WILLIAMS SONOMA INC - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

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As of August 2, 2020, the approximate aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by was $6,720,032,000. It is assumed for purposes of this computation that an affiliate includes all persons as of August 2, 2020 listed as executive officers and directors with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This aggregate market value includes all shares held in the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Stock Fund within the registrant’s 401(k) Plan.

Portions of our definitive Proxy Statement for the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, also referred to in this Annual Report on Form as our Proxy Statement, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, have been incorporated in Part III hereof.

This Annual Report on Form and the letter to stockholders contained in this Annual Report contain forward-looking statements within the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they do not fully materialize or prove incorrect, could cause our business and operating results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements related to: projections of earnings, revenues, growth and other financial items; the strength of our business and our brands; our ability to execute strategic priorities and growth initiatives regarding digital leadership, product and technology innovation, cross-brand initiatives, retail transformation and operational excellence; our beliefs about our competitive advantages and areas of potential future growth in the market; our ability to drive long-term sustainable returns; the plans, strategies, initiatives and objectives of management for future operations; our brands, products and related initiatives, including our ability to introduce new brands, brand extensions, products and product lines and bring in new customers; our belief that our websites and direct-mail catalogs act as a cost-efficient means of testing market acceptance of new products and new brands; the complementary nature of our and retail channels; our marketing efforts; our acquisition of Outward, Inc., including the valuation of intangible assets acquired; our global business and expansion efforts, including franchise, other third-party arrangements and company-owned operations; our ability to attract new customers; the seasonal variations in demand; our ability to recruit, retain and motivate skilled personnel; our belief in the reasonableness of the steps taken to protect the security and confidentiality of the information we collect; our belief in the adequacy of our facilities and the availability of suitable additional or substitute space; our belief in the ultimate resolution of current legal proceedings; the payment of dividends; our stock repurchase program; our capital allocation strategy in fiscal 2021; our planned use of cash in fiscal 2021; our compliance with financial covenants; our belief that our cash on hand and available credit facilities will provide adequate liquidity for our business operations over the next 12 months; the impact of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; the impact of tariffs on our business and our results of operations; our belief regarding the effects of potential losses under our indemnification obligations; the impact of inflation; the effects of changes in our inventory reserves; the impact of new accounting pronouncements; the impact of the coronavirus on our retail store operations, global supply chain and customer spending and demand; and statements of belief and statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. You can identify these and other forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “will,” “may,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “intends,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms, or other comparable terminology.

In the decades that followed, the quality of our products, our ability to identify new opportunities in the market and our people-first approach to business have facilitated our expansion beyond the kitchen into nearly every area of the home. Growth across the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. portfolio has been fueled by three areas of strategic investment: brand experimentation and innovation, for a approach to omni-channel retail experiences; operational excellence across the enterprise, from quality product and sourcing, to efficient manufacturing and supply chain; and culture and corporate social responsibility, from commitments to foster women in leadership and embrace diversity, to a healthy impact on our community and environment.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is the world’s largest digital-first, design-led and sustainable home retailer. Our products represent distinct merchandise strategies — Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm, Williams Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, and Mark and Graham — are marketed through websites, direct-mail catalogs and retail stores. These brands are also part of The Key Rewards, our loyalty program that offers members exclusive benefits across the Williams-Sonoma family of brands. We operate in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, offer international shipping to customers worldwide, and have unaffiliated franchisees that operate stores in the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea and India, as well as websites in certain locations. We are also proud to lead the industry with our Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) efforts.

Rejuvenation, founded in 1977 with a passion for timeless design and quality craftsmanship, was acquired by Williams-Sonoma, Inc. in 2011. With design, manufacturing and distribution facilities in Portland, Oregon, Rejuvenation offers a wide assortment of lighting, hardware, furniture and home décor inspired by history, designed for today and made to last for years to come.

In 2017, we acquired Outward, Inc., a imaging and augmented reality platform for the home furnishings and décor industry. Headquartered in San Jose, California, Outward’s technology enables scalable applications in product visualization, digital room design and augmented and virtual reality.

As of January 31, 2021, we had the following merchandise strategies: Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm, Williams Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham, which sell our products through our websites, direct-mail catalogs and retail stores. We offer shipping from many of our brands to countries worldwide, while our catalogs reach customers throughout the U.S. The business complements the retail business by building brand awareness and acting as an effective advertising vehicle. We believe that our websites and our direct-mail catalogs act as a cost-efficient means of testing market acceptance of new products and new brands. Leveraging these insights and our omni-channel positioning, our marketing efforts, including digital advertising and the circulation of catalogs, are targeted toward driving sales to each of our channels. Consistent with our published privacy policies, we send our catalogs to addresses from our proprietary customer list, as well as to addresses from lists of other mail order direct marketers, magazines and companies with which we establish a business relationship. In accordance with prevailing industry practice and our privacy policies, we may also rent our list to select mailers. Our customer mailings are continually updated to include new prospects and to eliminate In addition, the retail business complements the business by building brand awareness and attracting new customers to our brands. Our retail stores serve as billboards for our brands, which we believe inspires our customers to also shop online and through our catalogs. We operate 581 stores, which include 538 stores in 42 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, 21 stores in Canada, 19 stores in Australia and 3 stores in the United Kingdom. We also have multi-year franchise agreements with third parties in the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea and India that currently operate 136 franchised locations as well as websites in certain locations.

The specialty and retail businesses are highly competitive. Our websites, direct-mail catalogs and retail stores compete with other retailers, including retailers, large department stores, discount retailers, other specialty retailers offering home-centered assortments and other direct-mail catalogs. The substantial sales growth in the industry within the last decade, particularly in has encouraged the entry of many new competitors, including discount retailers selling undifferentiated products at reduced prices, new business models and has resulted in increased competition from established companies. We compete on the basis of our brand authority, the quality of our merchandise, our customer service, our proprietary customer list, our e-commerce websites and marketing capabilities, the location and appearance of our stores, as well as our in-house design, our digital-first channel strategy, and our values, which we believe have become increasingly relevant and set us apart from our competitors. Our in-house teams design our own products and work with our talented vendors to bring quality, sustainable products to market through our high-touch multichannel platform.

We invest in our employees through accessible resources and structured training programs that help our associates to create the career they envision for themselves. We offer a large selection of development opportunities for our employees including and online learning, as well as professional development courses, such as goal setting, unconscious bias and inclusive leadership training. We have a company-wide

Advisor Program, which matches associates in a Manager and above role with to form advisor/advisee relationships to provide career guidance and receive support in working through career and development challenges. Additionally, our LEAD program — Leadership Education and Development — provides a leadership training program for nominated Directors and Vice Presidents. We also foster other team-based programs to develop talent at all levels of the Company, supplying associates with new skills and training. Through these programs, we give our associates the tools to succeed, learn new skills and develop their careers.

During fiscal 2020, to address the safety and health of our workforce due to the pandemic, we implemented a number of safety-related protocols, including:

We offer a benefits package designed to put our associates’ health and well-being, and that of their families, at the forefront. Depending on position and location, associates may be eligible for: 401(k) plan and other investment opportunities; paid vacations, holidays and other programs; health, dental and vision insurance; health and dependent care spending accounts; medical, family and bereavement leave; paid maternity/primary caregiver benefits; commuter benefits; wellness programs; time off to volunteer, and matching donations to qualifying nonprofit organizations. In addition, consistent with our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we have expanded our benefit offerings to include coverage for transgender-inclusive services, including gender confirmation surgery and hormone therapy.

In connection with the pandemic, we acted quickly to meet the needs of our team members, by providing certain enhanced benefits, such as:

Since 2017 we have donated over $42 million in corporate, customer and associate donations. Our partners include organizations that promote and strengthen the wellbeing of children, women, families and LGBTQ+ communities, such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, No Kid Hungry, AIDS Walk and Canada Children’s Hospitals. We raised $5 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during the fiscal 2020 St. Jude Campaign, which included donations from our customers at time of purchase, special St. Jude-designated product sales where a portion of the sale was donated, employee donations, and donations from the Company. We also support organizations and partners, such as GlobalGiving and Good360, which assist those whose homes have been damaged or lost. We give charitable grants, donate our merchandise, donate proceeds from the sale of certain products, and provide matching grants for charitable donations made by our associates. Our Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Foundation also provides need-based grants to our associates directly impacted by the pandemic.

We file annual reports on Form quarterly reports on Form current reports on Form proxy and information statements and amendments to reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and other companies that file materials electronically with the SEC. Our annual reports, Forms Forms and proxy and information statements are also available, free of charge, on our website at www.williams-sonomainc.com.

Our business has been and may continue to be materially impacted by the pandemic, which has negatively affected the U.S. and global economies, disrupted businesses and financial markets, and led to significant travel and transportation restrictions, mandatory closures of retailers and other businesses, and orders to

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared to be a global pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures worldwide. In March 2020, we announced the temporary closures of all of our retail store operations to protect our employees, customers and the communities in which we operate and to help contain the pandemic. The preventative or protective actions that governments and businesses around the world have taken to contain the spread of have resulted in a period of disruption that has and may continue to negatively impact our retail store revenues which comprised approximately 30% of our net revenues in fiscal 2020. As of January 31, 2021, the majority of our retail stores had reopened for shopping. However, given the continued uncertainty around due to high rates of infections in certain areas, state and local officials in certain geographies have extended closures or restrictions on retail capacity, which may continue to impact our store traffic and retail revenues, and may result in future store impairments. Additionally, federal, state and local governments may impose new restrictions on retail operations, which could affect our ability to operate our retail stores until such restrictions are lifted. Such reduced traffic and store closures have and may continue to result in material reductions in our retail store revenues and operating income as well as store asset impairment charges and write-offs, which have and may continue to negatively affect our operating results. Further, while we have implemented strict safety protocols based on Center for Disease Control and Prevention and government recommendations in stores that we have there is no guarantee that such protocols will be effective, and any virus-related illnesses linked or alleged to be linked to our stores, whether accurate or not, may negatively affect our reputation, operating results and/or financial condition.

Although to date, the impact of our store closures on our retail store revenues has been more than offset by growth in our business, there is no guarantee that such growth will continue over a prolonged period of time when the pandemic subsides and consumers spend less time at home, or if the pandemic worsens due to new variants, either of which could result in decreased consumer spending in the markets in which we operate.

Governmental mandates, illness or the absence of a substantial number of distribution center employees may require in the future that we temporarily close one or more of our distribution centers, or may prohibit or significantly limit us, or our third-party logistics providers from delivering packages to our customers and our stores, which could complicate or prevent us from fulfilling orders and could complicate or prevent our ability to supply merchandise to our stores. As of the date of this report, all our distribution centers remain open and operational, but we continue to experience delays resulting from a shortage of shipping containers needed to ship our products, port congestion, and capacity constraints by our carriers in the delivery of our products.

We also have incurred and expect to continue to incur higher shipping costs due to the various surcharges that have been announced by third party shippers on retailers, which are related to the increased shipping demand resulting from the pandemic. These higher costs affected us in the third quarter of 2020 and even more so in the fourth quarter of 2020 as a result of peak surcharges during the holiday season and could continue to affect us thereafter.

Further, related containment efforts and illnesses could also impact our vendors who manufacture or deliver our merchandise to us or our customers, which could adversely affect our ability to acquire and sell our merchandise, thus adversely affecting our results of operations, cash flows and liquidity.

The pandemic continues to rapidly evolve. The ultimate impact of the pandemic on our results, financial position and liquidity will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, such as the transmission rate of the disease, including the impact from new variants, the extent and effectiveness of containment actions and vaccination rollout, particularly as areas are reopened, and the impact of these and other factors on our stores, offices, employees, distributors, vendors and customers. If we are not able to respond to and manage the impact of such events effectively, our business, operating results, financial condition and cash flows could be adversely affected.

Our business depends on consumer demand for our products and, consequently, is sensitive to a number of factors that influence consumer spending, including general economic conditions, consumer disposable income, fuel prices, recession and fears of recession, unemployment, war and fears of war, outbreaks of disease (such as the pandemic), adverse weather, availability of consumer credit, consumer debt levels, conditions in the housing market, interest rates, sales tax rates and rate increases, inflation, consumer confidence in future economic and political conditions, and consumer perceptions of personal well-being and security. In particular, past economic downturns have led to decreased discretionary spending, which adversely impacted our business. In addition, periods of decreased home purchases typically lead to decreased consumer spending on home products. These factors have affected, and may in the future affect, our various brands and channels differently. Adverse changes in factors affecting discretionary consumer spending have reduced and may in the future reduce consumer demand for our products, thus reducing our sales and harming our business and operating results.

There is also increased focus, including by governmental and organizations, investors, customers, consumers and other stakeholders, on corporate social responsibility and sustainability matters. Our reputation could be damaged if we do not (or are perceived not to) act responsibly with respect to any social or sustainability matters, which could negatively impact our business and results of operations.

If we are unable to effectively manage our inventory levels and responsiveness of our supply chain, including predicting the appropriate levels and type of inventory to stock within each of our distribution facilities, our business and operating results may be harmed. For example, we continue to experience elevated levels of demand for many of our products, and as a result, we may encounter delays in fulfilling this demand and replenishing to appropriate inventory levels. Continued or lengthy delays in fulfilling customer demand could cause our customers to shop with our competitors instead of us, which could harm our business. Additionally, although we continue to insource furniture delivery hubs in certain geographies and continue with the regionalization of our retail and fulfillment capabilities, we are subject to risks that may disrupt our supply chain operations or regionalization efforts, such as increasing labor costs, union organizing activity and our ability to effectively locate real estate for our distribution facilities or other supply chain operations.

Further, we cannot control all of the various factors that might affect our fulfillment rates and timely and effective merchandise delivery to our stores. We rely upon third-party carriers for our merchandise shipments and reliable data regarding the timing of those shipments, including shipments to our customers and to and from our stores. In addition, we are heavily dependent upon two carriers for the delivery of our merchandise to our customers. As a result of our dependence on all of these third-party providers, we are subject to risks, including labor disputes, union organizing activity, adverse weather, natural disasters, climate change, the closure of such carriers’ offices or a reduction in operational hours due to an economic slowdown or the inability to sufficiently ramp up operational hours during an economic recovery or upturn, availability of adequate trucking or railway providers, possible acts of terrorism, outbreaks of disease (such as the pandemic) or other factors affecting such carriers’ ability to provide delivery services to meet our shipping needs, disruptions or increased fuel costs and costs associated with any regulations to address climate change. For example, our third-party providers have experienced transportation disruptions and restrictions due to the pandemic and delays stemming from delayed shipments from Asian ports, congestion at west coast ports, and a shortage of shipping containers needed to ship our products, which has adversely impacted our inventory levels and resulted in elevated, and sometimes lengthy, customer backorders. Further, we have experienced, and may continue to experience shortages of raw materials used to make our products. Failure to deliver merchandise in a timely and effective manner could cause customers to cancel their orders and could damage our reputation and brands. In addition, fuel costs have been volatile and airline and other transportation companies continue to struggle to operate profitably, which could lead to increased fulfillment expenses. Any rise in fulfillment expenses could negatively affect our business and operating results.

Our business depends, in part, on our ability to maintain efficient and uninterrupted order-taking and fulfillment operations in our distribution facilities, our customer care centers and on our websites. Disruptions or slowdowns in these areas could result from disruptions in telephone or network services, power outages, inadequate system capacity, system hardware or software issues, computer viruses, security breaches, human error, changes in programming, union organizing activity, insufficient or inadequate labor to fulfill the orders, disruptions in our third-party labor contracts, inefficiencies due to inventory levels and limited distribution facility space, issues with third-party order fulfillment and drop shipping, natural disasters, adverse weather conditions, outbreaks of disease (such as the pandemic) or acts of terrorism. Industries that are particularly seasonal, such as the home furnishings business, face a higher risk of harm from operational disruptions during peak sales seasons. These problems could result in a reduction in sales as well as increased expenses.

In addition, we face the risk that we cannot hire enough qualified employees to support our operations, or that there will be a disruption in the workforce we hire from our third-party providers, especially during our peak season. The need to operate with fewer employees could negatively impact our customer service levels and our operations.

The specialty and retail businesses are highly competitive. We compete with other retailers that market lines of merchandise similar to ours. We compete with national, regional and local businesses that utilize a similar retail store strategy, as well as traditional furniture stores, department stores, businesses and specialty stores. The substantial sales growth in the industry within the last decade has encouraged the entry of many new competitors, including discount retailers selling similar products at reduced prices, new business models, and an increase in competition from established companies, many of whom are willing to spend significant funds and/or reduce pricing in order to gain market share.

Our retail stores, corporate offices, distribution and manufacturing facilities, infrastructure and operations, as well as the operations of our vendors from which we receive goods and services, are vulnerable to damage from earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, floods or other volatile weather, power losses, telecommunications failures, hardware and software failures, computer viruses and similar events. If any of these events result in damage to our facilities or systems, or those of our vendors, we may experience interruptions in our business until the damage is repaired, resulting in the potential loss of customers and revenues. In addition, we may incur costs in repairing any damage beyond our applicable insurance coverage.

Our channel has been our fastest growing business over the last several years and represented more than 70% of our net revenues and profits in fiscal 2020. The success of our business depends, in part, on third parties and factors over which we have limited control. We must continually respond to changing consumer preferences and buying trends relating to usage, including an emphasis on mobile Our success in has been strengthened in part by our ability to leverage the information we have on our customers to infer customer interests and affinities such that we can personalize the experience they have with us. We also utilize digital advertising to target internet and mobile users whose behavior indicates they might be interested in our products. Current or future legislation may reduce or restrict our ability to use these techniques, which could reduce the effectiveness of our marketing efforts.

We are also vulnerable to certain additional risks and uncertainties associated with our and mobile websites and digital marketing efforts, including: changes in required technology interfaces; website downtime and other technical failures; internet connectivity issues; costs and technical issues as we upgrade our website software; computer viruses; vendor reliability; changes in applicable federal and state regulations, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), and related compliance costs; security breaches; and consumer privacy concerns. We must keep up to date with competitive technology trends and opportunities that are emerging throughout the retail environment, including the use of new or improved technology, evolving creative user interfaces, and other marketing trends such as paid search, loyalty programs and the proliferation of mobile usage, among others. While we endeavor to predict and invest in technology that is most relevant and beneficial to our company, such as our acquisition of Outward, Inc. in 2017, our initiatives may not prove to be successful, may increase our costs, or may not succeed in driving sales or attracting customers. Our failure to successfully respond to these risks and uncertainties might adversely affect the sales or margin in our business, require us to impair certain assets, and damage our reputation and brands.

merchandise and promotional events, the success of marketing programs, the cannibalization of existing store sales by our new stores, changes in catalog circulation and in our business and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. Among other things, weather conditions have affected, and may continue to affect, comparable brand revenues by limiting our ability to deliver our products to our stores, altering consumer behavior, or requiring us to close certain stores temporarily, thus reducing store traffic. Even if stores are not closed, many customers may decide to avoid going to stores in bad weather. These factors have caused, and may continue to cause, our comparable brand revenue results to differ materially from prior periods and from earnings guidance we have provided. For example, the overall economic and general retail sales environment, as well as local and global economic conditions, has caused a significant decline in our comparable brand revenue results in the past. In addition, public health conditions (such as the pandemic), or other unforeseen events, could affect our ability to deliver our products to our stores, alter consumer behavior, or require us to close certain stores temporarily or reduce customer capacity within certain stores temporarily, thus reducing store traffic and materially impacting our comparable brand revenues.

Our comparable brand revenues have fluctuated significantly in the past on an annual, quarterly and monthly basis, and we expect that comparable brand revenues will continue to fluctuate in the future. In addition, past comparable brand revenues are not necessarily an indication of future results and comparable brand revenues may decrease in the future. Our ability to improve our comparable brand revenue results depends, in large part, on maintaining and improving our forecasting of customer demand and buying trends, selecting effective marketing techniques, effectively driving traffic to our stores, websites and direct-mail catalogs through marketing and various promotional events, providing an appropriate mix of merchandise for our broad and diverse customer base and using effective pricing strategies. Any failure to meet the comparable brand revenue expectations of investors and securities analysts in one or more future periods could significantly reduce the market price of our common stock.

With the expansion of our business, the development of new brands, acquired brands, and brand extensions, our overall business has become substantially more complex. The changes in our business have forced us to develop new expertise and face new challenges, risks and uncertainties. For example, we face the risk that our business, including our catalog circulation, might cannibalize a significant portion of our retail sales or our newer brands, brand extensions and products may result in a decrease in sales of existing brands and products. While we recognize that our sales and sales from new brands and products cannot be entirely incremental to sales through our retail channel or from existing brands and products, respectively, we seek to attract as many new customers as possible with the most relevant channels, brands and products to meet customer needs and grow our market share. We continually analyze the business results of our channels, brands and products in an effort to find opportunities to build incremental sales.

Many of these factors are beyond our control. For example, for the purpose of identifying suitable store locations, we rely, in part, on demographic surveys regarding the location of consumers in our target market segments. While we believe that the surveys and other relevant information are helpful indicators of suitable store locations, we recognize that these information sources cannot predict future consumer preferences and buying trends with complete accuracy. In addition, changes in demographics, in consumer shopping patterns, such as a reduction in mall traffic, in the types of merchandise that we sell and in the pricing of our products, may reduce the number of suitable store locations or cause formerly suitable locations to become less desirable. Further, time frames for lease negotiations and store development vary from location to location and can be subject to unforeseen delays or unexpected cancellations. We may not be able to open new stores or, if opened, operate those stores profitably. Construction and other delays in store openings could have a negative impact on our business and operating results. Additionally, we may not be able to renegotiate the terms of our current leases or close our underperforming stores on terms favorable to us, any of which could negatively impact our operating results. As a result of the pandemic, the above factors have become even more unpredictable than they have been historically. Our typical methods of managing these risks and uncertainties may not be sufficient, and as a result, our business and operating results could be negatively impacted.

Our future success depends to a significant degree on the skills, experience and efforts of key personnel in our senior management, whose vision for our company, knowledge of our business and expertise would be difficult to replace. If any one of our key employees leaves, is seriously injured or unable to work, or fails to perform and we are unable to find a qualified replacement, we may be unable to execute our business strategy. In addition, our main offices are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, where competition for personnel with retail and technology skills can be intense. In addition, several of our strategic initiatives, including our technology and supply chain initiatives, require that we hire and/or develop employees with appropriate experience. We may not be successful in recruiting, retaining and motivating skilled personnel domestically or globally who have the requisite experience to achieve our global business goals, and failure to do so may harm our business. Further, in the event we need to hire additional personnel, we may experience difficulties in attracting and successfully hiring such individuals due to competition for highly skilled personnel, as well as the significantly higher cost of living expenses in our markets. Additionally, as a result the pandemic, if long-term, remote or flexible work options become more commonplace, potential employees may choose to move to lower cost of living areas, which could negatively impact our ability to recruit appropriately skilled personnel for positions that cannot be performed remotely.

We are involved in lawsuits, claims and proceedings incident to the ordinary course of our business. Litigation is inherently unpredictable. Any claims against us, whether meritorious or not, could result in costly litigation, require significant amounts of management time and result in the diversion of significant operational resources. There has been a rise in the number of lawsuits against companies like us regarding consumer protection, false advertising, data breach, and patent infringement. From time to time, we have been subject to these types of lawsuits and are currently the subject of some of these types of lawsuits. The cost of defending against these types of claims or the ultimate resolution of any such claims against us, whether by settlement or adverse court decision, may harm our business and operating results. In addition, the increasingly regulated business environment may result in a greater number of enforcement actions by government agencies and private litigation. This could subject us to increased exposure to stockholder lawsuits and potential penalties related to regulatory inquiries. Additionally, in recent years there has been an increase in the number of employment claims and, in particular, discrimination and harassment claims. Coupled with the expansion of social media platforms and similar devices that allow individuals access to a broad audience, these claims have had a significant negative impact on some businesses. Certain companies that have faced employment- or harassment-related lawsuits have had to terminate management or other key personnel, and have suffered reputational harm that has negatively impacted their business.

A significant portion of our customer orders are placed through our websites or through our customer care centers. In addition, a significant portion of sales made through our retail channel require the collection of certain customer data, such as credit card information. In order for our sales channels to function successfully, we, our banking and authorizations partners, and other parties involved in processing customer transactions must be able to transmit confidential information, including credit card information and other personal information of our customers, securely over public and private networks. Third parties may have or develop the technology or knowledge to breach, disable, disrupt or interfere with our systems or processes or those of our vendors. Although we take the security of our systems and the privacy of our customers’ confidential information seriously, and we believe we take reasonable steps to protect the security and confidentiality of the information we collect, we cannot guarantee that our security measures will effectively prevent others from obtaining unauthorized access to our information and our customers’ information. The techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to systems change frequently and are not often recognized until after they have been launched. Any person who circumvents our security measures could destroy or steal valuable information or disrupt our operations. Any security breach could cause consumers to lose confidence in the security of our information systems, including our websites or stores, and choose not to purchase from us. Any security breach could also expose us to risks of data loss, litigation, regulatory investigations and other significant liabilities. Such a breach could also seriously disrupt, slow or hinder our operations and harm our reputation and customer relationships, any of which could harm our business. If we are the target of a cybersecurity attack resulting in unauthorized disclosure of our customer data, we may be required to undertake

Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with our privacy policies, data privacy-related obligations to customers or other third parties, or our data privacy-related legal obligations, or any compromise of security that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other user data, or other failure to comply with these laws and regulations, or regulatory scrutiny, may result in governmental enforcement actions or litigation that could expose our business to substantial financial penalties, or other monetary or relief, negative publicity, loss of confidence in our brands, decline in customer growth or damage to our brands and reputation. The GDPR, CCPA and other such laws and regulations impose new and burdensome obligations, and include substantial uncertainty as to their interpretation, and we may face challenges in addressing their requirements, which could result in fines or penalties, lead us to change our data privacy policies and practices and limit our ability to deliver personalized advertising. Additionally, if third parties that we work with, such as advertisers, service providers or developers, violate applicable laws or our policies, these violations may also put customers’ information at risk, which could, in turn, have an adverse effect on our business, revenue and financial results.

In fiscal year 2020, we replaced our core financial reporting and human capital management systems with new enterprise resource planning systems to standardize our processes worldwide and adopt capabilities. As we utilize the systems going forward, we may experience periodic or prolonged disruption of our core financial and human capital operations, including our ability to complete our financial close and provide accurate financial reporting on a timely basis, and maintain our internal control compliance efforts. We may also experience errors in data and security or technical reliability issues. In order to realize the benefits of our systems, we may be required to change certain business and financial processes, which involves the risk of disruption to our operations or data errors. In addition, we are heavily reliant on third-party vendors for access to our systems and the accuracy of the functionality within the systems. If we encounter implementation or usage problems with these new systems or other related systems and infrastructure, or if the systems do not operate as intended, do not give rise to anticipated benefits, or fail to integrate properly with our other systems or software platforms, then our business, results of operations, and internal controls over financial reporting may be adversely affected.

We, and our foreign vendors, are also subject to other risks and uncertainties associated with changing economic, political, social, health and environmental conditions and regulations within and outside of the U.S. These risks and uncertainties include import duties and quotas, compliance with anti-dumping regulations, work stoppages, economic uncertainties and adverse economic conditions (including inflation and recession), government regulations, trade restrictions, regulations to address climate change, employment and labor matters, wars and fears of war, political unrest, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, adverse weather, climate change, outbreaks of disease (such as the pandemic), and other unexpected events. We cannot predict whether any of the countries from which our raw materials or products are sourced, or in which our products are currently manufactured or may be manufactured in the future, will be subject to trade restrictions imposed by the U.S. or foreign governments, such as the tariffs levied by the U.S. against China, or the likelihood, type or effect of any such restrictions. Any event causing a disruption or delay of imports from foreign vendors, including labor disputes resulting in work disruption, the imposition of additional import restrictions, restrictions on the transfer of funds and/or increased tariffs or quotas, war, political unrest, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, adverse weather, climate change, outbreaks of disease or other unexpected events, could increase the cost, reduce the supply of merchandise available to us, or result in excess inventory if merchandise is received after the planned or appropriate selling season, all of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. Furthermore, some or all of our foreign vendors’ operations may be adversely affected by political and financial instability resulting in the disruption of trade from exporting countries, restrictions on the transfer of funds and/or increased tariffs or quotas, war, political unrest, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, adverse weather,

climate change, outbreaks of disease or other trade disruptions. For example, the pandemic has impacted our supply chain by forcing some factories that manufacture our merchandise to temporarily close or experience worker shortages and by causing delays in international shipping. In addition, an economic downturn, or failure of foreign markets, may result in financial instabilities for our foreign vendors, which may cause our foreign vendors to decrease production, discontinue selling to us, or cease operations altogether. Our global operations in Asia, Australia and Europe could also be affected by changing economic and political conditions in foreign countries, such as Brexit, which could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

Although we continue to be focused on improving our global compliance program, there remains a risk that one or more of our foreign vendors will not adhere to our global compliance standards, such as fair labor standards and the prohibition of child labor. organizations might attempt to create an unfavorable impression of our sourcing practices or the practices of some of our foreign vendors that could harm our image. If either of these events occurs, we could lose customer goodwill and favorable brand recognition, which could negatively affect our business and operating results.

Our performance depends, in part, on our ability to purchase our merchandise in sufficient quantities at competitive prices. We purchase our merchandise from numerous foreign and domestic manufacturers and importers. We generally have no contractual assurances of continued supply, pricing or access to new products, and any vendor could change the terms upon which it sells to us, discontinue selling to us, or go out of business at any time. We may not be able to acquire desired merchandise in sufficient quantities on terms acceptable to us. Better than expected sales demand may also lead to customer backorders and lower positions of our merchandise, which could negatively affect our business and operating results. In addition, our vendors may have difficulty adjusting to our changing demands and growing business.

Any inability to acquire suitable merchandise on acceptable terms or the loss of one or more of our foreign vendors or third-party agents could have a negative effect on our business and operating results because we would be missing products that we felt were important to our assortment, unless and until alternative supply arrangements are secured. We may not be able to develop relationships with new vendors or third-party agents, and products from alternative sources, if any, may be of a lesser quality and/or more expensive than those we currently purchase. In addition, we are subject to certain risks that could limit our vendors’ ability to provide us with quality merchandise on a timely basis and at prices that are commercially acceptable to us, including risks related to the availability of raw materials, labor disputes, work disruptions or stoppages, union organizing activities, vendor financial liquidity, adverse weather, natural disasters, political unrest, war, acts of terrorism, outbreaks of disease (such as the pandemic), general economic and political conditions and regulations to address climate change. For example, certain of our vendors have experienced work disruptions or stoppages, or transportation or other restrictions, due to the pandemic, which has negatively impacted our ability to acquire merchandise, which has had an adverse effect on our results of operations.

We are currently growing our business and increasing our global presence by opening new stores outside of the U.S., expanding our franchise and operations, and offering shipping globally through third-party vendors. Since 2013, as part of our overall global expansion strategy, we have operated company-owned retail stores and websites outside of North America. While our global expansion to date has been a small part of our business, we plan to continue to increase the number of stores we open both directly and through our franchise and arrangements. We have limited experience with global sales, understanding consumer preferences and anticipating buying trends in different countries, and marketing to customers overseas. Moreover, global awareness of our brands and our products may not be high. Consequently, we may not be able to successfully compete with established brands in these markets and our global sales may not result in the revenues we anticipate. Additionally, global economic or political instability, work disruptions or stoppages, or outbreaks of diseases (such as the pandemic), may delay or harm our efforts to expand globally. Also, our products may not be accepted, either due to foreign legal requirements or due to different consumer tastes and trends. If our global growth initiatives are not successful, or if we or any of our third-party vendors fail to comply with any applicable regulations or laws, we may be forced to close stores or cease operations in certain countries, which may result in significant financial harm, diminish the value of our brands and negatively affect our future opportunities for global growth. Further, the administration of our global expansion may divert management attention and require more resources than we expect.

We have unaffiliated franchisees that operate stores in the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea, and India, as well as in certain locations. Under these agreements, our franchisees operate stores and/or websites that sell goods purchased from us under our brand names. We continue to expand our franchise operations with our existing franchisees as well as seek to identify new franchise partnerships for select countries. The effect of these franchise arrangements on our business and results of operations is uncertain and will depend upon various factors, including the demand for our products in new global markets. In addition, certain aspects of our franchise arrangements are not directly within our control, such as the ability of each franchisee to meet its projections regarding store openings and sales, and the impact of exchange rate fluctuations on their business. Moreover, while the agreements we have entered into may provide us with certain termination rights, to the extent that our franchisees do not operate their stores in a manner consistent with our requirements regarding our brand identities and customer experience standards, the reputation and value of our brands could be impaired. In addition, in connection with these franchise arrangements, we have and will continue to implement certain new processes that may subject us to additional regulations and laws, such as U.S. export regulations. Failure to comply with any applicable regulations or laws could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

We operate several retail businesses, subsidiaries and branch offices throughout Asia, Australia and Europe, which includes managing overseas employees, and may expand these overseas operations in the future. We have limited experience operating overseas subsidiaries and managing employees and, as a result, may encounter cultural challenges with local practices and customs that may result in harm to our reputation and the value of our brands. Our global presence exposes us to the laws and regulations of these jurisdictions, including those related to marketing, privacy, data protection, employment and product safety and testing. We may be unable to keep current with government requirements as they change from time to time. Our failure to comply with such laws and regulations may harm our reputation, adversely affect our future opportunities for growth and expansion in these countries, and harm our business and operating results.

We regularly review and evaluate our liquidity and capital needs. We currently believe that our available cash and cash flow from operations will be sufficient to finance our operations and expected capital requirements for at least the next 12 months unless our retail stores and distribution centers are closed for an extended period of time or we experience a material decline in revenue, for example, due to the pandemic. However, we might experience periods during which we encounter additional cash needs, and we might need additional

To be successful, we need to manage our operating costs and continue to look for opportunities to reduce costs. We recognize that we may need to increase the number of our employees, especially during holiday selling seasons, and incur other expenses to support new brands and brand extensions and the growth of our existing brands, including the opening of new stores. In addition, the market for prime real estate is competitive, especially in San Francisco where our corporate offices are headquartered. If we are unable to make substantial adjustments to our cost structure during times of uncertainty, such as an economic downturn or during times of expansion, we may incur unnecessary expense or we may have inadequate resources to properly run our business, and our business and operating results may be negatively impacted. From time to time, we may also experience union organizing activity in currently facilities, including in our stores and distribution facilities. Union organizing activity may result in work slowdowns or stoppages and higher labor costs. In addition, there appears to be a growing number of lawsuits and other employment-related lawsuits against retail companies, especially in California. State, federal and global laws and regulations regarding employment change frequently and the ultimate cost of compliance cannot be precisely estimated. Further, there have been and may continue to be increases in minimum wage and health care requirements. Any changes in regulations, the imposition of additional regulations, or the enactment of any new or more stringent legislation that impacts employment and labor, trade, or health care, could have an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

We contract with various agencies to provide us with qualified personnel for our workforce. Any negative publicity regarding these agencies, such as in connection with immigration issues or employment practices, could damage our reputation, disrupt our ability to obtain needed labor or result in financial harm to our business, including the potential loss of business-related financial incentives in the jurisdictions where we operate. Although we strive to secure long-term contracts on favorable terms with our service providers and other vendors, we may not be able to avoid unexpected operating cost increases in the future, such as those associated with minimum wage increases, enhanced health care requirements and benefits, or increases in insurance premiums. Further, we incur substantial costs to warehouse and distribute our inventory. We continue to insource furniture delivery hubs in certain geographies and continue to regionalize our retail and fulfillment capabilities. Significant increases in our inventory levels may result in increased warehousing and distribution costs, such as costs related to additional distribution facilities, which we may not be able to lease on acceptable terms, if at all. Such increases in inventory levels may also lead to increases in costs associated with inventory that is lost, damaged or aged. Higher than expected costs, particularly if coupled with lower than expected sales, would negatively impact our business and operating results. In addition, in times of economic uncertainty, these long-term contracts may make it difficult to quickly reduce our fixed operating costs, which could negatively impact our business and operating results.

affected by natural disasters, outbreaks of disease (such as the pandemic), climate change, fear of terrorism, financial irregularities, cybersecurity breaches and other fraud at publicly-traded companies, intervention by the government or political crises and instability, an increase in the number of claims received by the carriers, and a decrease in the number of insurance carriers. In addition, the carriers with which we hold our policies may go out of business or be otherwise unable to fulfill their contractual obligations, or may disagree with our interpretation of the coverage or the amounts owed. In addition, for certain types or levels of risk, such as risks associated with certain natural disasters or terrorist attacks, we may determine that we cannot obtain commercial insurance at acceptable rates, if at all. Therefore, we may choose to forego or limit our purchase of relevant commercial insurance, choosing instead to self-insure one or more types or levels of risks. We are primarily self-insured and we purchase insurance only for catastrophic types of events for such risks as workers’ compensation, employment practices liability, employee health benefits, product and other general liability claims, among others. If we suffer a substantial loss that is not covered by commercial insurance or our self-insurance reserves, the loss and related expenses could harm our business and operating results. In addition, exposures exist for which no insurance may be available and for which we have not reserved.

Our quarterly results have fluctuated in the past and may fluctuate in the future, depending upon a variety of factors, including changes in economic conditions, shifts in the timing of holiday selling seasons, including Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as timing shifts due to fiscal years, which occur approximately every five years. Historically, a significant portion of our net revenues and net earnings have typically been realized during the period from October through January each year, our peak selling season. In anticipation of increased holiday sales activity, we incur certain significant incremental expenses prior to and during peak selling seasons, including fixed catalog production and mailing costs and the costs associated with hiring a substantial number of temporary employees to supplement our existing workforce.

Global financial markets can experience extreme volatility, disruption and credit contraction, which adversely affect global economic conditions. Such turmoil in financial and credit markets, including as a result of the pandemic, or other changes in economic conditions could adversely affect sources of liquidity available to us and our costs of capital. For example, each financial institution in the syndicate for our credit facilities is responsible for providing a portion of the loans to be made under the facilities. If any lender, or group of lenders, with a significant portion of the commitments in our credit facilities fails to satisfy its obligations to extend credit under the facilities and we are unable to find a replacement for such lender or group of lenders on a timely basis, if at all, our liquidity and our business may be materially adversely affected. Should we need it, we also may not be able to obtain additional credit on terms which are acceptable to us, if at all.

We have historically repurchased our shares through our stock repurchase program and paid a common stock dividend each year. As of January 31, 2021, we had approximately $424,982,000 remaining for future repurchases under our stock repurchase program. In March 2021, our Board of Directors approved a $1,000,000,000 share repurchase authorization, which superseded the remaining outstanding under our current stock repurchase program. The stock repurchase program and dividend may require the use of a significant portion of our cash earnings, which are also needed to fund our operations and finance future growth. As a result, we may not retain a sufficient amount of cash to fund our operations or finance future growth opportunities, new product development initiatives and unanticipated capital expenditures, which could adversely affect our financial performance. Further, our Board of Directors may, at its discretion, decrease or entirely discontinue the payment of dividends at any time. The stock repurchase program does not have an expiration date and may be limited or eliminated at any time. Our ability to pay dividends and repurchase stock will depend on our ability to generate sufficient cash flows from operations in the future. This ability may be subject to certain economic, financial, competitive and other factors, including the impact of the pandemic on our liquidity, that are beyond our control. Any failure to pay dividends or repurchase stock after we have announced our intention to do so may negatively impact our reputation and investor confidence in us, and may negatively impact our stock price.

We make assumptions, judgments and estimates that impact amounts reported in our consolidated financial statements for a number of items, including merchandise inventories, long-lived assets, leases, goodwill, and income taxes, among others. These assumptions, judgments and estimates are derived from historical experience and various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances as of the date our consolidated financial statements are prepared. Actual results could differ materially from our estimates, and such differences may impact our financial results.

The information set forth above is not necessarily indicative of future operations and should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto in this Annual Report on Form

A discussion and analysis of our financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity and capital resources for the 52 weeks ended February 2, 2020 (“fiscal 2019”), compared to the 53 weeks ended February 3, 2019 (“fiscal 2018”), can be found under Item 7 in our Annual Report on Form for fiscal 2019, filed with the SEC on March 27, 2020, which is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and under the Financial Reports section of our Investor Relations website.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a specialty retailer of high-quality sustainable products for the home. Our products, representing distinct merchandise strategies — Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, Pottery Barn Teen, West Elm, Williams Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, and Mark and Graham — are marketed through websites, direct-mail catalogs and retail stores. These brands are also part of The Key Rewards, our loyalty program that offers members exclusive benefits across the Williams-Sonoma family of brands. We operate in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, offer international shipping to customers worldwide, and have unaffiliated franchisees that operate stores in the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea and India, as well as websites in certain locations. We are also proud to lead the industry with our ESG efforts.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared to be a global pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures worldwide. In March 2020, we announced the temporary closures of all of our retail store operations to protect our employees, customers and the communities in which we operate and to help contain the pandemic. As of January 31, 2021, the majority of our retail stores have reopened for shopping. However, given the continued uncertainty around due to high rates of infections in certain areas, state and local officials in certain geographies have extended closures or restrictions on retail capacity, which may continue to impact our store traffic and retail revenues, and may result in future store impairments. Throughout fiscal 2020, we have continued to operate our sites and distribution centers and continued to deliver products to our customers. However, governmental mandates, illness, or the absence of a substantial number of distribution center employees may require in the future that we temporarily close one or more of our distribution centers, or may prohibit or significantly limit us, or our third-party logistics providers from delivering packages to our customers and our stores, which could complicate or prevent us from fulfilling orders and supplying merchandise to our stores.

Net revenues in fiscal 2020 increased by $885,181,000, or 15.0%, compared to fiscal 2019, with comparable brand revenue growth of 17.0% and double-digit comparable brand revenue growth across all our brands. This was primarily driven by an increase of approximately 44% in revenues, due to both an increase in demand for our product as well as a larger portion of our net revenues being driven by furniture, which has a higher average selling price, partially offset by a decrease in retail revenues driven by limited capacity in stores and reduced customer store traffic due to

Throughout fiscal 2020, our three key differentiators were instrumental to our strong financial performance. They are: our design, our channel strategy, and our values.

Our teams design our own products, create original aesthetics, and work with our talented vendors to bring quality, sustainable products to market. The majority of our products cannot be found elsewhere and the design, quality, and value that we offer is strong. Throughout fiscal 2020, we were very deliberate in reducing promotions in all of our brands, resulting in product margin expansion compared to fiscal 2019.

As we look forward to the year ahead, we will continue to focus on our three key differentiators to drive net revenue and operating margin growth. In our retail stores, we plan to further optimize our store footprint with fewer, better stores that serve as design centers and omni-channel fulfillment hubs. We believe our digital-first channel strategy will continue to accelerate, with our future growth driven predominantly by In our

supply chain, we expect to expand our U.S. manufacturing and fulfillment capacity by over next year, including adding close to two million square feet of distribution space to our delivery network. We also plan to deepen our sustainability commitments including our goal to reach 100% responsibly-sourced cotton and 50% responsibly-sourced wood. In fiscal 2021, we believe operating margin expansion will predominantly be driven by overall sales leverage from higher sales levels, a continued shift to our more efficient and profitable e-commerce business, as well as reduced occupancy costs, continued strength in our product margins, and overall strong financial discipline. However, we have experienced and may continue to experience delays in inventory receipts due to slowdowns, inclement weather, port congestion, and shipping container shortages, and we have incurred and may continue to incur higher shipping charges as we deliver goods to our customers. In addition, given the continued uncertainty around and extended closures or restrictions on retail capacity by state and local officials in certain geographies, we have experienced and may continue to experience reduced store traffic. Overall, the long-term impact of on our business, results of operations and financial condition still remains uncertain. A prolonged pandemic could further interrupt our operations, our vendors’ operations, the economy and overall consumer spending, which could have a material impact on our revenues, results of operations, and cash flows. For more information on risks associated with please see “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A.

Net revenues consist of sales of merchandise to our customers through our websites, direct-mail catalogs, and at our retail stores and include shipping fees received from customers for delivery of merchandise to their homes. Our revenues also include sales to our franchisees and wholesale customers, breakage income related to our stored-value cards, and incentives received from credit card issuers in connection with our private label and credit cards.

Net revenues in fiscal 2020 increased by $885,181,000, or 15.0%, compared to fiscal 2019, with comparable brand revenue growth of 17.0% and double-digit comparable brand revenue growth across all our brands. This was primarily driven by an increase of approximately 44% in e-commerce revenues, due to both an increase in demand for our product as well as a larger portion of our net revenues being driven by furniture, which has a higher average selling price, partially offset by a decrease in retail revenues driven by limited capacity in stores and reduced customer store traffic due to

Comparable brand revenue includes comparable store sales and sales, including through our direct-mail catalog, as well as shipping fees, sales returns and other discounts associated with current period sales. Comparable stores are defined as permanent stores where gross square footage did not change by more than 20% in the previous 12 months and which have been open for at least 12 consecutive months without closure for seven or more consecutive days. Comparable stores that were temporarily closed during the year due to were not excluded from the comparable stores calculation. Outlet comparable store net revenues are included in their respective brands. Sales to our international franchisees are excluded from comparable brand revenue as their stores and websites are not operated by us. Sales from certain operations are also excluded until such time that we believe those sales are meaningful to evaluating their performance. Additionally, comparable brand revenue growth for newer concepts is not separately disclosed until such time that we believe those sales are meaningful to evaluating the performance of the brand.

Cost of goods sold includes cost of goods, occupancy expenses and shipping costs. Cost of goods consists of cost of merchandise, inbound freight expenses, expenses and other inventory related costs such as replacements, damages, obsolescence and shrinkage. Occupancy expenses consist of rent, depreciation and other occupancy costs, including common area maintenance, property taxes and utilities. Shipping costs consist of third-party delivery services and shipping materials.

Our classification of expenses in cost of goods sold may not be comparable to other public companies, as we do not include costs associated with our distribution network in cost of goods sold. These costs, which include distribution network employment, third-party warehouse management and other distribution-related administrative expenses, are recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses.

Cost of goods sold increased by $388,004,000, or 10.3%, in fiscal 2020 compared to fiscal 2019. Cost of goods sold as a percentage of net revenues decreased to 61.1% in fiscal 2020 from 63.7% in fiscal 2019. This rate decrease was primarily driven by higher merchandise margins from reduced promotional activity in fiscal 2020 and the leverage of occupancy expenses resulting from higher sales and reduced occupancy costs year-over-year due to our efforts to renegotiate rent and close less profitable stores. This decrease was partially offset by higher shipping costs due to a significantly greater portion of our total net revenues being generated from and surcharges from our third-party shippers, as well as inventory write-offs of approximately $11,378,000 resulting from the closure of our outlet stores due to in the first quarter of fiscal 2020.

Selling, general and administrative expenses consist of costs associated with our retail stores, distribution and manufacturing facilities, customer care centers, supply chain operations (buying, receiving and inspection) and corporate administrative functions. These costs include employment, advertising, third-party credit card processing and other general expenses.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $52,354,000, or 3.1%, for fiscal 2020, compared to fiscal 2019. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of net revenues decreased to 25.4% for fiscal 2020 from 28.4% for fiscal 2019. This rate decrease was primarily driven by lower advertising costs as we further optimized our digital spend on those initiatives that drove higher returns in traffic and conversion, and the leverage of employment costs from higher sales and lower variable store payroll. This decrease was partially offset by store asset impairment charges of approximately $27,069,000 for fiscal 2020 due in part to the impact of on our retail stores.

In addition to the Credit Facility Amendment, during the second quarter of fiscal 2020 we entered into a new agreement (the Credit Agreement”) for an additional $200,000,000 unsecured revolving line of credit. During fiscal 2020, we had no borrowings under the Credit Agreement. We do not expect to renew the 364-Day Credit Agreement upon its maturity in May 2021.

The Credit Facility Amendment and the Credit Agreement contain certain restrictive loan covenants, including, among others, a financial covenant requiring a maximum leverage ratio (funded debt adjusted for lease and rent expense to earnings before interest, income tax, depreciation, amortization and rent expense), and covenants limiting our ability to incur indebtedness, grant liens, make acquisitions, merge or consolidate, and dispose of assets. As of January 31, 2021, we were in compliance with our financial covenants under our credit facilities and, based on our current projections, we expect to remain in compliance throughout the next 12 months. We believe our cash on hand, in addition to our available credit facilities, will provide adequate liquidity for our business operations over the next 12 months.

For fiscal 2020, net cash provided by operating activities was $1,274,848,000 compared to $607,294,000 in fiscal 2019. For fiscal 2020, net cash provided by operating activities was primarily attributable to net earnings adjusted for items, an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities, a decrease in merchandise inventories and an increase in gift card and other deferred revenue. Net cash provided by operating activities compared to fiscal 2019 increased primarily due to an increase in net earnings, an increase in accrued expenses and other liabilities, an increase in gift card and other deferred revenue and a decrease in merchandise inventories.

See section titled “Stock Repurchase Program” within Part II, Item 5 of this Annual Report on Form for further information.

Reserves for shrinkage are estimated and recorded throughout the year based on historical shrinkage results, cycle count results within our distribution centers, expectations of future shrinkage and current inventory levels. Actual shrinkage is recorded at based on the results of our cycle counts and year end physical inventory counts, and can vary from our estimates due to such factors as changes in operations, the mix of our inventory (which ranges from large furniture to small tabletop items) and execution against loss prevention initiatives in our stores, distribution facilities and storage locations, and with our third-party warehouse and transportation providers. Accordingly, there is no shrinkage reserve at Historically, actual shrinkage has not differed materially from our estimates.

to recover the carrying value of these assets. The asset group is comprised of both property and equipment and operating lease assets. Impairment may result when the carrying value of the asset or asset group exceeds the estimated undiscounted future cash flows over its remaining useful life. For store asset impairment, our estimate of undiscounted future cash flows over the store lease term is based upon our experience, the historical operations of the stores and estimates of future store profitability and economic conditions. The estimates of future store profitability and economic conditions require estimating such factors as sales growth, gross margin, employment costs, lease escalations, inflation and the overall economics of the retail industry, and are therefore subject to variability and difficult to predict. For assets, we determine the fair value of the assets by using estimated market rental rates. These estimates can be affected by factors such as future store results, real estate supply and demand, store closure plans, and economic conditions that can be difficult to predict. Actual future results may differ from those estimates. If a long-lived asset is found to be impaired, the amount recognized for impairment is equal to the excess of the asset or asset group’s net carrying value over its estimated fair value. We measure property and equipment at fair value on a nonrecurring basis using Level 3 inputs as defined in the fair value hierarchy (see Note M to our Consolidated Financial Statements). We measure assets at fair value on a nonrecurring basis using Level 2 inputs, primarily market rental rates, that are corroborated by market data. Where Level 2 inputs are not readily available, we use Level 3 inputs. Fair value of these long-lived assets is based on the present value of estimated future cash flows using a discount rate commensurate with the risk.

Given the material reductions in our retail store revenues and operating income during fiscal 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we evaluated our estimates and assumptions related to our stores’ future sales and cash flows, and performed a comprehensive review of our stores’ long-lived assets for impairment, including both property and equipment and operating lease assets, at an individual store level. Our assumptions account for the estimated impact on future cash flows from the recent temporary store closures and capacity restrictions, including reduced store traffic and longer recovery times in those stores we have as well as the reinstatement of closures or restrictions on retail capacity in certain areas.

These events and changes in circumstances, including a more prolonged and/or severe pandemic and the reinstatement of closures or restrictions on retail capacity, may lead to increased impairment risk in the future; therefore, we will continue to monitor events and changes in circumstances that may indicate the need to test our long-lived assets, including goodwill, for potential impairment.

During fiscal 2020, we recognized asset impairment charges of approximately $19,204,000 related to property and equipment and $7,865,000 related to use assets for our retail stores, which is recognized within selling, general and administrative expenses. During fiscal 2019, we recognized an approximate $3,303,000, net of tax, reduction to the opening balance of retained earnings resulting from the impairment of certain long-lived assets upon adoption of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) .

We lease store locations, distribution and manufacturing facilities, corporate facilities, customer care centers and certain equipment for our U.S. and foreign operations with initial terms generally ranging from 2 to 22 years. We determine whether an arrangement is or contains a lease at inception by evaluating potential lease agreements, including service and operating agreements, to determine whether an identified asset exists that we control over the term of the arrangement.Lease commencement is determined to be when the lessor provides us access to, and the right to control, the identified asset.

Upon lease commencement, we recognize a asset and a corresponding lease liability measured at the present value of the fixed future minimum lease payments. We record a asset for an amount equal to the lease liability, increased for any prepaid lease costs and initial direct costs and reduced by any lease incentives. We remeasure the lease liability and asset when a remeasurement event occurs.

Many of our leases contain renewal and early termination options. The option periods are generally not included in the lease term used to measure our lease liabilities and assets upon commencement, as we do not believe the exercise of these options to be reasonably certain. We remeasure the lease liability and asset when we are reasonably certain to exercise a renewal or an early termination option.

Our leases generally do not provide information about the rate implicit in the lease. Therefore, we utilize an incremental borrowing rate to calculate the present value of our future lease obligations. The incremental borrowing rate represents the rate of interest we would have to pay on a collateralized borrowing, for an amount equal to the lease payments, over a similar term and in a similar economic environment. We use judgment in determining our incremental borrowing rate, which is applied to each lease based on the lease term. An increase or decrease in the incremental borrowing rate applied would impact the value of our assets and lease liabilities.

Our revolver, our term loan and our Credit Agreement each have a variable interest rate which, when drawn upon, subjects us to risks associated with changes in that interest rate. During the first quarter of fiscal 2020, we had borrowings of $487,823,000 under the revolver, all of which were repaid prior to the end of the fiscal year. Additionally, as of January 31, 2021, we had $300,000,000 outstanding under our term loan, all of which was repaid in full in February 2021 prior to maturity, and no amount outstanding under our 364-Day Credit Agreement, which has not been drawn upon. A hypothetical increase or decrease of one percentage point on our existing variable rate debt instruments would not materially affect our results of operations or cash flows.