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Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic
9 Months Ended
Oct. 31, 2021
Extraordinary And Unusual Items [Abstract]  
Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic

2. Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic

Impact on Fiscal 2021

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) a global pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures worldwide. On March 14, 2020, the Company announced that it temporarily closed all stores, offices and showrooms globally. The Company’s distribution and fulfillment centers remained open to support the digital business and the Wholesale segment operations but did so with additional safety procedures and enhanced cleaning measures in place to protect the health of employees. All other corporate and showroom employees worked remotely.

On April 25, 2020, the Company began reopening stores in select states and countries in accordance with local government guidelines, and as of July 31, 2020, substantially all of the Company’s stores had reopened. Where opening was permitted, the Company followed newly established health protocols, provided personal protective equipment to its employees, and implemented social distancing working practices. Additionally, the Company implemented occupancy limits, reduced operating hours, and instituted new cleaning regimens. As a result, the

Company incurred incremental costs for personal protective equipment and additional payroll and other costs associated with implementing these health protocols in its stores, distribution and fulfillment centers, and corporate offices. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, certain store operations were again impacted by an additional round of temporary store closures and occupancy restrictions, primarily in Europe and Canada.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, certain governments implemented programs (some of which expired in fiscal 2021) to encourage companies to retain and pay employees that were unable to work or were limited in the work they could perform in light of closures or a significant decline in sales. The Company qualified for certain of these programs during the second quarter and through the remainder of fiscal 2021 and recorded the benefit as an offset to selling, general and administrative expenses or to store occupancy expenses in cost of sales based on the nature of the related expenses offset by such programs.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company took many measures to protect its financial position and increase financial flexibility. For details of all such material measures taken during fiscal 2021, refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on April 1, 2021. See Note 6, “Debt,” for discussion of the Company’s borrowings and subsequent repayments under its Amended Credit Facility during fiscal 2021.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, during fiscal 2021, the Company recorded certain additional reserves, including inventory obsolescence reserves and an allowance for doubtful accounts for Wholesale segment customer accounts receivable, and non-cash charges, primarily store impairment charges. For further discussion of such reserves and non-cash charges for the first nine months of fiscal 2021 and the full year impact on fiscal 2021, see the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended October 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on December 10, 2020, and the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2021.

 

Impact on Fiscal 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to negatively impact the Company’s store operations during the first nine months of fiscal 2022 due to reduced store traffic as closures and occupancy restrictions continued primarily in Europe and Canada. During the second quarter of fiscal 2022, all remaining COVID-19 related store closures in Europe and Canada expired, although some capacity restrictions continued in certain European and Canadian stores. The COVID-19 pandemic and general unfavorable macro-economic conditions have disrupted the Company’s global supply chain in fiscal 2022, leading to COVID-19 related factory closures and continued port congestions, which have resulted in inventory receipt delays and an increase in inbound freight costs. The Company made a strategic decision to bring certain product categories in earlier in the third quarter of fiscal 2022 in an attempt to minimize the impact of such disruptions on customer demand.

The Company continued to qualify for certain government assistance programs that partially offset related expenses in locations impacted by closures during fiscal 2022. As of the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2022, however, the programs either expired or the Company no longer qualified for such programs in the United States and Canada, and as of the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2022, the Company no longer qualified for the majority of such programs in Europe. The Company recorded the benefit of the government assistance programs as an offset to selling, general and administrative expenses or store occupancy expenses in cost of sales based on the nature of the related expenses offset by such programs.

 

Impact on Future Operations

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the Company’s operations and related government and private sector responsive actions could continue to affect its business operations. The Company is also experiencing COVID-19 supply chain disruptions resulting in inventory receipt delays. In addition to COVID-19, the Company expects that our operations will continue to be influenced by general economic inflationary conditions, including wage inflation, increased merchandise sourcing costs and higher inbound transportation costs. The Company cannot reasonably estimate the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had and may continue to have a material impact on its business. As a result, current financial information may not be necessarily indicative of future operating results and the Company’s plans to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may change.