Estee Lauder 2004 Annual Report Download - page 57

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THE EST{E LAUDER COMPANIES INC.
(3) consolidations, restructurings, bankruptcies and
reorganizations in the retail industry causing a decrease in
the number of stores that sell our products, an increase
in the ownership concentration within the retail industry,
ownership of retailers by our competitors and ownership
of competitors by our customers that are retailers;
(4) shifts in the preferences of consumers as to where and
how they shop for the types of products and services
we sell;
(5) social, political and economic risks to our foreign or
domestic manufacturing, distribution and retail opera-
tions, including changes in foreign investment and trade
policies and regulations of the host countries and of the
United States;
(6) changes in the laws, regulations and policies that
affect, or will affect, our business, including changes in
accounting standards, tax laws and regulations, trade rules
and customs regulations, and the outcome and expense
of legal or regulatory proceedings;
(7) foreign currency fluctuations affecting our results of
operations and the value of our foreign assets, the rela-
tive prices at which we and our foreign competitors sell
products in the same markets and our operating and
manufacturing costs outside of the United States;
(8) changes in global or local economic conditions that
could affect consumer purchasing, the willingness of con-
sumers to travel, the financial strength of our customers,
the cost and availability of capital, which we may need for
new equipment, facilities or acquisitions, and the assump-
tions underlying our critical accounting estimates;
(9) shipment delays, depletion of inventory and increased
production costs resulting from disruptions of operations
at any of the facilities which, due to consolidations
in our manufacturing operations, now manufacture
nearly all of our supply of a particular type of product
(i.e., focus factories);
(10) real estate rates and availability, which may affect our
ability to increase the number of retail locations at which
we sell our products and the costs associated with our
other facilities;
(11) changes in product mix to products which are
less profitable;
(12) our ability to acquire or develop new information and
distribution technologies, on a timely basis and within our
cost estimates;
(13) our ability to capitalize on opportunities for improved
efficiency, such as globalization, and to integrate acquired
businesses and realize value therefrom; and
(14) consequences attributable to the events that are
currently taking place in the Middle East, including
further attacks, retaliation and the threat of further attacks
or retaliation.
We assume no responsibility to update forward-looking
statements made herein or otherwise.
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