Estee Lauder 2015 Annual Report Download - page 82

THE EST{E LAUDER COMPANIES INC. 79
our knowledge of our business and operations, actual
results may differ materially from our expectations. Factors
that could cause actual results to differ from expectations
include, without limitation:
(1) increased competitive activity from companies in the
skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care businesses,
some of which have greater resources than we do;
(2) our ability to develop, produce and market new prod-
ucts on which future operating results may depend and to
successfully address challenges in our business;
(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 or ownership of
competitors by our customers that are retailers and our
inability to collect receivables;
(4) destocking and tighter working capital management
by retailers;
(5) the success, or changes in timing or scope, of new
product launches and the success, or changes in the
timing or the scope, of advertising, sampling and mer-
chandising programs;
(6) shifts in the preferences of consumers as to where and
how they shop for the types of products and services we sell;
(7) 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;
(8) changes in the laws, regulations and policies (includ-
ing the interpretations and enforcement thereof) that
affect, or will affect, our business, including those relating
to our products or distribution networks, changes in
accounting standards, tax laws and regulations, environ-
mental or climate change laws, regulations or accords,
trade rules and customs regulations, and the outcome
and expense of legal or regulatory proceedings, and any
action we may take as a result;
(9) foreign currency fluctuations affecting our results of
operations and the value of our foreign assets, the relative
prices at which we and our foreign competitors sell
products in the same markets and our operating and man-
ufacturing costs outside of the United States;
(10) changes in global or local conditions, including those
due to the volatility in the global credit and equity
markets, natural or man-made disasters, real or perceived
epidemics, or energy costs, that could affect consumer
purchasing, the willingness or ability of consumers to
travel and/or purchase our products while traveling, the
financial strength of our customers, suppliers or other
contract counterparties, our operations, the cost and
availability of capital which we may need for new equip-
ment, facilities or acquisitions, the returns that we are able
to generate on our pension assets and the resulting
impact on funding obligations, the cost and availability of
raw materials and the assumptions underlying our critical
accounting estimates;
(11) shipment delays, commodity pricing, depletion of
inventory and increased production costs resulting from
disruptions of operations at any of the facilities that man-
ufacture nearly all of our supply of a particular type of
product (i.e. focus factories) or at our distribution or
inventory centers, including disruptions that may be
caused by the implementation of information technology
initiatives, or by restructurings;
(12) real estate rates and availability, which may affect our
ability to increase or maintain the number of retail loca-
tions at which we sell our products and the costs associ-
ated with our other facilities;
(13) changes in product mix to products which are less
profitable;
(14) our ability to acquire, develop or implement new
information and distribution technologies and initiatives
on a timely basis and within our cost estimates and our
ability to maintain continuous operations of such systems
and the security of data and other information that may
be stored in such systems or other systems or media;
(15) our ability to capitalize on opportunities for improved
efficiency, such as publicly-announced strategies and
restructuring and cost-savings initiatives, and to integrate
acquired businesses and realize value therefrom;
(16) consequences attributable to local or international
conflicts around the world, as well as from any terrorist
action, retaliation and the threat of further action or
retaliation;
(17) the timing and impact of acquisitions, investments
and divestitures; and
(18) additional factors as described in our filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including this
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
June 30, 2015.
We assume no responsibility to update forward-looking
statements made herein or otherwise.