Black & Decker 2014 Annual Report Download - page 23

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The Company’s brands are important assets of its businesses and violation of its trademark rights by imitators, or the failure
of its licensees or vendors to comply with the Company’s product quality, manufacturing requirements, marketing
standards, and other requirements could negatively impact revenues and brand reputation.
The Company’s trademarks enjoy a reputation for quality and value and are important to its success and competitive position.
Unauthorized use of the Company’s trademark rights may not only erode sales of the Company’s products, but may also cause
significant damage to its brand name and reputation, interfere with its ability to effectively represent the Company to its
customers, contractors, suppliers, and/or licensees, and increase litigation costs. Similarly, failure by licensees or vendors to
adhere to the Company’s standards of quality and other contractual requirements could result in loss of revenue, increased
litigation, and/or damage to the Company’s reputation and business. There can be no assurance that the Company’s on-going
effort to protect its brand and trademark rights and ensure compliance with its licensing and vendor agreements will prevent all
violations.
Successful sales and marketing efforts depend on the Company’s ability to recruit and retain qualified employees.
The success of the Company’s efforts to grow its business depends on the contributions and abilities of key executives, its sales
force and other personnel, including the ability of its sales force to adapt to any changes made in the sales organization and
achieve adequate customer coverage. The Company must therefore continue to recruit, retain and motivate management, sales
and other personnel sufficiently to maintain its current business and support its projected growth. A shortage of these key
employees might jeopardize the Company’s ability to implement its growth strategy.
The Company has significant operations outside of the United States, which are subject to political, economic and other
risks inherent in operating outside of the United States.
The Company generates revenue outside of the United States and expects it to continue to represent a significant portion of its
total revenue. Business operations outside of the United States are subject to political, economic and other risks inherent in
operating in certain countries, such as:
• the difficulty of enforcing agreements and protecting assets through legal systems outside the U.S.;
• managing widespread operations and enforcing internal policies and procedures such as compliance with U.S. and
foreign anti-bribery and anti-corruption regulations;
• trade protection measures and import or export licensing requirements;
• the application of certain labor regulations outside of the United States;
• compliance with a wide variety of non-U.S. laws and regulations;
• changes in the general political and economic conditions in the countries where the Company operates, particularly in
emerging markets;
• the threat of nationalization and expropriation;
• increased costs and risks of doing business in a wide variety of jurisdictions;
• government controls limiting importation of goods;
• government controls limiting payments to suppliers for imported goods;
• limitations on repatriation of earnings; and
• exposure to wage, price and capital controls.
Changes in the political or economic environments in the countries in which the Company operates could have a material
adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.