Ross 2009 Annual Report Download - page 17

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The dd’s DISCOUNTS business generally has similar merchandise departments and categories to those of Ross, but features
a different mix of brands at lower average price points. The typical dd’s DISCOUNTS store is located in an established
shopping center in a densely populated urban or suburban neighborhood. The merchant, store, and distribution organizations
for dd’s DISCOUNTS and Ross are separate and distinct; however, dd’s DISCOUNTS shares certain other corporate and
support services with Ross.
Available Information
The internet address for our corporate website is www.rossstores.com. Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports
on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statements, and amendments to those reports are made available free of
charge on or through the Investors section of our corporate website promptly after being electronically filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. The information found on our corporate website is not part of this, or any other report or regulatory
filing we file with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.
Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2009, and information we provide in our Annual Report to Stockholders, press
releases, telephonic reports, and other investor communications, including those on our corporate website, may contain
forward-looking statements with respect to anticipated future events and our projected financial performance, operations and
competitive position that are subject to risk factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those forward-
looking statements and our prior expectations and projections. Refer to Management’s Discussion and Analysis for a more
complete identification and discussion of “Forward-Looking Statements.”
Our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and the performance of our common stock may be adversely affected
by a number of risk factors. Risks and uncertainties that apply to both Ross and dd’s DISCOUNTS include, without limitation,
the following:
We are subject to the economic and industry risks that affect large retailers operating in the United States.
Our business is exposed to the risks of a large, multi-store retailer, which must continually and efficiently obtain and distribute
a supply of fresh merchandise throughout a large and growing network of stores. These risk factors include:
• An increase in the level of competitive pressures in the apparel or home-related merchandise industry.
• Changes in the level of consumer spending on or preferences for apparel or home-related merchandise, including the
potential impact from the macro-economic environment, uncertainty in financial and credit markets, and changes in
geopolitical conditions.
• Unseasonable weather trends that could affect consumer demand for seasonal apparel and apparel-related products.
• A change in the availability, quantity, or quality of attractive brand-name merchandise at desirable discounts that
could impact our ability to purchase product and continue to offer customers a wide assortment of merchandise at
competitive prices.
• Potential disruptions in the supply chain that could impact our ability to deliver product to our stores in a timely and
cost-effective manner.
• A change in the availability, quality, or cost of new store real estate locations.
• A downturn in the economy or a natural disaster in California or in another region where we have a concentration of stores
or a distribution center. Our corporate headquarters, Los Angeles buying office, two distribution centers, and 26% of our
stores are located in California.