In April 2019, the Company adopted the 2019 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2019 Plan”) and stopped making grants under its 2007 Equity and Performance Incentive Plan, as amended and restated in April 2011 and April 2016 (the “2007 Plan”). As of October 3, 2021, 1,859,257 shares remained available for future grant under the 2019 Plan.

At its discretion, the Company grants share option awards, nonvested share awards and nonvested share unit awards to certain employees, as defined by ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation, under the Company’s 2019 Plan, and accounts for its share-based compensation in accordance with ASC 718. The Company recognized $0.5 million and $1.4 million in share-based compensation expense for the 13 and 39 weeks ended October 3, 2021, respectively, compared to $0.4 million and $1.3 million in share-based compensation expense for the 13 and 39 weeks ended September 27, 2020, respectively.

Share option awards granted by the Company generally vest and become exercisable in four equal annual installments of 25% per year with a maximum life of ten years. The exercise price of share option awards is equal to the quoted market price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. No share option awards were granted in the first nine months of fiscal 2021. In the first nine months of fiscal 2020, the Company granted 257,000 share option awards with a weighted-average grant-date fair value of $1.25 per share option award.

A summary of the status of the Company’s share option awards is presented below:


	Shares			Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life (In Years)		Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding at January 3, 2021		742,800		$	4.62
Exercised		(318,275	)		5.67
Outstanding at October 3, 2021		424,525		$	3.84		7.56	$	8,606,225
Exercisable at October 3, 2021		58,625		$	6.72		6.05	$	1,019,545
Vested and Expected to Vest at October 3, 2021		419,068		$	3.85		7.55	$	8,489,154

The aggregate intrinsic value represents the total pretax intrinsic value, based upon the Company’s most recent closing stock price of $24.11 as of October 3, 2021, which would have been received by the share option award holders had all share option award holders exercised their share option awards as of that date.

The fair value of each share option award on the date of grant is estimated using the Black-Scholes method based on the following weighted-average assumptions:


	13 Weeks Ended				39 Weeks Ended
	October 3, 2021		September 27, 2020		October 3, 2021		September 27, 2020
Risk-free interest rate		—		—		—		0.9	%
Expected term		—		—		—	5.7 years
Expected volatility		—		—		—		63.0	%
Expected dividend yield		—		—		—		—

The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant for periods corresponding with the expected term of the option award; the expected term represents the weighted-average period of time that option awards granted are expected to be outstanding giving consideration to vesting schedules and historical participant exercise behavior; the expected volatility is based upon historical volatility of the Company’s common stock; and the expected dividend yield is based upon the Company’s current dividend rate. In order to support its liquidity initiatives throughout the organization as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, early in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 the Company’s Board of Directors suspended its quarterly cash dividend. Due to the uncertainty of future dividend payments when share option awards were granted in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, the Company used zero as the expected dividend yield assumption for share option awards granted at that time.

As of October 3, 2021, there was $0.3 million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to share option awards granted. That expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.8 years.

Nonvested share awards and nonvested share unit awards granted by the Company vest for employees from the date of grant in four equal annual installments of 25% per year. Nonvested share awards and nonvested share unit awards granted by the Company to non-employee directors for their service as directors, as defined by ASC 718, generally vest 100% on the earlier of (a) the date of the Company’s next annual stockholders meeting following the grant date, or (b) the first anniversary of the grant date.

Nonvested share awards become outstanding when granted and are delivered to the recipient upon their vesting. Shares issuable related to nonvested share unit awards, including any dividend reinvestments, are delivered to the recipient on the tenth business day of January following the year in which the recipient’s service to the Company is terminated, at which time the units convert to shares and become outstanding. The total fair value of nonvested share awards which vested during the first nine months of fiscal 2021 and 2020 was $5.3 million and $0.4 million, respectively. The total fair value of nonvested share unit awards which vested in the first nine months of fiscal 2021 and 2020 was $1.2 million and $0.2 million, respectively.

The Company granted 248,550 and 321,600 nonvested share awards in the first nine months of fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively. The weighted-average grant-date fair value per share of the Company’s nonvested share awards granted in the first nine months of fiscal 2021 and 2020 was $15.61 and $1.69, respectively.

A summary of the status of the Company’s nonvested share awards is presented below:


	Shares			Weighted- Average Grant- Date Fair Value
Balance at January 3, 2021		591,325		$	3.79
Granted		248,550			15.61
Vested		(268,550	)		4.83
Forfeited		(15,655	)		6.16
Balance at October 3, 2021		555,670		$	8.51

To satisfy employee minimum statutory tax withholding requirements for nonvested share awards that vest, the Company withholds and retires a portion of the vesting common shares, unless an employee elects to pay cash. In the first nine months of fiscal 2021, the Company withheld 70,228 common shares with a total value of $1.0 million. This amount is presented as a cash outflow from financing activities in the accompanying interim unaudited condensed consolidated statement of cash flows.

A summary of the status of the Company’s nonvested share unit awards is presented below:


	Units			Weighted- Average Grant- Date Fair Value
Balance at January 3, 2021		41,160		$	1.91
Granted		2,614			28.69
Dividend reinvestments		14,841			27.46
Vested		(40,000	)		2.28
Dividend reinvestments vested		(15,975	)		25.98
Balance at October 3, 2021		2,640		$	20.86

As of October 3, 2021, there was $3.7 million and $0.1 million of total unrecognized compensation expense related to nonvested share awards and nonvested share unit awards, respectively. That expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.5 and 0.7 years for nonvested share awards and nonvested share unit awards, respectively.