and reductions in home values, and general uncertainty regarding the overall future economic environment. Consumer purchases of discretionary items, including our merchandise, generally decline during periods when disposable income is adversely affected or there is economic uncertainty, and this could adversely impact our results of operations. In the event of another significant economic downturn, we could experience lower than expected net revenues, which could force us to delay or slow the implementation of our growth strategies and adversely impact our results of operations.

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Our inability to predict and respond in a timely manner to changes in consumer demand could adversely affect our net revenues and results of operations.

Our success depends on our ability to gauge the fashion tastes of our customers and to provide merchandise that satisfies consumer demand in a timely manner. Our products must appeal to a broad range of consumers whose preferences cannot be predicted with certainty and are subject to rapid change. We cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to develop appealing patterns and styles or meet changing consumer demands in the future. If we misjudge the market for our products, we may be faced with significant excess inventories for some products and missed opportunities for other products. Merchandise misjudgments could adversely impact our net revenues and results of operations.

We may not be able to successfully open and operate new stores as planned, which could adversely impact our results of operations.

Our continued growth will depend on our ability to successfully open and operate new stores. We plan to open approximately 20 new stores during each of the next five fiscal years. Our ability to successfully open and operate new stores depends on many factors, including our ability to:

The success of new store openings may also be affected by our ability to initiate marketing efforts in advance of opening our first store in a particular region. Additionally, we will encounter pre-operating costs and we may encounter initial losses while new stores commence operations, which could strain our resources and adversely impact our results of operations.

Our business depends on a strong brand. If we are unable to maintain and enhance our brand, then we may be unable to sell our products, which could adversely impact our results of operations.

We believe that the brand image that we have developed has contributed significantly to the success of our business. We also believe that maintaining and enhancing the Vera Bradley brand is critical to maintaining and expanding our customer base. Maintaining and enhancing our brand may require us to make substantial investments in areas such as product design, store operations, and community relations. These investments might not succeed. If we are unable to maintain or enhance our brand image, our results of operations could be adversely impacted.

Our results of operations could suffer if we lose key management or design associates or are unable to attract and retain the talent required for our business.

Our performance depends largely on the efforts and abilities of our senior management and product development teams. These executives and design associates have substantial experience in our business and have made significant contributions to our growth and success. We do not have employment agreements with any of our key executives or design associates. The unexpected loss of services of certain of these individuals could have adverse impacts on our business and results of operations. As our business grows and we open new stores, we will need to attract and retain additional qualified employees and develop, train, and manage an increasing number of management-level, sales, and other employees. Competition for qualified employees is intense. We cannot assure you that we will be able to attract and retain employees as needed in the future.

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Our results of operations are subject to quarterly fluctuations, which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Our quarterly results of operations may fluctuate significantly as a result of a variety of factors, including, among other things:

As a result of these quarterly fluctuations, we believe that comparisons of our sales and operating results between different quarters within a single fiscal year are not necessarily meaningful and that these comparisons cannot be relied upon as indicators of our future performance. Any quarterly fluctuations that we report in the future may not match the expectations of market analysts and investors. This could cause the trading price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly.

A data security or privacy breach could damage our reputation and our relationships with our customers, expose us to litigation risk and adversely affect our business.

We are dependent on information technology systems and networks, including the Internet, for a significant portion of our Direct store sales, including our e-commerce operations and retail business credit card transaction authorization and processing. We are also responsible for storing data relating to our customers and employees and rely on third parties for the operation of our e-commerce websites and for the various social media tools and websites we use as part of our marketing strategy. As part of our normal course of business, we often collect, retain, and transmit certain sensitive and confidential customer information, including credit card information, over public networks. There is a significant concern by consumers and employees over the security of personal information transmitted over the Internet, consumer identity theft and user privacy. Despite the security measures we currently have in place, our facilities and systems and those of our third party service providers may be vulnerable to security breaches, acts of vandalism, computer viruses, misplaced or lost data, programming and/or human errors, or other similar events. Any electronic or physical security breach involving the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of confidential or personally identifiable information, including penetration of our network security, whether by us or by a third-party, could disrupt our business, severely damage our reputation and our relationships with our customers, expose us to risks of litigation and liability and adversely affect our business and results of operations. Since we do not control third-party service providers and cannot guarantee that no electronic or physical computer break-ins and security breaches will occur in the future, any perceived or actual unauthorized disclosure of personally identifiable information regarding our customers or website visitors could harm our reputation and credibility, reduce our e-commerce net sales, impair our ability to attract website visitors and reduce our ability to attract and retain customers. We may also incur significant costs in complying with the various applicable state, federal and foreign laws regarding unauthorized disclosure of personal information.

Our business could suffer if our computer systems and websites are disrupted or cease to operate effectively.

We are dependent on our computer systems to record and process transactions and manage and operate our business, including in designing, marketing, manufacturing, importing, tracking and distributing our products, processing payments, and accounting for and reporting results. We also utilize an automated replenishment

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system to facilitate the processing of basic replenishment orders, the movement of goods through distribution channels, and the collection of information for planning and forecasting. In addition, we have e-commerce and other Internet websites in the U.S. and Japan. Given the complexity of our business and the significant number of transactions that we engage in on an annual basis, it is imperative that we maintain constant operation of our computer hardware and software systems. Despite our preventative efforts, our systems are vulnerable from time to time to damage or interruption from, among other things, security breaches, computer viruses or power outages. Any material disruptions in our information technology systems could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our inability to sustain levels of comparable-store sales could cause our stock price to decline.

We may not be able to sustain the levels of comparable-store sales that we have experienced in the recent past. If our future comparable-store sales decline or fail to meet market expectations, then the price of our common stock could decline. Also, the aggregate results of operations of our stores have fluctuated in the past and will fluctuate in the future. Numerous factors influence comparable-store sales, including fashion trends, competition, national and regional economic conditions, pricing, inflation, the timing of the release of new merchandise and promotional events, changes in our merchandise mix, inventory shrinkage, marketing programs, changes in consumer shopping trends towards on-line shopping, and weather conditions. In addition, many companies with retail operations have been unable to sustain high levels of comparable-store sales during and after periods of substantial expansion. These factors may cause our comparable-store sales results to be lower in the future than in recent periods or lower than expectations, either of which could result in a decline in the price of our common stock.

We are subject to risks associated with leasing substantial amounts of space, including future increases in occupancy costs.

We do not own any real estate other than our distribution facility. We lease our corporate headquarters, our other offices, and all of our store locations. We typically occupy our stores under operating leases with terms of ten years. We have been able to negotiate favorable rental rates in recent years due in part to the state of the economy and high vacancy rates within some shopping centers, but there is no assurance that we will be able to continue to negotiate such favorable terms. Some of our leases have early cancellation clauses, which permit the lease to be terminated by us or the landlord if certain sales levels are not met in specific periods or if the shopping center does not meet specified occupancy standards. In addition to requiring future minimum lease payments, some of our store leases provide for the payment of common area maintenance charges, real property insurance, and real estate taxes. Many of our lease agreements have escalating rent provisions over the initial term and any extensions. As we expand our store base, our lease expense and our cash outlays for rent under lease agreements will increase. Our substantial operating lease obligations could have significant negative consequences, including:

Any of these consequences could place us at a disadvantage with respect to our competitors. We depend on cash flow from operating activities to pay our lease expenses and to fulfill our other cash needs. If our business does not generate sufficient cash flow from operating activities to fund these expenses and needs, we may not be able to service our lease expenses, grow our business, respond to competitive challenges, or fund our other liquidity and capital needs, which would harm our business.

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Additional sites that we lease may be subject to long-term non-cancelable leases if we are unable to negotiate our current standard lease terms. If an existing or future store is not profitable, and we decide to close it, we may nonetheless be committed to perform our obligations under the applicable lease, including paying the base rent for the balance of the lease term. Moreover, even if a lease has an early cancellation clause, we may not satisfy the contractual requirements for early cancellation under the lease. Our inability to enter new leases or renew existing leases on acceptable terms or be released from our obligations under leases for stores that we close would, in any such case, affect us adversely.

We operate in a competitive market. Our competitors might develop products more popular with consumers than our products.

The market for handbags, accessories, and travel and leisure items is competitive. Our competitive challenges include:

In our Indirect business, we compete with numerous manufacturers, importers, and distributors of handbags, accessories, and other products for the limited space available for the display of such products to the consumer. In our Direct business, we compete against other gift and specialty retailers, department stores, catalog retailers, and Internet businesses that engage in the retail sale of similar products. Moreover, the general availability of contract manufacturing allows new entrants easy access to the markets in which we compete, which may increase the number of competitors and adversely affect our competitive position and our business.

We rely on various contract manufacturers to produce a significant majority of our products and generally do not have long-term contracts with our manufacturers. Disruptions in our contract manufacturers’ systems, losses of manufacturing certifications, or other actions by these manufacturers could increase our cost of sales, adversely affect our net revenues, and injure our reputation and customer relationships, thereby harming our business.

Our various contract manufacturers produce a significant majority of our products. We generally do not enter into long-term formal written agreements with our manufacturers and instead transact business with each of them on an order-by-order basis. In the event of a disruption in our contract manufacturers’ systems, we may be unable to locate alternative manufacturers of comparable quality at an acceptable price, or at all. Identifying a suitable manufacturer is an involved process that requires us to become satisfied with the prospective manufacturer’s quality control, responsiveness and service, financial stability, and labor practices. Any delay, interruption, or increased cost in the manufactured products that might occur for any reason, such as the lack of long-term contracts or regulatory requirements and the loss of certifications, power interruptions, fires, hurricanes, war, or threats of terrorism, could affect our ability to meet customer demand for our products, adversely affect our net revenues, increase our cost of sales, and hurt our results of operations. In addition, manufacturing disruption could injure our reputation and customer relationships, thereby harming our business.

We rely on various suppliers to supply a significant majority of our raw materials. Disruption in the supply of raw materials could increase our cost of goods sold and adversely affect our net revenues.

We generally do not enter into long-term formal written agreements with our suppliers and typically transact business with each of them on an order-by-order basis. As a result, we cannot assure that there will be no

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significant disruption in the supply of fabrics or raw materials from our current sources or, in the event of a disruption, that we would be able to locate alternative suppliers of materials of comparable quality at an acceptable price, or at all.

We rely on a single distribution facility for all of the products we sell. Disruption to that facility could adversely impact our results of operations, and expansion of that facility could have unpredictable adverse effects.

Our distribution operations are currently concentrated in a single, company-owned distribution center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Any significant disruption in the operation of the facility due to natural disaster or severe weather, or events such as fire, accidents, power outages, system failures, or other unforeseen causes, could devalue or damage a significant portion of our inventory and could adversely affect our product distribution and sales until such time as we could secure an alternative facility. If we encounter difficulties with our distribution facility or other problems or disasters arise, we cannot ensure that critical systems and operations will be restored in a timely manner or at all, and this would have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, our growth could require us to further expand our current facility, which could affect us adversely in ways that we cannot predict.

The cost of raw materials could increase our cost of sales and cause our results of operations to suffer.

Fluctuations in the price, availability, and quality of fabrics or other raw materials used to manufacture our products, as well as the price for labor, marketing, and transportation, could have adverse impacts on our cost of sales and our ability to meet our customers’ demands. In particular, fluctuations in the price of cotton, our primary raw material, could have an adverse impact on our cost of sales. In addition, because a key component of our products is petroleum-based, the cost of oil affects the cost of our products. Upward movement in the price of oil in the global oil markets would also likely result in rising fuel and freight prices, which could increase our shipping costs. In the future, we may not be able to pass all or a portion of higher costs on to our customers.

Our business is subject to the risks inherent in global sourcing and manufacturing activities.

We source our fabrics primarily from manufacturers in China and South Korea and outsource the production of a significant majority of our products to companies in Asia. We are subject to the risks inherent in global sourcing and manufacturing, including, but not limited to:

Significant disruption of manufacturing for any of the above reasons could interrupt product supply and, if not remedied in a timely manner, could have an adverse impact on our results of operations. Additionally, we do not have complete oversight over our contract manufacturers. Violation of labor or other laws by those manufacturers, or the divergence of a contract manufacturer’s labor or other practices from those generally

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accepted as ethical in the United States or in other markets in which we may in the future do business, could also draw negative publicity for us and our brand, diminishing the value of our brand and reducing demand for our products.

Our ability to source our products at favorable prices, or at all, could be harmed, with adverse effects on our results of operations, if new trade restrictions are imposed or if existing trade restrictions become more burdensome.

A significant majority of our products are currently manufactured for us in Asia. The United States and the countries in which our products are produced have imposed and may impose additional quotas, duties, tariffs, or other restrictions or regulations or may adversely adjust prevailing quotas, duties, or tariffs. Countries impose, modify, and remove tariffs and other trade restrictions in response to a diverse array of factors, including global and national economic and political conditions, which make it impossible for us to predict future developments regarding tariffs and other trade restrictions. Trade restrictions, which include embargoes, safeguards, and customs restrictions, could increase the cost or reduce the supply of products available to us or could require us to modify supply chain organization or other current business practices, any of which could harm our results of operations.

We may be subject to unionization, work stoppages, slowdowns or increased labor costs.

Currently, none of our employees is represented by a union. Nevertheless, our employees have the right at any time under the National Labor Relations Act to organize or affiliate with a union. If some or all of our workforce were to become unionized, our business would be exposed to work stoppages and slowdowns as a unionized business. If, in addition, the terms of the collective bargaining agreement were significantly more favorable to union workers than our current pay-and-benefits arrangements, our costs would increase and our results of operations would suffer.

We rely on independent transportation providers for substantially all of our product shipments.

We currently rely on independent transportation service providers for substantially all of our product shipments. Our utilization of these delivery services, or those of any other shipping companies that we may elect to use, is subject to risks, including increases in fuel prices, which would increase our shipping costs, and employee strikes and inclement weather, which may impact the shipping company’s ability to provide delivery services sufficient to meet our shipping needs.

If for any reason we were to change shipping companies, we could face logistical difficulties that might adversely affect deliveries, and we would incur costs and expend resources in the course of making the change. Moreover, we might not be able to obtain terms as favorable as those received from the service providers that we currently use, which in turn would increase our costs. We also would face shipping and distribution risks and uncertainties associated with any expansion of our distribution facility and related systems.

We plan to use cash provided by operating activities to fund our expanding business and execute our growth strategies and may require additional capital, which may not be available to us.

Our business relies on cash provided by operating activities as our primary source of liquidity. To support our growing business and execute our growth strategies, we will need significant amounts of cash from that source. If our business does not generate cash flow from operating activities sufficient to fund these activities, and if sufficient funds are not otherwise available to us from our existing revolving credit facility, we will need to seek additional capital, through debt or equity financings, to fund our growth. If new sources of financing are required, but are insufficient or unavailable, then we will be required to modify our growth and operating plans based on available funding, if any, which would inhibit our growth and could harm our business.

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We face various risks as an e-commerce retailer.

Business risks relating to e-commerce sales include the need to keep pace with rapid technological change, internet security risks, risks of system failure or inadequacy, governmental regulation, and taxation. We have contracted with several different companies to maintain and operate various aspects of our e-commerce business and are reliant on them and their ability to perform their tasks, as well as their operational, privacy, and security procedures and controls as they affect our business. If the independent contractors on which we rely fail to perform their tasks, we could incur liability or suffer damages to our reputation, or both.

Our copyrights, trademarks and other proprietary rights could conflict with the rights of others, and we may be inhibited from selling some of our products. If we are unable to protect our copyrights and other proprietary rights, others may sell imitation brand products.

We believe that our registered copyrights, registered and common law trademarks, and other proprietary rights have significant value and are critical to our ability to create and sustain demand for our products. Although we have not been inhibited from selling our products in connection with intellectual property disputes, we cannot assure you that obstacles will not arise as we expand our product line and extend our brand as well as the geographic scope of our sales and marketing. We also cannot assure you that the actions taken by us to establish and protect our proprietary rights will be adequate to prevent imitation of our products or infringement of our rights by others. The legal regimes of some foreign countries, particularly China, may not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and it may be more difficult for us to successfully challenge the use of our proprietary rights by others in these countries. The loss of copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights could adversely impact our results of operations. Any litigation regarding our proprietary rights could be time consuming and costly.

Prior to the completion of the Reorganization, we were treated as an “S” Corporation under Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code, and claims of taxing authorities related to our prior status as an “S” Corporation could harm us.

Upon the completion of the Reorganization in fiscal 2011, our “S” Corporation status terminated automatically and we became subject to increased federal and state income taxes. If the unaudited, open tax years in which we were an “S” Corporation are audited by the Internal Revenue Service, and we are determined not to have qualified for, or to have violated, our “S” Corporation status, we will be obligated to pay back taxes, interest, and penalties, and we do not have the right to reclaim tax distributions we have made to our shareholders during those periods. These amounts could include taxes on all of our taxable income while we were an “S” Corporation. Any such claims could result in additional costs to us and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Fluctuations in our tax obligations and effective tax rate may result in volatility of our operating results and stock price.

We are subject to income taxes in many U.S. and certain foreign jurisdictions. We record tax expense based on our estimates of future payments, which includes reserves for uncertain tax positions in multiple tax jurisdictions. At any one time, many tax years are subject to audit by various taxing jurisdictions. Further, possible changes in federal, state, local, and non-U.S. tax laws bearing upon our revenues, income, property, or other aspects of our operations or business would, if enacted, affect our results of operations in ways and to a degree that we cannot currently predict.

Additional indebtedness incurred in connection with the Reorganization may decrease business flexibility and increase borrowing costs.

On October 4, 2010, we entered into an amended and restated credit agreement that increased our available credit from $75 million to $125 million. Also in October 2010, in connection with the Reorganization, we increased the

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outstanding borrowings under our amended and restated credit agreement to fund a final “S” Corporation distribution to our then-shareholders. As of February 2, 2013, we had outstanding borrowings of $15.0 million under our amended and restated credit agreement, compared to $25.0 million outstanding under our former credit facility as of January 28, 2012. Our indebtedness could have the effect, among other things, of:

Our Indirect business could suffer as a result of bankruptcies or operational or financial difficulties of our Indirect retailers.

We do not enter into long-term agreements with any of our Indirect retailers. Instead, we enter into a number of purchase order commitments with our customers for each of our lines every season. A decision by a significant number of Indirect retailers, whether motivated by competitive conditions, operational or financial difficulties, reduced access to capital, or otherwise, to decrease or eliminate the amount of merchandise purchased from us or to change their manner of doing business with us could adversely impact our results of operations. Although we recommend retail sale prices for our products to our Indirect retailers, we do not provide dealer allowances or other economic incentives to support those prices. Possible promotional pricing or discounting by Indirect retailers in response to softening retail demand could have a negative effect on our brand image and prestige, which might be difficult to counteract as the economy improves.

We sell our Indirect merchandise primarily to specialty retail stores across the United States and extend trade credit based on an evaluation of each Indirect retailer’s financial condition, usually without requiring collateral. Perceived financial difficulties of a customer could cause us to curtail or eliminate business with that customer. Pending the resolution of a relationship with a financially troubled Indirect retailer, we might assume credit risk that we would otherwise avoid relating to our receivables from that customer. Inability to collect on accounts receivable from our Indirect retailers would adversely impact our results of operations.

There are claims made against us from time to time that can result in litigation or regulatory proceedings, which could distract management from our business activities and result in significant liability or damage to our brand image.

As a growing company with expanding operations, we increasingly face the risk of litigation and other claims against us. Litigation and other claims may arise in the ordinary course of our business and include employee claims, custom and duty claims, commercial disputes, intellectual property issues, product-oriented allegations, and slip and fall claims. Often these cases raise complex factual and legal issues, which are subject to risks and uncertainties and which could require significant management time. Litigation and other claims against us could result in unexpected expenses and liability, as well as materially adversely affect our operations and our reputation.

Health care reform could adversely affect the Company’s business.

In 2010, Congress enacted comprehensive health care reform legislation which, among other things, includes guaranteed coverage requirements, eliminates pre-existing condition exclusions and annual and lifetime maximum limits, restricts the extent to which policies can be rescinded, and imposes new and significant taxes on health insurers and health care benefits. Due to the breadth and complexity of the health reform legislation, the current lack of implementing regulations and interpretive guidance, and the phased-in nature of the implementation, it is difficult to predict the overall effect of the legislation and related regulations on the

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business over the coming years. Possible adverse effects of the health reform legislation include increased costs, exposure to expanded liability and requirements for the Company to revise ways in which it conducts business.

Risks Related to the Securities Markets and Ownership of Our Common Stock

Our stock price may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance, and you may not be able to resell shares at or above the price at which you purchase them.

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, most of which we cannot control, including:

These and other factors may result in a lower market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. As a result, our common stock may trade at prices significantly below the offering price.

In addition, the stock markets, including The Nasdaq Global Select Market, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many retail companies. In the past, stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation following periods of market volatility. If we were involved in securities litigation, we could incur substantial costs and our resources and the attention of management could be diverted from our business.

Because a limited number of shareholders control a large percentage of the voting power of our common stock, investors may have limited ability to determine the outcome of shareholder votes.

Michael Ray, Robert Hall, Barbara Bradley Baekgaard, Joan Hall (Mr. Hall’s wife and Ms. Bradley Baekgaard’s daughter), Patricia R. Miller and P. Michael Miller, directly or indirectly, beneficially own and have the ability to exercise voting control over, in the aggregate, 43.6% of our outstanding shares of common stock. As a result, these shareholders are able to exercise significant influence over all matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election of directors, any amendments to our second amended and restated articles of incorporation and significant corporate transactions. This concentrated ownership of outstanding common stock may limit your ability to influence corporate matters, and the interests of these shareholders may not coincide with our interests or your interests. As a result, we may take actions that you do not believe to be in our interests or your interests and that could depress our stock price. In addition, this significant concentration of stock ownership may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock should investors perceive disadvantages in owning shares of common stock in a company that has such concentrated ownership.

Our actual operating results may differ significantly from our guidance.

From time to time, we release guidance regarding our future performance that represents our management’s estimates as of the date of release. This guidance, which consists of forward-looking statements, is prepared by our management and is qualified by, and subject to, the assumptions and the other information contained or

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referred to in the release. Our guidance is not prepared with a view toward compliance with published guidelines of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and neither our independent registered public accounting firm nor any other independent expert or outside party compiles or examines the guidance and, accordingly, no such person expresses any opinion or any other form of assurance with respect thereto.

Guidance is based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while presented with numerical specificity, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control and are based upon specific assumptions with respect to future business decisions, some of which will change. We generally state possible outcomes as high and low ranges which are intended to provide a sensitivity analysis as variables are changed, but are not intended to represent that actual results could not fall outside of the suggested ranges. The principal reason that we release these data is to provide a basis for our management to discuss our business outlook with analysts and investors. We do not accept any responsibility for any projections or reports published by any such persons.

Guidance is necessarily speculative in nature, and it can be expected that some or all of the assumptions of the guidance furnished by us will not materialize or will vary significantly from actual results. Accordingly, our guidance is only an estimate of what management believes is realizable as of the date of release. Actual results will vary from the guidance and the variations may be material. Investors should also recognize that the reliability of any forecasted financial data diminishes the farther in the future that the data are forecast. In light of the foregoing, investors are urged to put the guidance in context and not to place undue reliance on it.

Anti-takeover provisions in our organizational documents and Indiana law may discourage or prevent a change in control, even if a sale of the company would be beneficial to our shareholders, which could cause our stock price to decline and prevent attempts by shareholders to replace or remove our current management.

Our second amended and restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that may delay or prevent a change in control, discourage bids at a premium over the market price of our common stock, harm the market price of our common stock and diminish the voting and other rights of the holders of our common stock. These provisions include:

As permitted by our second amended and restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, our board of directors also has the ability, should they so determine, to adopt a shareholder rights agreement, sometimes called a “poison pill,” providing for the issuance of a new series of preferred stock to holders of common stock. In the event of a takeover attempt, this preferred stock would give rights to holders of common stock (other than the potential acquirer) to buy additional shares of common stock at a discount, leading to the dilution of the potential acquirer’s stake. The adoption of a poison pill, or the board’s ability to do so, can have negative effects such as those described above.

As an Indiana corporation, we are governed by the Indiana Business Corporation Law (as amended from time to time, the “IBCL”). Under specified circumstances, certain provisions of the IBCL related to control share acquisitions, business combinations and constituent interests may delay, prevent or make more difficult unsolicited acquisitions or changes of control of us. These provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our management. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that shareholders might deem to be in their best interest.

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None.

The following table sets forth the location, use, and size of our manufacturing, distribution, and corporate facilities as of February 2, 2013. The leases on the leased properties expire at various times through 2015, subject to renewal options.

As of February 2, 2013, we also leased 90 store locations in the United States, including 14 store locations opened or to be opened in fiscal 2014. See below for more information regarding the locations of our open stores as of February 2, 2013.

We consider these properties to be in good condition generally and believe that our facilities are adequate for our operations and provide sufficient capacity to meet our anticipated requirements. The properties in the above table are used by both the Direct segment and Indirect segment, excluding the two showrooms which are used exclusively by the Indirect segment.

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Store Locations

Our full-price stores are located primarily in high-traffic regional malls, lifestyle centers, and mixed-use shopping centers across the United States. The following table shows the number of full-price and outlet stores we operated in each state as of February 2, 2013:

We lease all of our stores. Initial lease terms for our stores are approximately 10 years in duration without renewal options. The leases generally provide for a fixed minimum rental plus contingent rent, which is determined as a percentage of gross sales in excess of specified levels.

We may be involved from time to time, as a plaintiff or a defendant, in various routine legal proceedings incident to the ordinary course of our business. In the ordinary course, we are involved in the policing of our intellectual property rights. As part of our policing program, from time to time we file lawsuits in the United States and abroad, alleging acts of trademark counterfeiting, trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and ancillary and pendent state and foreign law claims. These actions often result in seizure of counterfeit merchandise and negotiated settlements with defendants. Defendants sometimes raise as affirmative defenses, or as counterclaims, the purported invalidity or unenforceability of our proprietary rights. We believe that the outcome of all pending legal proceedings in the aggregate will not have a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition.

Not Applicable

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PART II

Our common stock has been listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “VRA” since our initial public offering on October 21, 2010. The following table sets forth the high and low sales prices of our common stock, as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market, for each quarterly period in our two most recent fiscal years:

As of March 22, 2013, we had approximately 29 registered shareholders of record. The number of shareholders of record is based upon the actual number of shareholders registered at such date and does not include holders of shares in “street names” or persons, partnerships, associations, corporations, or other entities identified in security position listings maintained by depositories.

Dividends

Our common stock began trading on October 21, 2010, following our initial public offering. Since that time, we have not declared any cash dividends, and we do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

Prior to our initial public offering, as an “S” Corporation, we distributed annually to our shareholders amounts sufficient to cover their tax liabilities, due to the income that flowed through the shareholders’ tax returns. Additional amounts were distributed from time to time to our shareholders at the discretion of the board of directors. During fiscal 2011, we paid distributions of $132.8 million to our shareholders, which included a final distribution (resulting from the termination of our “S” Corporation status) of 100% of our undistributed taxable income from the date of our formation through October 2, 2010.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

The following table sets forth information regarding equity securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans as of February 2, 2013:

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Stock Performance Graph

The graph set forth below compares the cumulative shareholder return on our common stock between October 21, 2010 (the date of our initial public offering), and January 28, 2012, to the cumulative return of (i) the S&P 500 Index and (ii) the S&P 500 Apparel, Accessories, and Luxury Goods Index over the same period. This graph assumes an initial investment of $100 on October 21, 2010, in our common stock, the S&P 500 Index, and the S&P 500 Apparel, Accessories, and Luxury Goods Index and assumes the reinvestment of dividends, if any. The graph also assumes that the initial price of our common stock on October 21, 2010, was the initial public offering price of $16.00 per share and that the initial prices of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Apparel, Accessories, and Luxury Goods Index on October 21, 2010, were the closing prices on the previous trading day.

The comparisons shown in the graph below are based on historical data. We caution that the stock price performance presented in the graph below is not necessarily indicative of, or is it intended to forecast, the potential future performance of our common stock. Information used in the graph was obtained from The NASDAQ Stock Market website, but we do not assume responsibility for any errors or omissions in such information.

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The following tables present selected consolidated financial and other data as of and for the years indicated. The selected income statement data for the most recent three fiscal years presented and the selected balance sheet data for the fiscal years ended February 2, 2013, and January 28, 2012, are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this report. The selected income statement data for the fiscal years ended January 30, 2010, and January 31, 2009, and selected balance sheet data for the fiscal years ended January 29, 2011, January 30, 2010, and January 31, 2009, are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements that are not included elsewhere in this report. The historical results presented below are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for any future period. You should read this selected consolidated financial and other data in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes and the information under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” appearing elsewhere in this report.

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You should read the following discussion in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes and the information contained in other sections of this report, particularly under the headings “Risk Factors,” “Selected Financial Data” and “Business.” This discussion and analysis is based on the beliefs of our management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our management. The statements in this discussion and analysis concerning expectations regarding our future performance, liquidity, and capital resources, as well as other non-historical statements in this discussion and analysis, are forward-looking statements. See “Forward-Looking Statements.” These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those described under “Risk Factors.” Our actual results could differ materially from those suggested or implied by any forward-looking statements.

Executive summary

Below is a summary of our strategic progress and financial highlights:

Strategic Progress

Financial Highlights

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How We Assess the Performance of Our Business

In assessing the performance of our business, we consider a variety of performance and financial measures.

Net Revenues

Net revenues reflect revenues from the sale of our merchandise and from distribution and shipping and handling fees, less returns and discounts. Revenues for the Direct segment reflect sales through our full-price and outlet stores, department store locations in Japan, our websites, verabradley.com and verabradley.co.jp, and our annual outlet sale in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Revenues for the Indirect segment reflect sales to Indirect specialty retailers and department stores.

Comparable-Store Sales

Comparable-store sales are calculated based upon our stores that have been open at least 12 full fiscal months as of the end of the reporting period. Remodeled stores are included in comparable-store sales unless the store was closed for a portion of the current or comparable prior period or the remodel resulted in a significant change in square footage. Some of our competitors and other retailers calculate comparable or “same store” sales differently than we do. As a result, data in this report regarding our comparable-store sales may not be comparable to similar data made available by other companies. Non-comparable store sales include sales from stores not included in comparable-store sales. Comparable store sales do not include e-commerce sales.

Measuring the change in year-over-year comparable-store sales allows us to evaluate how our store base is performing. Various factors affect our comparable-store sales, including:

Gross Profit

Gross profit is equal to our net revenues less our cost of sales. Cost of sales includes the direct cost of purchased and manufactured merchandise, distribution center costs, operations overhead, duty, and all inbound freight costs incurred. The components of our reported cost of sales may not be comparable to those of other retail and wholesale companies.

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Gross profit can be impacted by changes in volume, fluctuations in sales price, operational efficiencies, such as leveraging of fixed costs, promotional activities, such as free shipping, and commodity prices such as cotton, and labor in Asia.

Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses (SG&A)

SG&A expenses include selling; advertising, marketing, and product development; and administrative. Selling expenses include Direct business expenses such as store expenses, employee compensation, and store occupancy and supply costs, as well as Indirect business expenses consisting primarily of employee compensation and other expenses associated with sales to Indirect retailers. Advertising, marketing, and product development expenses include employee compensation, media costs, creative production expenses, marketing agency fees, new product design costs, public relations expenses, and market research expenses. A portion of our advertising expenses may be reimbursed by Indirect retailers, and such amount is classified as other income. Administrative expenses include employee compensation for corporate functions, corporate headquarters occupancy costs, consulting and software expenses, and charitable donations.

Other Income

We support many of our Indirect retailers’ marketing efforts by distributing certain catalogs and promotional mailers to current and prospective customers. Our Indirect retailers reimburse us for a portion of the cost to produce these materials. Reimbursement received is recorded as other income. The related cost to design, produce, and distribute the catalogs and mailers is recorded as SG&A expense. Other income also includes proceeds from the sales of tickets to our annual outlet sale and the gain on the sale of certain life insurance policies.

Operating Income

Operating income equals gross profit less SG&A expenses plus other income. Operating income excludes interest income, interest expense, and income taxes.

Income Taxes

Prior to October 3, 2010, we were taxed as an “S” Corporation for federal income tax purposes under Section 1362 of the Internal Revenue Code, and therefore were not subject to federal and state income taxes (subject to exception in a limited number of state and local jurisdictions that do not recognize the “S” Corporation status). On October 3, 2010, our “S” Corporation status automatically terminated and we became subject to corporate-level federal and state income taxes at prevailing corporate rates.

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Results of Operations

The following tables summarize key components of our consolidated results of operations for the last three fiscal years, both in dollars and as a percentage of our net revenues.

The Company utilizes a 52-53 week fiscal year ending on the Saturday closest to January 31. As such, fiscal year 2013 ended on February 2, 2013 and reflected a 53-week period; fiscal years 2012 and 2011 ended on January 28, 2012, and January 29, 2011, respectively and reflected 52-week periods. The inclusion of the 53^rd week in fiscal 2013 resulted in incremental net revenues of approximately $4.9 million and approximately $0.02 per diluted share.

The following tables present net revenues by operating segment, both in dollars and as a percentage of our net revenues, and full-price and outlet store data for the last three fiscal years: