Cracker Barrel 2014 Annual Report Download - page 13

• Our risks are heightened because of our single retail
distribution facility and our potential inability or failure to
execute on a comprehensive business continuity plan
following a major national disaster at or near our corporate
facility could adversely aect our business.
• Our reliance on certain signicant vendors, particularly
for foreign-sourced retail products, subjects us to numerous
risks, including possible interruptions in supply, which
could adversely aect our business.
• Our ability to manage our retail inventory levels and changes
in merchandise mix may adversely aect our business.
• Our capital structure contains substantial indebtedness,
which may decrease our exibility, increase our borrowing
costs and adversely aect our liquidity. In addition, we
cannot provide any guaranty of future cash dividend
payments or that we will be able to actively repurchase our
common stock pursuant to a share repurchase program.
• Our advertising is heavily dependent on billboards, which
are highly regulated; our evolving marketing strategy
involves increased advertising and marketing costs that
could adversely aect our results of operations.
• A material disruption in our information technology,
network infrastructure and telecommunication systems
could adversely aect our business and results of operations.
• A privacy breach could adversely aect our business.
• We outsource certain business processes to third-party
vendors that subject us to risks, including disruptions
in business and increased costs; our use of third party
technologies has increased and if we are unable to maintain
our rights to these technologies our business may be harmed.
• Our business is somewhat seasonal and also can be aected
by extreme weather conditions and natural disasters.
• If we fail to execute our business strategy, which includes
our ability to nd new store locations and open new stores
that are protable, our business could suer.
• Individual store locations are aected by local conditions
that could change and adversely aect the carrying value of
those locations.
• Health concerns, government regulation relating to the
consumption of food products and widespread infectious
diseases could aect consumer preferences and could
negatively aect our results of operations.
• Failure to maximize or to successfully assert our intellectual
property rights could adversely aect our business and
results of operations.
• Litigation may adversely aect our business, nancial
condition and results of operations.
• Unfavorable publicity could harm our business. In addition,
our failure to recognize, respond to and eectively
manage the impact of social media could materially impact
our business.
• e loss of key executives or diculties in recruiting and
retaining qualied personnel could jeopardize our future
growth and success.
• We are subject to a number of risks relating to federal,
state and local regulation of our business including the areas
of minimum wage increases, health care reform and
environmental maers, and an insucient or ineective
response to government regulation may increase our
costs and decrease our prot margins.
• Our current insurance programs may expose us to unexpected
costs, which could have a material adverse eect on our
nancial condition and results of operations.
• Our reported results can be aected adversely and
unexpectedly by the implementation of new, or changes in
the interpretation of existing, accounting principles or
nancial reporting requirements.
• Failure of our internal control over nancial reporting could
adversely aect our business and nancial results.
• Our annual and quarterly operating results may uctuate
signicantly and could fall below the expectations of
investors and securities analysts due to a number of factors,
some of which are beyond our control, resulting either in
volatility or a decline in the price of our securities.
• Our business could be negatively aected as a result of
actions of activist shareholders.
• Provisions in our charter, Tennessee law and our share-
holder rights plan may discourage potential acquirers of
our company.
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