UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

(Mark One)

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from __________ to __________

Commission file number: 001-37523

PURPLE INNOVATION, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (801) 756-2600

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐   No   ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐   No   ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒   No   ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes  ☒   No   ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 (b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes   ☐ No  ☒

As of June 30, 2021, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the common stock outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing sales price for the common stock as of June 30, 2021, as reported on the NASDAQ Capital Market, was $1,536.9 million.

As of February 28, 2022, there were 66,520,782 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 448,279 shares of Class B common stock of the registrant issued and outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Certain portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement relating to the Annual Meeting of Shareholders are specifically incorporated by reference in Part III, Items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Unless the context otherwise requires, references to (i) “Purple,” “the Company,” “our company,” “we,” “our” and “us,” or like terms, refer to Purple Innovation, Inc. and its subsidiaries, currently Purple Innovation, LLC, (ii) “Purple Inc.” refers to Purple Innovation, Inc. without its subsidiary and (iii) “Purple LLC” refers to Purple Innovation, LLC, an entity of which Purple Inc. acts as the sole managing member and of whose common units we own approximately 99% as of March 1, 2022. “Global Partner Acquisition Corp.” and “GPAC” refer to the Company prior to the closing of the Business Combination, and “Purple before the Business Combination” refers to Purple LLC’s business before it became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company upon Closing the Business Combination (as defined herein).

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This report, including, without limitation, statements under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act. Statements in this report that are not descriptions of historical facts are forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could negatively affect our business, operating results, financial condition and stock price. These forward-looking statements relate to expectations for future financial performance, business strategies or expectations for Purple. Specifically, forward-looking statements may include statements relating to the future financial performance of the Company, changes in the markets in which Purple competes, expansion plans and opportunities, expansion of the direct to consumer market, our expectation of opening additional Purple retail showrooms, increases in capital, advertising and operational expenses, and other statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “target” or similar expressions.

The forward-looking statements contained in this report are made only as of the date hereof. It is routine for our internal projections and expectations to change throughout the year, and any forward-looking statements based upon these projections or expectations may change prior to the end of the next quarter or year. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Future developments affecting us may not be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. These risks and others described under “Risk Factors” may not be exhaustive.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this report. In addition, even if our results or operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this report, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.

PART I

Item 1. Business

Introduction

Purple’s mission is to help “every body” sleep, feel and live better through innovative comfort solutions.

We are a digitally-native vertical brand founded on comfort product innovation with premium offerings. We design and manufacture a variety of innovative, branded and premium comfort products, including mattresses, pillows, cushions, bases, sheets and more. Our products are the result of decades of innovation and investment in proprietary and patented comfort technologies and the development of our own manufacturing processes. Our proprietary gel technology, Hyper-Elastic Polymer^®, known as the Purple Grid^®, underpins many of our comfort products and provides a range of benefits that differentiate our offerings from other competitors’ products. Specially engineered for enhanced pressure relief and unwavering support, Purple’s patented grid technology has been used and tested rigorously within medical and consumer applications for over 30 years. Originally designed for use in hospital beds and wheelchairs, we adapted this unique pressure-relieving material for our mattresses and other cushion products.

We market and sell our products through direct-to-consumer e-commerce and Purple retail showrooms (collectively “DTC”) and retail brick-and-mortar wholesale partners.

The foundation of our business is core competencies in design, development and manufacturing. Decades of accumulated knowledge enable us to create all aspects of our innovative products, including fundamental comfort technologies and machines and processes necessary to bring them to market. We have integrated our operations to include research and development, marketing and manufacturing, resulting in an ability to rapidly test, learn, adapt and scale our product offerings. In order to solve complex manufacturing challenges such as large-format injection molding of our Purple Grid, we designed and produced our own manufacturing equipment including our proprietary and patented Mattress Max™ machinery. These were and still are fully customized machines unique to Purple that can handle both our size and scale requirements. We believe our combination of patents and intellectual property, proprietary and patented manufacturing equipment, production processes and decades of acquired knowledge create an advantage over our competitors who rely on commoditized materials, such as foam and outsourced manufacturing.

In addition to developing transformative, differentiated products and technologies, we have built a brand that has high customer engagement and avid brand advocates. We have an experienced marketing team, providing efficient customer acquisition and brand demand development. Our marketing strategy enables us to market our full product suite to customers, generate frequent interactions online and drive traffic to all channels offering our products. Evidencing the strength of our brand, our close rate among consumers who are considering a purchase was at an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2021.

As a native DTC brand, our knowledge of and engagement with consumers across digital and brick and mortar retail channels is advantageous and increasing. To complement our DTC efforts, we have developed multiple wholesale relationships with best-in-class retailers in the furniture, mattress specialty, home décor, and department store spaces. We believe our distinctly differentiated products, marketing strategies, manufacturing capabilities, unique branding and proprietary technologies position us to continue to drive our growth in comfort products. By fourth quarter 2021, we believe we increased our share in the overall mattress category nearly a full percentage point from the previous high in the fourth quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021. In 2021, our DTC sales, which includes online and Purple retail showrooms, accounted for 65.3% of our net revenues and wholesale accounted for 34.7% of net revenues, while sales of sleep products accounted for 91.5% of our net revenues and other products accounted for 8.5%.

In 2021, Purple opened and scaled a new facility in McDonough, Georgia to create growth-supporting capacity and a manufacturing footprint that serves our customers in the eastern U.S. We also grew our DTC efforts by adding 19 Purple retail showrooms in 2021 and two thus far in 2022, making a total of 30 Company showroom locations in cities across the United States. We anticipate opening additional Purple retail showrooms throughout 2022 and to eventually have more than 200 showrooms.

Industry and Competition

Our portfolio of products is driven by our commitment to innovating real comfort solutions that meaningfully help “every body” sleep, feel and live better. Whether it’s getting a better night’s rest or elevating the work from home experience, we design and manufacture truly innovative, differentiated products that put our customer’s comfort first.

Sleep Products

The sleep products category encompasses a variety of products including mattresses, pillows, bases, foundations, sheets, mattress protectors, blankets and duvets. Meaningful innovation in sleep products has remained stagnant and limited over the last 150 years. Coil spring mattresses and memory foam, two of the primary materials underpinning mattress technology today, were invented in the 1860’s and 1990’s. Latex, water and air mattresses followed, emerging in the latter part of the 20^th century. Since these early inventions, the mattress industry has remained complacent with little meaningful innovation, until the introduction of the Purple Grid. Our Purple Grid, made from our proprietary Hyper-Elastic Polymer, represents a meaningful innovation in pressure relief, temperature neutrality, responsiveness, durability and limited motion transfer. The Purple Grid solves problems that regular mattresses create and has proven that material innovations can have a positive impact on sleep.

Beginning in 2015, the market for sleep products underwent a fundamental transformation with the rise of e-commerce-based brands and direct to consumer distribution, which disrupted the traditional category dynamics and drove the majority of category growth (versus traditional mattress companies) for several years. Today, the U.S. mattress industry has rebalanced to be comprised of vendors that rely on retail distribution as well as a consolidated number of direct-to-consumer retailers who have tried to expand brick and mortar distribution to capture more market share in a category still tied to instore product trials. Amidst this changing category dynamic, Purple’s manufacturing capabilities paired with our strategic mix of showrooms, e-commerce and third-party retailers, has allowed us to gain share and be a leader in the sleep products category.

In general, new direct to consumer mattress companies offer convenience, free shipping and returns, and low prices, while leveraging third-party manufacturing and distribution. Materials used by online mattress retailers include layers of foam cushioning that are assembled, compressed and folded into a box for distribution. This market is highly fragmented, commoditized and competitive, with customer purchase decisions based primarily on price. Prior to Purple, there has been little recent success disrupting the premium market, where the majority of category revenue and profit is realized. Competitors in the premium market include Tempur Sealy and Sleep Number.

While e-commerce home goods purchases have increased over the past five years, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers command a significant part of the market for mattress products. This part of the retail market is also highly fragmented and competitive. The leading brick-and-mortar specialty mattress retailers in the United States and Canada are, respectively, Mattress Firm and Sleep Country Canada, both of which Purple has significant partnerships with. These national retailers compete with both regional and local retailers as well as furniture and department stores. Purple has also expanded into many of these regional furniture retailers.

Across these channels, some key factors that impact competition in our industry include comfort feel, product features, reliable logistics and manufacturing capabilities, marketing efficacy and efficiency, brand differentiation, expertise of sales associates, customer care, pace of innovation and product roadmap, price of products and services, financial stability and ability to invest in innovation.

What Makes Purple Different?

We believe we have a particular set of competitive strengths that differentiate and position us for continued success:

Growth Strategies

Our Products

Our current product portfolio is as follows:

Technology

Technology is key to our unique position within the comfort industry. With our proprietary Hyper-Elastic Polymer material used in the Purple Grid, we have introduced the first major innovation to the mattress category in decades. Mattresses from our competitors are typically manufactured using one or more layers of springs, standard polyurethane foam, memory foam, air chambers or latex foam. These technologies have existed for decades and are undifferentiated from competitors within their product type.

Proprietary Technologies

The Purple innovation team, through their scientific journey to get to the root causes of pressure sores, designed the Hyper-Elastic Polymer material, Purple Grid structure, and other proprietary comfort technologies in order to improve the lives of “every body.” Each different cushioning product line requires unique molding techniques.

Our Hyper-Elastic Polymer material is non-toxic and hypoallergenic. This proprietary material is also durable and will not develop body impressions (compression set) from use over time. It is elastic and can stretch up to 15 times its original size and return without losing its shape. It sleeps and sits temperature-neutral and has good ventilation to inhibit moisture build-up.

Our Purple Grid structure made with Hyper-Elastic Polymer material is both soft and supportive. While the columns in this structure provide support where it is needed, they also buckle where it is needed to reduce pressure by allowing shoulders and hips to sink into the cushion with reduced force pushing back on those areas of the body unlike other cushion technologies. The soft and flexible columns also return to their original position as forces lessen and are capable of immediately providing support.

Proprietary Machinery

Internally designed, developed and built, our Mattress Max machines are the only machines able to mold our Hyper-Elastic Polymer material into large-format king-sized mattresses at scale. We have modified other molding machines to manufacture additional products containing Hyper-Elastic Polymer material, such as pillows and seat cushions. The process of molding our Hyper-Elastic Polymer material using our Mattress Max machinery is proprietary, patent-protected and complex, requiring specific knowledge and expertise to successfully execute manufacturing. We have vertically integrated with our own machine shop with mechanics and engineers at each of our factories to maintain our machines and other equipment. Furthermore, we have extensive in-house fabrication capabilities, which enable us to design, manufacture, install and maintain new equipment as well as optimize the performance and efficiency of our existing machinery based on real-time insights gained from our vertically integrated operations.

Marketing

We have developed a brand that resonates with consumers. Our marketing efforts are focused on building awareness of the Purple brand and illustrating the unique way our products deliver better sleep and comfort. We leverage data-driven marketing across all communication channels to engage, acquire, and retain customers. We also amplify the voices of our evangelical product owners, whose word-of-mouth recommendation is one of our most powerful (and ownable) marketing vehicles. Deep engagement with current customers enables us to increase additional product sales across our portfolio of offerings. The success we have achieved through our marketing campaigns has been key to rapidly building our branding and awareness. 

Our Sales Channels

Historically, the majority of our sales have been through our e-commerce platform; however, we are growing our Purple retail showrooms, and expanding our wholesale channel distribution. 

Direct-to-Consumer Channel

E-commerce is a primary distribution channel and a critical hub for consumer engagement and education. We have benefitted from the rapid growth of the direct-to-consumer mattress industry in addition to our differentiated product offering and unique marketing campaigns. Consumer willingness to buy sleep products online continues to grow as consumer confidence in online shopping continues to increase. We sell directly to consumers through our website and our growing customer contact center. We help customers easily engage in relevant content, research our solutions, transact online and find support. We believe our online experience expands our brand and connections with consumers, enabling deeper awareness, engagement and brand loyalty. We believe our 100-night trial along with free shipping and free returns provides confidence to consumers in buying a mattress.

We operate 30 Purple retail showrooms in cities across the United States where consumers can experience our brand, learn and engage with our technology and purchase our products. We plan to continue expanding our showroom footprint across the United States.

Wholesale Channel

We sell our assortment of products through brick-and-mortar wholesale partners. We began selling mattresses and other sleep products through our largest wholesale partner, Mattress Firm, in November 2017 and have continued to expand the number of wholesale partners where our mattresses and other sleep products are sold. We now sell mattresses through Ashley Furniture, Big Sandy, City Furniture, Furniture Row, HOM Furniture, Macy’s, Mathis Brothers, Mattress Firm, Raymour& Flanigan, Rooms To Go, Sleep County Canada and Steinhafels, among others. We typically have three to four mattress models on the floor. Sales associates have been trained and we believe are effective in educating consumers regarding our unique benefits as well as shifting the mix upward to our more premium and higher-margin mattresses. We expect to continue expanding brick-and-mortar wholesale partners to give our customers the opportunity to feel the difference of the Purple Grid for themselves.

Operations

Factories, Supply Chain and Manufacturing

We operate factories in Alpine, Utah, Grantsville, Utah and McDonough, Georgia, which manufacture and distribute Purple products. Our two factories in Utah have a total of 667,000 square-feet, including approximately 574,000 square-feet at our Grantsville factory and another 93,000 square-feet at our Alpine factory. Our factory in McDonough, Georgia opened in March 2021 and provides 844,000 square-feet to service our customers on the east coast. At these factories we manufacture our proprietary Hyper-Elastic Polymer and Purple Grid cushioning used in our mattress, pillow and seat cushion products. We also assemble, package and ship our products from these facilities. We continually improve our manufacturing processes and create efficiencies in production through new equipment and process designs and resources. We believe these factories will provide ample room to accommodate our future growth and expansion plans for the near term.

We outsource and resell other products, including adjustable bases, platform bases, sheets, mattress protectors, blankets and duvets. These products are either designed in-house or in partnership and are unique to Purple.

We have relationships with multiple suppliers for our outsourced products and components. These suppliers may be interchanged in order to maintain quality, cost and delivery expectations.

Environmental and Governmental Regulation

We are subject to numerous federal, state, local and foreign consumer protection and other laws and regulations applicable to the sleep product industry. These laws and regulations vary among the states and countries in which we do and intend to do business. For example, in the United States, we are subject to regulations promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other federal agencies that restrict the generation, emission, treatment, storage and disposal of materials, substances and waste. We are also subject to laws such as the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. Our mattress products are also subject to fire-retardant standards developed by the State of California, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and other jurisdictions where we sell these products.

As a retailer of sleep and cushioning products, we are also subject to laws and regulations applicable to retailers generally, including those regulations governing the marketing and sale of our products and the operation of our e-commerce activities. We are also subject to import and export laws and regulations to the extent our products and their component parts cross international boundaries. Many of these laws and regulations are consumer-focused and pertain to safety, truth-in-advertising, promotional offers, privacy, “do not call/mail” requirements, warranty disclosure, delivery timing requirements and similar requirements.

It is our policy and practice to comply with all applicable domestic and foreign laws and regulations. We have made and will continue to make capital and other expenditures necessary to comply with these laws and regulations. These expenditures have been immaterial to our financial results. We have not suffered a material adverse effect from non-compliance with federal, state, local or foreign legislation, but there can be no assurance that material costs or liabilities will not be incurred in connection with such legislation in the future.

Research and Development

Our research and development teams are focused on developing new comfort technologies, manufacturing machines, and improving production processes, as well as developing products. We have an extensive history of innovation that is core to our culture and key to our continued success. Our inventions have culminated over years of persistent research and development. We intend to continue to develop and introduce new comfort technologies and products to improve how people live. Our vertical integration is a key differentiator that enhances the effectiveness of our research and development capabilities. By gaining real-time feedback, we can integrate these insights into our manufacturing process, digital marketing, products and equipment.

Intellectual Property

We rely on patent and trademark protection laws to protect our intellectual property and maintain our competitive position in the marketplace. We hold various domestic and foreign patents, patent applications, trademarks and trademark applications regarding certain elements of the design, manufacturing and function of our products. We also maintain protections over proprietary trade secrets. Our intellectual property portfolio is integral to our continued success in this industry, with respect to our Hyper-Elastic Polymer and Purple Grid material as well as our Mattress Max machines.

We own or have the exclusive right to use hundreds of granted or pending patents and hundreds of patent filings on inventions and designs pertaining to our machines, processes, mattresses, pillows, seat cushions, packaging techniques and other related existing and future products. Our issued United States patents that are significant to our operations are expected to expire at various dates up to 2041.

We have several trademarks registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), including EquaPressure^®, WonderGel^® and EquaGel^® (for cushions), and Purple^®, No Pressure^®, Hyper-Elastic Polymer^®, Somnigel^®, and Gel Matrix^® (for plasticized elastomeric gel and certain types of products including mattresses, seat cushions, bed linen, mattress foundation and others). Additional registered trademarks include Purple Grid^®, The Purple Mattress^®, Purple Hybrid^®, and Purple Hybrid Premier^®. Applications are pending for registration of additional trademarks and some of these listed trademarks for additional classes of goods both in the U.S. and internationally. Our Purple, No Pressure and Hyper-Elastic Polymer trademarks are also registered and have applications pending for various classes of goods in numerous foreign jurisdictions, some of which include Australia, Canada, China, Europe, United Kingdom, Japan and Korea. Certain international trademark applications previously resided with EdiZONE, LLC, which is an entity owned by our founders and were licensed to Purple LLC, and we have taken the necessary steps to have those trademarks assigned to Purple LLC upon registration.

We also have a number of common law trademarks, including Harmony™, Purple Harmony Pillow™, Harmony Pillow™, Purple +™, Purple Plus™, Find Comfort™, Dreams On Dreams™, Reinventing Sleep™, Reinventing Comfort™, Gelflex™, Ascent™, Purple Ascent™, Comfort Reinvented™, Softstretch™, Purple Powerbase™, Purple Powerbase Premier™, Purple Powerbase Plus™, Purple Glove™, Eidertech™, Mattress Max™, WonderGel Original™, WonderGel Extreme™, DoubleGel™, DoubleGel Plus™, DoubleGel Ultra™, Roll n’ Go™, Fold N’ Go™, Purple Bed™, Purple Top™, Purple Pillow™, Portable Purple™, Everywhere Purple™, Simply Purple™, Lite Purple™, Royal Purple™, Double Purple™, Deep Purple™, Ultimate Purple™, Purple Back™, EquaGel Straight Comfort™, EquaGel General™, EquaGel Protector™, and EquaGel Adjustable™.

Many of the common law marks have registrations pending with the USPTO and other international jurisdictions. Solely for convenience, we may refer to our trademarks in this Annual Report without the ^™ or ^® symbol, but such references are not intended to indicate that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights to our trademarks.

In addition, we maintain copyrights, many registered, to past and present versions of purple.com, onpurple.com, equapressure.com, wondergel.com, marketing content, blogs, logos, graphics, videos and other marketing and promotional materials promoting our products.

We protect and enforce our intellectual property rights, including through litigation as necessary.

Human Capital

Employees

Our most valuable asset at Purple is our people and their learned institutional knowledge. We are mission-driven by our commitment to innovating real comfort solutions that meaningfully help “every body” feel and live better. We are a product innovation company at our core.

In February 2022, we completed a restructuring of our workforce that was necessitated by a realignment of our cost structure. As a result of the realignment and restructuring, we reduced employee headcount by approximately 15% and incurred a restructuring charge of $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2022. As of March 1, 2022, we have approximately 1,800 employees engaged in manufacturing, research and development, general corporate functions and in Purple retail showrooms.

During 2021, the Company’s top priority has been to take appropriate actions to protect the health and safety of our employees as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our current employee population works primarily within our two factories in Utah, our one factory in Georgia and at our headquarters in Lehi, Utah. However, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, employees who were working in office settings have been working from home. We also identified new ways to work safely and effectively in our manufacturing areas by creating additional shifts, regularly cleaning common areas, wearing face masks and ensuring employees were practicing safe social distancing. We regularly engage labor contracting agencies and independent contractors to accelerate our progress and to provide support across various functions within our organization. We have no collective bargaining agreements with our employees.

Diversity and Inclusion

Purple is committed to fostering an environment that respects and encourages individual differences, diversity of thought, and talent. We strive to create a workplace where employees feel that their contributions are welcomed and valued, allowing them to fully engage their talents and training in their work, while generating personal satisfaction in their roles within the Company. We hired a Chief People Officer in 2021, who will facilitate the ways in which Purple can operationalize its commitment to expanding diversity, nurturing the power of difference, and recruiting and retaining diverse talent.

Philanthropy

Purple is driven to innovate real comfort solutions that help “every body” sleep, feel and live better while we forge real relationships with our customers and communities. We believe in the importance of contributing to the communities that we serve, and we are growing the impact of our philanthropic activities with a purposeful focus on protecting the power of sleep for children and families. We expanded this year our support of the Precious Dreams Foundation to help assure the comfort and sleep of children in foster care. We made product donations to shelters in the communities in which we live and work, and we supported the sleep of refugee families resettling in the United States. We are proud to celebrate student achievement and recognize teacher contributions and to support the local economies in communities that support our workplaces.

Ethical Culture

Finally, our Code of Ethics promotes an environment of integrity by requiring honest, ethical and fair conduct with a focus on conflicts of interest, compliance, deterrence and internal reporting. It also requires full, fair and accurate disclosure in public filings and communications. All employees are required to complete Code of Ethics training periodically.

Overall, we believe our culture, along with our internal tools and initiatives, enable us to effectively execute our human capital strategy. For discussion on the risks relating to our inability to attract and retain top-performing talent, please see section titled Risk Factors.

Our History

Purple was created by two brothers that set out to revolutionize the comfort space. One in manufacturing and design, and the other an advanced aerospace scientist, the brothers embarked on a partnership in the early 1990s to put together a team to develop cushioning solutions for wheelchairs and medical beds. They later created what we call the Purple Grid—an elastomeric polymer that can stretch up to 15x its resting size and never lose shape or function. The Purple Grid has since been used in mattresses, seat cushions and pillows.

In August of 2020, Purple announced that co-founders Terry and Tony Pearce chose to retire from their positions as Co-Directors of Research & Development of Purple LLC and as directors on Purple Inc.’s Board of Directors (“Board”). Today, Purple’s research and development teams are focused on creating innovative comfort solutions for all facets of life.

Available Information

Our website address is www.purple.com. We make available, free of charge on our Investor Relations website, investors.purple.com, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

We also use our Investor Relations website, investors.purple.com, as a channel of distribution of additional Purple information that may be deemed material. Accordingly, investors should monitor this channel, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. The contents of our website shall not be deemed to be incorporated herein by reference.

Information About Our Executive Officers

As of the date of this report, our directors and executive officers are as follows:

Executive Officers

Robert T. DeMartini has served as Chief Executive Officer since January 2022. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. DeMartini, age 60, served as president and chief executive officer of USA Cycling, Inc., the official U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee governing body for all disciplines of competitive cycling in the United States, from 2019 until 2021. He previously served as president and chief executive officer of New Balance Athletic Shoes (U.K.) Ltd., from 2018 to 2019 and as president and chief executive officer of New Balance Athletics, Inc. from 2007 to 2018, each a business unit of New Balance, Inc. a leading manufacturer and retailer of athletic footwear, apparel and accessories. From 1982 through 2007 Mr. DeMartini held various leadership positions with Procter & Gamble, The Gillette Company, and Tyson Foods, Inc. He also currently serves on the boards of Welch’s Foods and Q30 Innovations/Q30 Sports Canada, and formerly served on the boards of American Functional Fabrics of America, The American Apparel & Footwear Association, and Aloha. Mr. DeMartini received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from San Diego State University. He is well qualified to serve on our Board due to his extensive operational and management background.

Bennett L. Nussbaum has served as our Interim Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) since August 2021. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Nussbaum served as the Interim Chief Financial Officer of American Megatrends, Inc. from 2019 to 2020. During that period he also served as Operating Partner of HGGC, LLC from 2017 to 2020. He also served as Interim CFO at 4over, Inc. from 2017 to 2018. From 2016 to 2017 he was the Chief Financial Officer of American Apparel, LLC. He currently serves on the advisory board for the W. Edwards Deming Center for Quality, Productivity, and Competitiveness at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, a position he has held since 2011. Mr. Nussbaum previously served on the boards of directors of The Collected Group, LLC from 2018 to 2019, Charlotte Russe, Inc. from 2018 to 2019, and BCBGMAXAZRIA, LLC during 2017. Mr.Nussbaum has extensive leadership and stakeholder management expertise who has led multibillion-dollar publicly traded and private equity-owned businesses through turnarounds, transitions and accelerated growth. Mr. Nussbaum is a graduate from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Economics and holds an MBA from Columbia University in New York, NY.

Casey K. McGarvey has served as the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Purple LLC since its inception in 2010 as WonderGel, LLC. He also has served as Corporate Secretary of Purple Inc. since the Business Combination. From 2008 until the Business Combination, he also has served as General Counsel of various technology companies owned by Terry and Tony Pearce, including EdiZONE, LLC, focused on developing advanced cushioning technology. Mr. McGarvey has a deep knowledge of the Company’s technologies and intellectual property. Prior to joining EdiZONE and Purple LLC, Mr. McGarvey was a shareholder, partner or of counsel at several law firms during which, among other things, he litigated and advised businesses on the protection of their patents and trademarks and other business matters. Mr. McGarvey has the following degrees, each from the University of Utah, a Bachelor of Arts and Honors Bachelor in political science with a Certificate in public administration, a Juris Doctor and an Executive Masters of Business Administration.

John A. Legg has served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Company since January 2019. Mr. Legg brings to the Company over 20 years of experience in operations and supply chain management in the wholesale, retail and e-commerce/direct-to-consumer sectors. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Legg served as a partner in the consulting firm of Claris Retail Solutions Group (“Claris”) from September 2017 until he joined the Company in January 2019. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President Global Operations for Global Brands Group, providing strategic direction across all operational areas. In addition, prior to joining Global Brands Group, Mr. Legg was the Senior Vice President of Global Logistics and Supply Chain for the Zale Corporation.  From 2009 to 2010, he consulted in Supply Chain Management for Tory Burch. From 2007 to 2008, Mr. Legg served as Senior Vice President Global Distribution and Logistics for Warnaco, Inc. Finally, from 1999 to 2007, he worked for Liz Claiborne in the US and in Europe, serving as Vice President International Distribution. Mr. Legg is a graduate of Northeastern University, in Boston, MA, and holds a BS in Business Administration, Transportation and Distribution Management.

Verdi R. White III has served as the Chief Retail Officer of the Company since March 2019. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. White served as the General Manager of Downeast Home since 2016. From 2014 to 2016, he served as Vice President of Real Estate and Construction for Hill Country Holdings, then the largest licensee of the Ashley Furniture Homestore concept. In that role, Mr. White oversaw all expansion initiatives for the company including new stores, warehouses, and all construction and maintenance of existing facilities. Prior to joining Hill County Holdings, Mr. White was the Vice President of Real Estate and Strategy at the Larry Miller Group from 2011 to 2014 where he grew their Fanzz and Pro Stop retail business. From 2007 to 2011, he managed design and construction projects at Brookfield Properties, formerly General Growth Properties. From 2001 to 2007, Mr. White was the co-founder of LoveSac where he conceived of, deployed, and operated LoveSac’s direct-to-consumer store strategy as well as new product development. Mr. White holds an MBA from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management.

Patrice A. Varni has served as Chief Marketing Officer of the Company since June 2021. Prior to joining Purple, Ms. Varni was the President and Chief Marketing Officer of Dermstore (a subsidiary of Target Corporation), the leading online retailer of professional skincare, from 2020 to joining Purple in 2021.  Ms. Varni served as the Chief Customer Officer at Corelle Brands from 2017 to 2019 and as the Chief Customer Officer at Arhaus an omni-channel national premium furniture retailer from 2015 to 2017.  Ms. Varni gained deep category experience as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Tempur Sealy International from 2009 to 2015. From 2001 to 2009 she served as the Vice President of Ecommerce and relationship marketing for the Levi’s brand at Levi Strauss & Company.  Earlier in her career, from 1991 through 2001, Ms.Varni built her marketing and e-commerce capability in various roles at what is now Digitas agency, The Walt Disney Company and Kenwood Electronics. Ms. Varni holds an MA in English and a BA in European Studies from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

John J. Roddy IV has served as Chief People Officer of the Company since October 2021.  Mr. Roddy brings to the Company over 20 years of experience in culture transformation, talent development, organization design and change leadership.  Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Roddy served as the Chief People Officer for VASA Fitness since 2018. Prior to that he was the Chief Human Resources Officer for SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment from 2016 to 2018. From 2012 to 2016, Mr. Roddy was the Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Luxottica Group. Prior to joining Luxottica Group, he was the Vice President of Human Resources for Starbucks Corporation from 2004 to 2012.  Mr. Roddy holds a master’s degree from Columbia University on Organizational Psychology and a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Behavior from Brigham Young University – Hawaii.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

The risk factors summarized and detailed below could materially harm our business, operating results and/or financial condition, impair our future prospects and/or cause the price of our common stock to decline. Any defined terms used in the Risk Factor Summary are defined in the full Risk Factors. These are not all of the risks we face and other factors not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also affect our business if they occur. Material risks that may affect our business, operating results and financial condition include, but are not necessarily limited to, those relating to:

Risk Factor Summary

Risks Related to Our Operations

Regulatory and Litigation Risks

Risks Relating to our Intellectual Property and Use of Technology

Risks Relating to Our Organizational Structure

Tax Risks Relating to Our Structure

Risks Related to Our Operations

We have in the past experienced and may in the future experience significant fluctuations in our operating results and growth rate, which could make our future results of operations difficult to predict or cause our results of operations to fall below analysts’ and investors’ expectations.

Our quarterly and annual results of operations have fluctuated in the past and we expect our future results of operations to fluctuate due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Fluctuations in our results of operations could cause our performance to fall below the expectations of analysts and investors, and adversely affect the price of our common stock. Because our business is changing and evolving rapidly, our historical results of operations may not be necessarily indicative of our future results of operations. Factors that may cause our results of operations to fluctuate include, but are not limited to, the following:

In addition, we rely on estimates and forecasts of our expenses and revenues to provide guidance and inform our business strategies, and some of our past estimates and forecasts have not been accurate. The evolving nature of our business makes forecasting operating results difficult. If we fail to accurately forecast our expenses and revenues, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations may suffer, and the value of our business may decline. If our estimates and forecasts prove incorrect, we may not be able to adjust our operations quickly enough to respond to lower-than-expected sales which, for example, could result in higher than anticipated inventory levels, or higher-than-expected expenses which, for example, could be the result of building excess capacity.

Based upon the factors above and others beyond our control, we have a limited ability to forecast our future revenue, costs and expenses. If we fail to meet or exceed the operating results expectations of analysts and investors or if analysts and investors have estimates and forecasts of our future performance that are unrealistic or that we do not meet, the market price of our common stock could decline. In addition, if one or more of the analysts who cover us adversely change their recommendation regarding our stock, the market price of our common stock could decline. In the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future, which could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns.

You should consider our business in light of the risks and difficulties we may encounter, as described above and elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section. If we fail to address the risks and difficulties that we face, our business and operating results will be adversely affected.

We have a limited operating history in an evolving industry and, as a result, our past results may not be indicative of future operating performance.

We are a growing business with a limited operating history. Our relatively limited operating history makes it difficult to assess our future performance. We have encountered and will continue to encounter risks and difficulties frequently experienced by growing companies in rapidly developing and changing industries, including inconsistent financial results, challenges in forecasting accuracy, determining appropriate investments of our limited resources, market acceptance of our products and services and future products and services, competition from new and established companies, including those with greater financial and technical resources, enhancing our products and services and developing new products and services.

For the year ended December 31, 2021, we had net income of $3.9 million and in 2020 we incurred a net loss of ($229.8) million. In 2021, we consumed $30.9 million of operating cash flow and ended the year with working capital of $87.5 million and an accumulated deficit of $261.8 million. In 2020, we generated $81.3 million of operating cash flow and ended the year with working capital of $96.9 million and an accumulated deficit of $265.9 million. We need positive cash flow from operations and additional capital to execute our business plan and growth initiatives. If we are unable to satisfy our liquidity and capital resource requirements our business could become adversely affected.

Lack of availability and quality of raw materials, labor, components, and shipping services, or increases in the cost of such inputs, could cause and has caused delays that could result in our inability to provide goods to our customers or could increase our costs, either of which could decrease our earnings.

In manufacturing products, we use various commodity components, such as polyurethane foam, oil, our spring units, ingredients for our Hyper-Elastic Polymer material, our water-based adhesive and other raw materials. Because we are dependent on outside suppliers for our raw materials, lack of availability and quality could have a negative effect on our cost of sales and our ability to meet our customers’ demands. Competitive and marketing pressures may prevent us from passing along price increases to our customers, and the inability to meet our customers’ demands could cause us to lose sales.

Some components, such as foam and spring units, are widely used in our industry. Shortages in such components, due to any reason including increase in demand, weather events, supply chain difficulties within the supplier or otherwise, could adversely affect our production capacity and financial results. If we were unable to obtain raw materials and components from suppliers, we would have to find replacement suppliers. Any new arrangements for raw materials and components might not be on favorable terms, if we are able to enter into new arrangements at all. If a supplier for a component failed to supply such component in required amounts this could significantly interrupt production and increase costs.

Even if we are able to obtain raw materials and other production inputs in a timely manner, supply chain constraints, inflation, and other factors may increase the costs of shipping, raw materials, labor, and other production and operational resources. We have experienced and expect to continue to experience increases in the cost of core materials and labor needed to manufacture our products. Such cost increases could adversely impact our production capacity and efficiency and reduce our gross margins and earnings.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including measures taken in response by governments and businesses worldwide to contain its spread, and general economic conditions have adversely impacted and are expected to continue to adversely impact global supply chain, manufacturing, and logistics operations. Shipping and freight costs and delays have also been increasing as port closures, port congestion, and shipping container and ship shortages have increased. To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic and other events result in continuation or worsening of manufacturing and shipping delays and constraints, our suppliers of raw materials and other components may have difficulty obtaining and providing the materials we require to manufacture our products or may increase the costs of such materials, which could adversely affect our earnings and our ability to acquire and maintain adequate inventory and meet demand for our products. Any significant delay or interruption in our supply chain, or our inability to obtain substitute components or materials from alternate sources at acceptable prices in a timely manner, could impair our ability to meet the demand of our customers and could harm our business. The COVID-19 pandemic also disrupted our relationship with employees as a result of furloughs, government programs that resulted in employees not returning to work, higher wages paid by competing employers incentivizing our employees to leave, and an increased general demand for labor.

The previous growth of our business placed significant strain on our resources and if we are unable to manage future growth, we may not have profitable operations or sufficient capital resources.

Historically we have expanded our operations, including expanding our workforce, increasing our product offerings and scaling our infrastructure to support expansion of our manufacturing capacity, our wholesale channel expansion and the opening of Purple retail showrooms. Our planned growth includes increasing our manufacturing efficiencies, developing and introducing new products and developing new and broader distribution channels, including wholesale and Purple retail showrooms, and extending our global reach to other countries. This expansion increases the complexity of our business and places significant strain on our management, personnel, operations, systems, technical performance, financial resources, and internal financial control and reporting functions.

Our continued success depends, in part, upon our ability to manage and expand our operations and facilities and production capacity. The growth in our operations has placed, and may continue to place, significant demands on our management and operational and financial infrastructure. If we do not manage growth effectively, the quality of our products and fulfillment capabilities may suffer which could adversely affect our operating results. Our revenue growth may not be sustainable, and our percentage growth rates may decrease. If we are unable to satisfy our liquidity and capital resource requirements, we may have to scale back, postpone or discontinue our growth strategies, which could result in slower growth, no growth, or shrinking, and we may run the risk of losing key suppliers, we may not be able to timely satisfy customer orders, and we may not be able to retain our employees. In addition, we may be forced to restructure our obligations to creditors or pursue work-out options.

Our growth depends in part on our ability to manage the opening and operating of new production facilities and Purple retail showrooms, which will require our entering into leases and other obligations. To be successful, we will need to continue developing retail expertise and we will need to hire new employees in states that may have employment laws that could increase our expenses. In general, operating new facilities and opening Purple retail showrooms in new locations exposes us to laws in other states, including California, that may not be as employer-friendly as those in which we currently operate, and may expose us to new liabilities. If we are not able to successfully manage the process of expanding operations geographically, opening Purple retail showrooms and maintaining operations in an expanding number of facilities and Purple retail showrooms, we may have to close Purple retail showrooms or operations facilities and incur sunk costs and continuing obligations that could put a strain upon our resources, damage our brand and reputation and limit our growth.

To manage growth effectively, we would need to continue to implement operational, financial and management controls and reporting systems and procedures and improve the systems and procedures that are currently in place. There is no assurance that we will be able to fulfill our staffing requirements for our business, successfully train and assimilate new employees, or expand our management base and enhance our operating and financial systems. Failure to achieve any of these goals will prevent us from managing our growth in an effective manner and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, a softening of demand, whether caused by changes in customer preferences or a weakening of the U.S. or global economies, may result in decreased revenue or growth. Further, we may not be able to accurately forecast our growth rate. We base our expense levels and investment plans on sales estimates. A significant portion of our expenses and investments is fixed, and we may not be able to adjust our spending quickly enough if our sales are less than expected.

We have identified the need for improved processes and procedures to avoid delays in the timely delivery of our mattress products and to improve the customer’s experience. Also, we have experienced rapid growth in our employee base, and the need to implement processes and procedures for improving employee training and retention. Competition for employees where our production facilities are located also has increased the costs for employee retention. We have implemented improved processes and procedures in an environment of continuous change, but our use of resources may not be as effective as intended or we may need to apply more resources than expected to continue to make changes to improve our employee retention and effectiveness and the quality of our products and services over time. If we are unable to make continuous improvement, achieve greater efficiencies in our operating expenses and improve our products and services, our business could be adversely affected.

Disruption of operations in our manufacturing facilities, including as a result of, among other things, workplace injuries, pandemics or natural disasters, has and could increase our costs of doing business or lead to delays in shipping our products and could materially adversely affect our operating results and our ability to grow our business.

We have three manufacturing plants, which are located in Alpine, Utah, Grantsville, Utah, and McDonough, Georgia. In the future we may also enter into leases for additional manufacturing plants.

The disruption of operations of our manufacturing facilities for a significant period of time, or even permanently, or disruptions to the planned further build-out of the Georgia facility such as due to a closure related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the loss or expiration of a lease or mechanical failures in our manufacturing equipment, may increase our costs of doing business and lead to delays in manufacturing and shipping our products to customers and could materially and adversely affect our operating results and our ability to grow our business. In addition, the occurrence of workplace injuries or other industrial accidents at one or more of our manufacturing plants has required, and may require in the future, that we suspend production or modify our operations, which could lead to delays in manufacturing and shipping our products to customers. Likewise, acts of workplace violence may require us to temporarily suspend production or modify our operations. Such delays could adversely affect our sales, customer satisfaction, profitability, cash flows, liquidity and financial condition. Because two of our currently operating manufacturing plants are located within the same geographic region, regional economic downturns, natural disasters, closures due to COVID-19, the unavailability of utilities as a result of climate events or otherwise, or other issues could potentially disrupt a significant portion of our manufacturing and other operating activities, which could adversely affect our business. Our Utah facilities are near earthquake fault lines and our Georgia facility is located in an area that may be subject to hurricanes; such natural disasters in these areas could disrupt manufacturing and other operating activities, which could adversely affect our business.

Any disruption of our operations, and related impacts on our operating results, could also adversely affect the market price of our Class A Stock, which could result in securities litigation. Such litigation could result in substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our core business, and adversely affect our business.

Our manufacturing processes involve the use of heavy machinery and equipment, which exposes us to potentially significant financial losses and reputational harm due to workplace injuries or industrial accidents that may occur at our facilities.

Our manufacturing processes involve the use of heavy machinery and equipment and are subject to risks involving workplace injuries, mechanical failures, and industrial accidents, including, among other things, personal injury or death resulting from such incidents at our manufacturing plants. A workplace accident, mechanical failure, industrial accident or any similar problem involving any one or more of our facilities has required, and may require in the future, that we suspend production at one or more of our manufacturing plants, which could lead to delays in manufacturing and shipping our products and adversely affect our business and results of operations. The occurrence of such incidents, or any perceived insufficiency in our response to any such deficiency or problem, could also adversely and materially affect our reputation, and negatively impact the market price of our Class A Stock. If we are unable to meet workplace safety standards or, if our employees or customers perceive us having a poor safety record, it could materially impact our ability to attract and retain new employees and our reputation with our customers could suffer, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

In 2021, we experienced an incident involving our manufacturing equipment that resulted in the death of one of our employees. As a result, we shut down our manufacturing equipment while we evaluated the safety of our manufacturing equipment and identified and implemented safety improvements. In addition, once safety improvements were implemented and manufacturing resumed, we experienced unanticipated mechanical and maintenance issues while ramping up to normal production. These delays in production limited our ability to fill customer orders, which has adversely affected our financial results and relationships with customers, including wholesale partners delaying when they started ordering products again and not yet ordering to levels we have anticipated. Other incidents could result in further production delays, which could adversely affect our operating performance and reputation with our customers. While we have lowered our risk of future safety incidents by committing significant financial resources and time to implementing safety improvements, these safety improvements may cause our production output to decrease and could materially adversely affect our operating results and our ability to grow our business.

The occurrence of such incidents has resulted in and could in the future result in investigations by or the imposition of fines from regulatory authorities or require us to implement corrective actions to address the causes of such incidents, which could require the expenditure of significant resources and may adversely affect our financial condition and operations. Further, the occurrence of such incidents may result in litigation, including personal injury or workers’ compensation claims, as well as securities litigation resulting from any related impact on the market price of our Class A Stock, which could also adversely affect our financial condition and reputation. While we maintain insurance coverage for certain types of losses, such insurance coverage may be insufficient to cover all losses that may arise.

We may need additional capital to execute our business plan and fund operations and may not be able to obtain such capital on acceptable terms or at all.

In connection with the development and expansion of our business, we expect to incur significant capital and operational expenses. We believe that we can increase our sales and net income by implementing a growth strategy that focuses on (i) increasing our manufacturing efficiency; (ii) increasing our e-commerce sales; (iii) expanding our wholesale distribution channel; (iv) opening additional Purple retail showrooms; (v) expanding our global sales; (vi) engaging global partners to improve distribution efficiencies and cost savings; and (vii) product assortment and category expansion.

Our ability to obtain other capital resources and sources of liquidity may not be sufficient to support future growth strategies. If we are unable to satisfy our liquidity and capital resource requirements, we may have to scale back, postpone or discontinue our growth strategies, which could result in slower growth or no growth, and we may run the risk of losing key suppliers, we may not be able to timely satisfy customer orders, and we may not be able to retain our employees. In addition, we may be forced to restructure our obligations to creditors, pursue work-out options or other protective measures.

While we have had access to a $55 million revolving credit facility under our financing arrangement with KeyBank National Association and a group of financial institutions (as amended, the “2020 Credit Agreement”), our ability to access such funds is subject to certain conditions and we have already drawn the entire amount of the revolving credit facility. Further, our ability to obtain additional or alternative capital on acceptable terms or at all is subject to a variety of uncertainties, including approval from KeyBank National Association and a group of financial institutions (the “Institutional Lenders”) under the 2020 Credit Agreement. Adequate financing may not be available or, if available, may only be available on unfavorable terms. The restrictive covenants in the 2020 Credit Agreement may make it difficult to obtain additional capital on terms that are favorable to us, and we may not be able to satisfy the conditions necessary to obtain additional funds pursuant to the revolving credit facility under the 2020 Credit Agreement. There is no assurance we will obtain the capital we require. As a result, there can be no assurance that we will be able to fund our future operations or growth strategies.

Our operating and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2021 did not satisfy our financial and performance covenants required pursuant to the 2020 Credit Agreement. In order to avoid a breach of such covenants and related default, on February 28, 2022, prior to the covenant compliance certification date under the 2020 Credit Agreement, we entered into the first amendment of the 2020 Credit Agreement. The amendment contains a covenant waiver period such that the net leverage ratio and fixed charge coverage ratio will not be tested for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2021 through the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2022. Other changes in the amendment include modification of leverage ratio and fixed charge coverage definitions and thresholds, the addition of minimum liquidity requirements with mandatory prepayments of the revolving loan if cash exceeds $25.0 million, new weekly and monthly reporting requirements, limits on the amount of capital expenditures, including expenditures for acquisition of other businesses or technologies, the addition of a lease incurrence test for opening additional showrooms, and additional negative covenants during a covenant amendment period that will extend into 2023 until certain conditions are met. In addition, the interest rate on outstanding borrowings under the 2020 Credit Agreement changed from LIBOR to secured overnight financing rate (“SOFR”).

To the extent that future or additional waivers and amendments are necessary, there can be no guarantee that we will be able to obtain waivers or further amendments from the lenders under the 2020 Credit Agreement if, in the future, we are unable to comply with the covenants and other terms of the 2020 Credit Agreement. Our failure to satisfy the required conditions under the amendment or maintain compliance with the financial and performance covenants under the 2020 Credit Agreement could result in a default, which would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations, including as a result of acceleration of our outstanding debt. In addition, any default under the 2020 Credit Agreement would adversely affect our ability to obtain alternative financing.

Future equity or debt financings may require us to also issue warrants or other equity securities that are likely to be dilutive to our existing stockholders. Newly issued securities may include preferences or superior voting rights or may be combined with the issuance of warrants or other derivative securities, which each may have additional dilutive effects. Furthermore, we may incur substantial costs in pursuing future capital and financing, including investment banking fees, legal fees, accounting fees, printing and distribution expenses and other costs. We may also be required to recognize non-cash expenses in connection with certain securities we may issue, such as convertible notes and warrants, which will adversely impact our financial condition. If we cannot raise additional funds on favorable terms or at all, we may not be able to carry out all or parts of our long-term growth strategy, maintain our growth and competitiveness or continue in business.

We may not be able to identify, complete or successfully integrate acquisitions and any acquisitions that we do make, if any, may not achieve the anticipated financial benefits, all of which could have a negative impact on our growth, financial condition, and results of operations.

We may seek to acquire businesses in the future as we encounter acquisition prospects that would complement our current product offerings, increase the size and geographic scope of our operations, or otherwise offer growth and operating efficiency opportunities. We cannot assure investors that we will be able to identify and acquire acceptable acquisition candidates on terms favorable to us in the future, or that any acquisitions will achieve the anticipated financial benefits. Even if we do identify opportunities to acquire businesses, we may not be able to consummate such acquisitions due to a number of factors, including lacking access to sufficient capital to fund such acquisitions and restrictions contained in our Credit Agreement on our ability to make acquisitions.

In addition, acquisitions involve numerous risks and uncertainties and may be of businesses in which we lack operational or market experience. The financing for any of these acquisitions could dilute the interests of our stockholders, result in an increase in our indebtedness or both. Future acquisitions could entail numerous risks, including:

Our failure to successfully complete the integration of any acquired business, or a failure to effectively identify and pursue such acquisitions, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

Changes in accounting standards and subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments by management related to complex accounting matters, including matters relating to our Tax Receivable Agreement, could significantly affect our financial results.

Generally accepted accounting principles and related accounting pronouncements, implementation guidelines and interpretations with regard to a wide range of matters that are relevant to our business are complex and involve many subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments by our management, including but not limited to estimates that affect our revenue recognition, accounts receivable and allowance for doubtful accounts, valuation of inventories, cost of revenues, sales returns, warranty liabilities, the recognition and measurement of loss contingencies, warrant liabilities, estimates of current and deferred income taxes, deferred income tax valuation allowances and amounts associated with our Tax Receivable Agreement with InnoHold dated February 22, 2018 (the “Tax Receivable Agreement”). Changes in these rules or their interpretation or changes in underlying assumptions, estimates or judgments by our management could significantly change our reported or expected financial performance, and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our future growth and profitability may depend in part on our ability to continue to improve and expand our product line and to successfully execute new product introductions.

As described in greater detail below, the mattress, pillow, bedding, bed base, cushion and related industries (“Comfort Industry”) are highly competitive, and our ability to compete effectively and to profitably grow our market share depends in part on our ability to continue to improve and expand our product line and related accessory products.

We incur significant research and development and other expenditures in the pursuit of improvements and additions to our product line. If these efforts do not result in meaningful product improvements or new product introductions, or if we are not able to gain widespread consumer acceptance of product improvements or new product introductions, our sales, profitability, cash flows and financial condition may be adversely affected. In addition, if any significant product improvements or new product introductions are not successful, our reputation and brand image may be adversely affected, and our business may be harmed.

A significant portion of our gross profit comes from our mattress products. If we are unable to develop new models of our mattress products or successfully market and sell new mattress models, our profitability may be adversely affected, and our business may be harmed.

Our expansion into new products, market segments and geographic regions subjects us to additional business, legal, financial, and competitive risks.

The majority of our sales are made directly to consumers through our website or certain other e-commerce platforms. We have been expanding our business into the wholesale distribution channel through relationships with our wholesale partners but there can be no assurance that we will continue to experience success with our wholesale partners or that anticipated new locations will be successful.

We may be unsuccessful in generating additional sales through wholesale channels. We may extend credit terms in connection with such relationships and such relationships may expose us to the risk of unpaid or late paid invoices. In addition, we may provide fixtures to such partners that may be difficult to recover or re-use. Our wholesale customers may not purchase our products in the volume we expect.

Profitability, if any, from sales to wholesale customers and new product offerings may be lower than from our DTC model and current products, and we may not be successful enough in these newer activities to recoup our investments in them. If any of these issues were to arise, they could damage our reputation, limit our growth, and negatively affect our operating results.

We may be unsuccessful in opening any Purple retail showrooms beyond those already opened in cities across the U.S. Operating Purple retail showrooms includes additional risks. For example, we will incur expenses and accept obligations related to additional leases, insurance, distribution and delivery challenges, increased employee management, and new marketing challenges. If we are not successful in our efforts to profitably operate these new stores, our reputation and brand could be damaged, growth could be limited, and our business may be harmed.

In addition, offerings of new products through our e-commerce, wholesale distribution channel and Purple retail showrooms may present new and difficult challenges, and we may be subject to claims if customers of these offerings experience service disruptions or failures or other quality issues. Expansion of sales channels may require the development of additional, differentiated products to avoid price and distribution conflicts between and within sales channels. Wholesale expansion increases our risk as our wholesale partners will require delaying payments to us on net terms ranging from a few days to 60 or more days, or they may delay paying us beyond the agreed-upon net terms or fail to pay. Our Company showroom expansion increases our risk for inventory shrinkage from destruction, theft, obsolescence and other factors that render such inventory unusable or unsellable.

New products may come with unknown warranty and return risks. New product offerings or expansion into new market channels or geographic regions may subject us to new or additional regulation, which would impose potentially significant compliance and distribution costs.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and responses thereto have adversely affected and may continue to adversely affect aspects of our business, including, among other things, our supply chain, workforce, and operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in far-reaching economic and financial disruptions that have adversely affected, and are likely to continue to adversely affect, the Company’s business, financial condition, capital, liquidity and results of operations.

We continue to monitor our operations and government mandates and may elect or be required to temporarily close our offices, manufacturing plants or Purple retail showrooms to protect our employees, and limit our access to customers and limit customer use of our products as they are required to prioritize resources to address the public healthcare needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The disruptions to our activities and operations may negatively impact our business, operating results and financial condition. There is a risk that government actions, or lack thereof, will not be effective at containing COVID-19, and that government actions or inactions, including the orders and restrictions described above and premature lessening of those restrictions, that are intended to contain the spread of COVID-19 while also minimizing harm to the economy, will have a devastating negative impact on the world economy at large, in which case the risks to our sales, operating results and financial condition described herein would be elevated significantly.

The duration of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on our business may be difficult to assess or predict. The widespread pandemic has resulted, and may continue to result for an extended period, in significant disruption of global financial markets, supply chain constraints (including, for example, shipping delays, capacity constraints, and supply shortages), and may restrict our ability to access capital, which would negatively affect our liquidity. While we have been able to reverse some previous actions undertaken, such as, among others, temporarily deferring capital expenditures, furloughing certain employees, and temporarily deferring compensation for our senior executives, we may be required to take such actions again, or take additional actions, if there is a resurgence of COVID-19 cases or reinstatement of government restrictions. As a result of such actions or restrictions, we may be unable to complete capital expenditure projects or investments in the future, which would limit our ability to grow our business, and our results of operations and financial condition will be adversely affected.

Further, quarantines or government reaction or shutdowns for COVID-19 could disrupt our supply chain. Travel and import restrictions may also disrupt our ability to manufacture or distribute our products. Any import or export or other cargo restrictions related to our products or the raw materials used to manufacture our products would restrict our ability to manufacture and ship products and harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. We may also experience disputes with our suppliers and/or customers as a result of such difficulties. Our key personnel and other employees could also be affected by COVID-19, potentially reducing their availability. As employees return to work, we may face claims by such employees or regulatory authorities that we have not provided adequate protection to our employees with respect to the spread of COVID-19 at our facilities. In addition, the government responses to COVID-19 or the procedures we take to mitigate its effect on our workforce could reduce the efficiency of our operations or prove insufficient to mitigate the adverse impact of COVID-19 on our business. We may delay or reduce certain capital spending and related projects until the travel and logistical impacts of COVID-19 are lifted, which could delay the completion of such projects.

The global outbreak of COVID-19 continues to evolve. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is highly uncertain and subject to change. We do not yet know the full extent of potential delays or impacts on our business or the global economy as a whole. We do not yet know the full impact that vaccines may have in mitigating or ending the outbreak of COVID-19, or how the future availability of such vaccines may affect our work force. We also do not know the impact that government mandated vaccine policies for employers will have on our workforce. However, these effects could have a continuing material impact on our operations, sales and ability to continue as a going concern. To the extent the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those relating to our level of indebtedness, our need to generate sufficient cash flows to service our indebtedness and our ability to comply with the covenants contained in the agreements that govern our indebtedness.

Customer demand for and our ability to sell and market our products has been and may in the future be adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and responses thereto.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant uncertainty in our business, slowed our anticipated wholesale partner and showroom plans and resulted in a temporary contraction of our wholesale and Company showroom businesses due to temporary shutdowns of non-essential businesses, and shelter-at-home and social distancing directives where our products are displayed in physical stores. The future impact to our wholesale partners and consumer demand from the COVID-19 pandemic or a future health epidemic or other outbreak occurring in other locations, particularly in North America, is unknown. If we fail to anticipate changes in demand or consumer behavior resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic or other outbreaks it could adversely affect our business or operating results.

If sales in our channels decline or become more difficult to predict, including as a result of stay-at-home orders, social distancing mandates, temporary closures of or decreased shopping in our wholesale partners’ stores or Purple retail showrooms, vaccine mandates, impacts of stimulus payments, or deteriorating general economic conditions, our business may be adversely affected. Moreover, we may be impacted by difficulties experienced by our wholesale partners as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including disruptions in their supply chains, their liquidity challenges and their ability to keep open or reopen retail locations. In addition, while we experienced an increase in demand for our products through our e-commerce channel at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, such e-commerce sales have subsequently declined following the end of stimulus payments, the return of consumers to brick and mortar stores, and the general softening of the economy. If we cannot increase demand in all our channels, and plan based on more predictable sales patterns, our business may be adversely affected.

Our future growth and profitability depend upon the strength of our Purple brand and the effectiveness and efficiency of our marketing programs and our ability to attract and retain customers.

We are highly dependent on the effectiveness of our marketing messages and the efficiency of our advertising expenditures in generating consumer awareness and sales of our products. We continue to evolve our marketing strategies, adjusting our messages, the amount we spend on advertising and where we spend it. We may not always be successful in developing effective messages and new marketing channels, as consumer preferences and competition change, and in achieving efficiency in our advertising expenditures.

We depend heavily on internet-based advertising to market our products through internet-based media and e-commerce platforms. If we are unable to continue utilizing such platforms, if those media and platforms diminish in importance or size, or if we are unable to direct our advertising to our target consumer groups, our advertising efforts may be ineffective, and our business could be adversely affected. The costs of advertising through these platforms have increased significantly, which has resulted in decreased efficiency in the use of our advertising expenditures, and we expect these costs may continue to increase in the future.

We have relationships with online services, search engines, affiliate marketing websites, directories and other website and e-commerce businesses to provide content, advertising and other links that direct customers to our website. We rely on these relationships as significant sources of traffic to our website and to generate new customers. If we are unable to develop or maintain these relationships or develop and maintain new relationships for newly developed and necessary marketing services on acceptable terms, our ability to attract new customers and our financial condition would suffer. In addition, current or future relationships or agreements may fail to produce the sales that we anticipate. The cost of advertising for web-based platforms, such as Facebook, are increasing. Increasing advertising costs erode the efficiency of our advertising efforts. If we are unable to effectively manage our advertising costs or if our advertising efforts fail to produce the sales that we anticipate, our business could be adversely affected.

On October 20, 2020, the United States Department of Justice brought an antitrust lawsuit against Google claiming that Google improperly uses its monopoly over Internet search to impede competition and harm consumers. Our cost of advertising on Google may remain high if Google’s monopoly over internet searches is not prevented and competitive search engines are not allowed to compete. Alternatively, if Google is required because of this lawsuit to split up the company or sell assets, there is no assurance this will decrease advertising costs and it may lead to increased costs due to an increased number of service providers who obtain oligopoly power to control advertising costs or inefficiencies from a reduction in scale. Although this lawsuit may lower our advertising costs, there is risk that it may not and would lead to increased costs which would reduce our profitability and harm our business.

Consumers are increasingly using digital tools as a part of their shopping experience. As a result, our future growth and profitability will depend in part on (i) the effectiveness and efficiency of our online experience for disparate worldwide audiences, including advertising and search optimization programs in generating consumer awareness and sales of our products, (ii) our ability to prevent confusion among consumers that can result from search engines that allow competitors to use or bid on our trademarks to direct consumers to competitors’ websites, (iii) our ability to prevent internet publication or television broadcast of false or misleading information regarding our products or our competitors’ products, (iv) the nature and tone of consumer sentiment published on various social media sites, and (v) the stability of our website. In recent years, a number of direct to consumer, internet-based retailers, like us, have emerged and have driven up the cost of basic search terms, which has and may continue to increase the cost of our internet-based marketing programs. More recently, the large traditional mattress manufacturers have been increasing their efforts to increase their direct to consumer sales which also is increasing the cost of our internet-based marketing programs and cost of customer conversion.

In the past, we have been the target of publications by purported consumer reviewers who claim to have identified health and safety concerns with our products. While we believe such claims to be baseless, refuting such claims requires us to expend significant resources to educate current and potential customers on the safety of our products. Even if we are able to broadly disseminate factual information to refute such claims and reinforce the safety of our products, such claims and attendant adverse publicity could persist and damage our reputation and brand value and result in lower sales.

The number of third-party review websites is increasing and customers have many platforms on which they can review our products, and such reviews are becoming increasingly influential with consumers. Negative reviews from such sources may receive widespread attention from consumers, which could damage our reputation and brand value and result in lower sales. If we are unable to effectively manage relationships with such reviewers to promote accurate reviews of our products, reviewers may decline to review our products or may post reviews with misleading information, which could damage our reputation and make it more difficult for us to improve our brand value.

If our marketing messages are ineffective or our advertising expenditures, geographic price-points, and other marketing programs, including digital programs, are inefficient in creating awareness and consideration of our products and brand name and in driving consumer traffic to our website, our sales, profitability, cash flows and financial condition may be adversely impacted. In addition, if we are not effective in preventing the publication of confusing, false or misleading information regarding our brand or our products, or if there arises significant negative consumer sentiment on social media regarding our brand or our products, our sales, profitability, cash flows and financial condition may be adversely impacted.

Our future growth and profitability depend, in part, upon our ability to achieve and maintain sufficient production capacity to meet customer demands.

We manufacture our mattresses using our proprietary and patented Mattress Max machinery to make our Hyper-Elastic Polymer cushioning material. Because these machines are proprietary and we do not yet have a long history of their maintenance needs, we may not be able to sufficiently maintain them for operation at full capacity or at all when needed. We have experienced unexpected maintenance issues following a shutdown of these machines that took longer to bring them up to full operating capacity then what we expected. Also, because of the unique features of our Mattress Max machines, and due to continuing improvements to these machines, new machines are not readily available and must be constructed which takes time. We also have experienced inefficiencies in sourcing of materials and production of finished products. We have taken steps to improve our processes and capabilities, but if we are unable to maintain our improvements and continue our improvement initiatives to increase efficiencies, we may not be able to keep up with demand which would harm our business. If we are unable to construct new Mattress Max machines and implement them into our production process in a timely manner, if our existing Mattress Max machines are unable to function at the desired capacity, or if we are unable to develop replacements for the existing Mattress Max machines if such replacements should become necessary, our production capacity may be constrained and our ability to respond to customer demand may be adversely impacted. We manufacture mattresses and other products using components provided by third-party suppliers. If those third-party suppliers are unable to provide us with such components or if our assembly capacity is insufficient, our ability to respond to customer demand may be adversely impacted. This would negatively impact our ability to grow our business and achieve profitability.

We have engaged in significant related-party transactions with affiliates and owners that may give rise to conflicts of interest, result in losses to the Company or otherwise adversely affect our operations and the value of our business.

We have engaged in numerous related-party transactions involving significant shareholders and directors of the Company, as well as with other entities affiliated with such persons.

For example, prior to the Business Combination, InnoHold, previously a significant stockholder of the Company and an entity owned by the founders, Terry and Tony Pearce, granted equity incentive awards in Purple LLC to certain key employees at that time. As a result of the structure of those awards being granted through a separate entity, the equity incentives were required, because of the structure of the Business Combination, to be exchanged for ownership units in InnoHold, to avoid those equity interests becoming of no value to the participants. Those participants’ ownership interests had certain restrictions, including vesting requirements. These equity incentives granted to key employees prior to the Business Combination are forfeited to the extent the grant to an employee is not fully vested at the time that such employee’s employment is terminated. Before and for a period of time since the Business Combination, all forfeitures occurring from departing employees have inured to the benefit of only the owners of InnoHold, and not all of our stockholders. This means that the forfeited equity did not increase our currently approved equity incentive pool. Because the forfeited equity resulting from these departures prior to this distribution was held at InnoHold, that forfeited equity did not replenish our equity incentive pool and could not be used for equity grants to those who have replaced and will replace these employees or for other purposes essential to the business. During 2019, to avoid future forfeitures from inuring only to the benefit of InnoHold’s owners, InnoHold distributed to the incentive participants their pro rata share of InnoHold’s ownership of shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 (“Class B Stock”) in Purple Inc. and Class B Common Units (“Class B Units”) in Purple LLC, after which any forfeitures would inure to the benefit of all shareholders. InnoHold distributed additional paired shares of Class B Stock in Purple Inc. and Class B Units in Purple LLC which also will be subject to the same vesting requirements and result in forfeitures inuring to the benefit of all shareholders. Our current equity incentive pool, as approved by the stockholders prior to the Business Combination in the Purple Innovation, Inc. 2017 Equity Incentive Plan (“2017 Equity Incentive Plan”), did not account for the departure, before this distribution by InnoHold, of such key employees who had existing equity grants through InnoHold, and there is a risk that we will have to seek approval from the Board and stockholders to refresh the equity incentive pool earlier than anticipated at the time of the Business Combination because of the unanticipated need to use shares from the existing pool to hire and retain other key employees needed to achieve the Company’s growth objectives. If the equity pool is not refreshed, there is a risk that we may not be able to hire and retain such key employees. If the equity pool is refreshed with authorized shares of the Company that are issued in accordance with our 2017 Equity Incentive Plan, our stockholders will be diluted. This distribution by InnoHold to the equity incentive participants has caused us to incur administrative expenses related to the distributions, the management of the differing vesting schedules and compliance with their rights under the distribution agreements. In addition, the calculations of the distributive share and related income tax withholdings with respect to holders of InnoHold’s Class B Units, as well as the processes by which such distributions and withholdings are made, are highly complex. As a result, there is a risk that the recipients of such distributions or other third parties may claim that we have miscalculated the distribution or income tax withholding amounts or failed to timely pay the taxes. The cost of responding to such claims, including but not limited to the diversion of management’s attention from our operations and defense or settlement costs, could negatively impact our operations and financial results.

In connection with the Business Combination, Purple LLC also entered into that certain Credit Agreement dated February 2, 2018, with the Coliseum Capital Partners, L.P. (“CCP”), Blackwell Partners LLC – Series A (“Blackwell”) and Coliseum Co-invest Debt Fund, L.P. (“CDF” and together with CCP and Blackwell, the “Former Lenders”), which was guaranteed by Purple Inc. The Former Lenders also were stockholders and warrant holders of the Company and appointed one director to serve on our Board, Adam Gray, who continues to serve on our Board and is affiliated with the Lenders. Further, on February 26, 2019, the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement between Purple LLC and certain of the Former Lenders (the “Incremental Lenders”), and each of the related documents, including the issuance of additional warrants to the Incremental Lenders, was closed and an incremental loan was funded. In connection with the funding of the incremental loan, we issued to the Incremental Lenders warrants to purchase shares of our Class A Stock. On March 27, 2020, the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement was amended to allow Purple LLC at its election a 5% paid-in-kind interest deferral for the first two quarters of 2020. On May 15, 2020, the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement was further amended to remove a negative covenant so that there would not be an event of default if the Former Lenders acquired 25% or more ownership of the Company. On August 20, 2020, the Company and Purple LLC entered into a Waiver and Consent to Amended and Restated Credit Agreement with the Former Lenders, that, among other things, waives an event of default as a result of InnoHold ceasing to own 25% or more of the aggregate equity interests in the Company, subject to certain conditions as more fully provided in such waiver. On September 3, 2020, we paid off the full amount owed and a prepayment premium to the Former Lenders in the aggregate amount of $45.0 million and terminated the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, subject to those provisions that survive termination. The Former Lenders further have continuing rights of first refusal related to indebtedness of the Company as set forth in the Subscription Agreement entered into by them and the Company at the time of the Business Combination. Adam Gray continues to serve on our Board and the Former Lenders, together, hold a significant portion of our outstanding shares of Class A Stock and voting power. The Former Lenders currently own, in the aggregate, approximately 26% of the Company’s outstanding shares of Class A Stock and voting power. Future transactions with the Lenders, if any, may give rise to conflicts of interest or otherwise adversely affect our business.

See Note 13, Related-Party Transactions of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Part II, ITEM 8 of this Report, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” and is incorporated herein by reference.

We may not be able to successfully anticipate consumer trends and demand and our failure to do so may lead to loss of consumer acceptance of the products we sell, resulting in reduced net sales.

Our success depends in part on our ability to anticipate and respond to changing trends and consumer demands in a timely manner. Changes in consumers’ tastes and trends and the resulting change in our product mix, as well as failure to offer our consumers multiple avenues for purchasing our products, could adversely affect our business and operating results. If we fail to identify and respond to emerging trends, consumer acceptance of the products we manufacture and sell and our image with current or potential customers may be harmed, which could reduce our net sales. If we misjudge market trends, we may significantly overstock inventory and be forced to take significant inventory markdowns, which would have a negative impact on our gross profit and cash flow. Conversely, shortages of inventory or time to fulfillment of our products that prove popular could also reduce our sales.

We have in some instances accumulated excess amounts of raw material inventory and some finished goods inventory, which could be susceptible to shrinkage that may harm our ability to use or sell such inventory and may adversely impact our profitability.

Although we attempt to maintain only the necessary amounts of raw material inventory on hand, in some instances we have accumulated excess amounts of raw materials and finished goods inventory. All such excess inventory is subject to shrinkage from destruction, theft, obsolescence and factors that render such inventory unusable or unsellable, and we have lost inventory for such reasons. Excessive inventory also takes warehouse space that prevents efficient use for other activities. While we take efforts to right-size all raw materials and finished goods inventory, if our efforts are not successful, we could continue to experience excess amounts of some items of raw materials and finished goods and related shrinkage and inefficiencies that could adversely impact our cash flow, margins and profitability.

As a result of production delays in 2021 that limited our ability to fill customer orders, many of our wholesale partners had to adjust their business plans due to the disruption this caused them and they stopped ordering the volume of products we had anticipated, and has taken longer to ramp to volumes that predated the production delays. Despite our ability to again produce enough products to meet the needs of our wholesale customers, expected orders were not received at the levels we anticipated, and it is unknown when they will be received, which could contribute to a larger than desired inventory of finished mattress products that we are ready to deliver. Until we receive orders and are able to deliver these products, they are subject to the risks associated with holding excess inventory. If this occurs, this also could unfavorably impact our cash flow and available working capital and could increase our accounts receivables when orders are received and filled in accordance with payment terms with our wholesale customers.

Our business could suffer if we are unsuccessful in making, integrating, and maintaining commercial agreements, strategic alliances, and other business relationships.

To successfully operate our business, we rely on commercial agreements and strategic relationships with suppliers, service providers and certain wholesale partners and customers. As we grow, we may acquire other businesses to incorporate into our operations. These arrangements can be complex and require substantial infrastructure capacity, personnel, and other resource commitments. Further, our business partners may have disruptions in their businesses or choose to no longer do business with us and the impact of such disruption or choices could be magnified to the extent such business partners represent a significant part of our business. We may not be able to implement, maintain, or develop the components of these commercial relationships. Moreover, we may not be able to enter into additional commercial relationships and strategic alliances on favorable terms or at all.

Our wholesale relationships may from time to time be terminated by us or our partners, or the terms of such relationships may be amended or modified. As a result of such terminations, we would lose sales previously generated through such relationships, which could have a material adverse impact on our net sales, profitability and financial position. Disputes with wholesale partners also may arise related to such relationships, or any terminations of related agreements, which could cause us to incur expenses, delay our receipt of amounts owed to us, interfere with our relationship with other retailers, subject us to liabilities and distract us from our strategic objectives. As our agreements terminate or relationships unwind, we may be unable to renew or replace these agreements on comparable terms, or at all, and the loss of sales from such relationships could harm our business. We may in the future enter into amendments on less favorable terms or encounter parties that have difficulty meeting their contractual obligations to us, which could adversely affect our operating results.

Our present and future services agreements, other commercial agreements, and strategic relationships and acquisitions create additional risks such as:

We have entered into arrangements with wholesale partners through which we sell certain of our products in their retail stores. We anticipate increasing the number of these partnerships. Our relationships with our wholesale partners may not be profitable to us or may impose additional costs that we would not otherwise incur under our DTC operations. Our wholesale partners may choose not to continue doing business with us or may choose to reduce the amount of our products they order, which would result in a corresponding loss of revenue. Our wholesale partners may experience their own business disruptions, including for example bankruptcy, that could affect their ability to continue to do business with us. Our wholesale partners may engage in conduct that could breach the contractual rights we owe other wholesale partners or interfere with their other legal rights. Our wholesale partners may compete against us in DTC or other channels that are important to us and may erode our business in such channels. Further, maintaining these relationships may require the commitment of significant amounts of time, financial resources and management attention, and may result in prohibitions on certain sales channels through exclusivity requirements, which may adversely affect other aspects of our business.

We have opened and plan to continue to open a growing number of Purple retail showrooms in cities across the U.S. Our business is expanding into additional Purple retail showrooms which, like our online e-commerce retail store, may compete more directly with our wholesale partners for customers. In our effort to make our products available to consumers in multiple retail channels, there is the risk that sales may diminish in other channels, costs may be incurred without an increase in overall sales and our wholesale partners may no longer carry our products. Managing an omni-channel distribution strategy, including the relationships with business partners in each channel, may require significant amounts of time, resources and attention which may adversely affect other aspects of our business.

We operate in a highly competitive Comfort Industry, and if we are unable to compete successfully, we may lose customers and our sales may decline.

The Comfort Industry market is highly competitive and fragmented. We face competition from many manufacturers (including competitors that primarily manufacture and import from China and other low-cost countries), traditional brick-and-mortar retailers and online retailers, including direct-to-consumer competitors. One domestic competitor has a license to use some of the intellectual property we own but do not use at this time. Participants in the Comfort Industry compete primarily on price, quality, brand name recognition, product availability and product performance and compete across a range of distribution channels. The highly competitive nature of the Comfort Industry means we are continually subject to the risk of loss of market share, loss of significant customers, reductions in margins, and the inability to acquire new customers.

A number of our significant competitors offer products that compete directly with our products. Any such competition by established manufacturers and retailers or new entrants into the market could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Comfort Industry manufacturers and retailers are seeking to increase their channels of distribution and are looking for new ways to reach the consumer. Like us, many newer competitors in the mattress industry have begun to offer “bed-in-a-box” or similar products directly to consumers through the Internet and other distribution channels. Some of our established competitors and partners have begun to offer “bed-in-a-box” products as well. Many of our competitors source their products from countries such as China and Vietnam, where the costs may be lower than our costs. Companies providing for the distribution of mattresses online or through retail stores, such as Mattress Firm, Amazon and Walmart, also have begun to offer competing products in their respective channels. In addition, retailers outside the U.S. have integrated vertically in the furniture and sleep product industries, and it is possible that retailers may acquire other retailers or may seek to vertically integrate in the U.S. by acquiring a mattress manufacturer.

Many of our current and potential competitors may have substantially greater financial support, technical and marketing resources, larger customer bases, longer operating histories, greater name recognition, mature distribution methods, and more established relationships in the industry than we do and sell products through broader and more established distribution channels. These competitors, or new entrants into the market, may compete aggressively and gain market share with existing or new products, and may pursue or expand their presence in the Comfort Industry. We cannot be sure we will have the resources or expertise to compete successfully in the future. We have limited ability to anticipate the timing and scale of new product introductions, advertising campaigns or new pricing strategies by our competitors, which could inhibit our ability to retain or increase market share, or to maintain our product margins. Our current and potential competitors may secure better terms from vendors, adopt more aggressive pricing, and devote more resources to technology, infrastructure, fulfillment, and marketing. Also, due to the large number of competitors and their wide range of product offerings, we may not be able to continue to differentiate our products through value, styling or functionality from those of our competitors. Our products are also typically heavier than others and some markets we wish to expand into will not support delivery of our heavy products through parcel services or other affordable home delivery services, limiting our ability to serve the market.

In addition, the barriers to entry into the retail sleep product industry are relatively low. New or existing sleep product retailers could enter our markets and increase the competition we face. Competition in existing and new markets may also prevent or delay our ability to gain relative market share. Any of the developments described above could have a material adverse effect on our planned growth and future results of operations.

We will face different market dynamics and competition as we develop new products to expand our presence in our target markets. In some markets, our future competitors may have greater brand recognition and broader distribution than we currently enjoy. We may not be as successful as our competitors in generating revenues in those markets due to the lack of recognition of our brands, lack of customer acceptance, lack of product quality history and other factors. As a result, any new expansion efforts could be costlier and less profitable than our efforts in our existing markets. If we are not as successful as our competitors are in our target markets, our sales could decline, our margins could be impacted negatively and we could lose market share, any of which could materially harm our business.

If we are unable to effectively compete with other manufacturers and retailers of mattresses, pillows, cushions, and our other products our sales, profitability, cash flows and financial condition may be adversely impacted.

Substantial and increasingly intense competition worldwide in e-commerce may harm our business.

Consumers who might purchase our products from us online have a wide variety of alternatives for purchasing competing mattresses, pillows and cushions, including traditional brick and mortar retailers (as well as the online and mobile operations of these traditional retailers), other online direct to consumer retailers and their related mobile offerings, online and offline classified services, online retailer platforms, such as Amazon.com, and other shopping channels, such as offline and online home shopping networks.

The Internet and mobile networks provide new, rapidly evolving and intensely competitive channels for the sale of all types of goods and services, including products that compete directly with our products. Consumers who purchase mattresses, pillows and cushions through us have more and more alternatives, and merchants have more online channels to reach consumers. We expect competition to continue to intensify. Online and offline businesses increasingly are competing with each other and our competitors include a number of online and offline retailers with significant resources, large user communities and well-established brands. Moreover, the barriers to entry into these channels can be low, and businesses easily can launch online sites or mobile platforms and applications at nominal cost by using commercially available software or partnering with any of a number of successful e-commerce companies. As we respond to changes in the competitive environment, we may, from time to time, make pricing, service or marketing decisions or acquisitions that may be controversial with and lead to dissatisfaction among our customers, which could reduce activity on our platform and harm our profitability.

In addition, sellers in our industry are increasingly utilizing multiple sales channels, including the acquisition of new customers by paying for search-related advertisements on horizontal search engine sites, such as Google, Yahoo!, Naver and Baidu. We use product search engines and paid search advertising to help users find our sites, but these services also have the potential to divert users to other online shopping destinations. Consumers may choose to search for products with a horizontal search engine or shopping comparison website, and such sites may also send users to other shopping destinations.

E-commerce customers have come to expect improved user experience, greater ease of buying goods, lower (or no) shipping costs, faster delivery times and more favorable return policies from e-commerce sellers. Also, certain platform businesses, many of whom are larger than us or have greater capitalization, have a dominant and secure position in other industries or certain significant markets, and offer a broader variety of Comfort Industry products to consumers and retailers that we do not offer. If we are unable to change our product offerings in ways that reflect the changing demands of e-commerce and mobile commerce marketplaces, particularly the higher growth of sales of fixed-price items and higher expected service levels or compete effectively with and adapt to changes in larger platform businesses, our business will suffer.

Some of our e-commerce competitors offer a significantly broader range of products and services than we do. Competitors with other revenue sources may be able to devote more resources to marketing and promotional campaigns, adopt more aggressive pricing policies and devote more resources to website, mobile platforms and applications and systems development than we can. Other direct to consumer retailers and e-commerce competitors may offer or continue to offer faster shipping, free shipping, delivery on Sunday, same-day delivery, favorable return policies or other transaction-related services which improve the user experience on their sites and which could be impractical or inefficient for us to match. Competitors may be able to innovate faster and more efficiently, and new technologies may increase competitive pressure by enabling competitors to offer more efficient or lower-cost services.

A reduction in the availability of credit to consumers generally or under our existing consumer credit programs or the availability of more favorable credit terms with competitors could harm our sales, profitability, cash flows and financial condition.

We offer financing to consumers through third-party consumer finance companies. During the year ended December 31, 2021, a significant percentage of our sales were financed through third-party consumer finance companies. The amount of credit available to consumers may be adversely impacted by macroeconomic factors that affect the financial position of consumers as suppliers of credit adjust their lending criteria. In addition, changes in federal regulations effective in 2010 placed additional restrictions on all consumer credit programs, including limiting the types of promotional credit offerings that may be offered to consumers.

These third-party consumer finance companies offer consumer financing options to our customers through agreements that may be terminated by us or the companies upon thirty days’ prior written notice. These consumer finance companies have discretion to control the content of financing offers to our customers and to set minimum credit standards under which credit is extended to customers. These consumer finance companies may make more favorable terms available to our competitors, or they may offer more favorable terms in channels other than the channels in which we focus our efforts.

Reduction of credit availability due to changing economic conditions, changes in regulatory requirements, or the termination of our agreements with third-party consumer finance companies could harm our sales, profitability, cash flows and financial condition. The availability of more favorable credit terms offered by competitors could harm our sales, profitability, cash flows and financial condition.

We attempt to maintain only the necessary amounts of raw material inventory and products, which could leave us vulnerable to shortages in supply of components and products that may harm our ability to satisfy consumer demand and may adversely impact our sales and profitability.

We attempt to maintain only the necessary amounts of products and raw material inventory on hand, which could leave us vulnerable to shortages in supply of products or components that may harm our ability to satisfy consumer demand and may adversely impact our sales and profitability. Lead times for ordered components and products may vary significantly, especially as we source some of our materials and products from China or other countries. Our business may be harmed by legal, regulatory, economic, political, health concerns, military conflict, and unforeseen risks associated with international trade in those countries. For example, we currently source a component for certain products from a factory in the Ukraine where a military action has begun. While we have other suppliers for that component that are not likely to be impacted by such military action, the loss of the Ukrainian supplier could temporarily disrupt production of those products. Moreover, we may experience increased costs in sourcing Chinese materials as a result of the uncertain status of the U.S.-China trade relationship or may experience related disruption if we seek to replace Chinese suppliers with suppliers in other countries. In addition, some components used to manufacture our products are provided on a sole source basis. Any unexpected shortage of products or materials caused by any disruption of supply or an unexpected increase in the demand for our products, could lead to delays in shipping our products to customers. Any such delays could adversely affect our sales, customer satisfaction, profitability, cash flows and financial condition.

We rely upon several key suppliers that are, in some instances, the only source of supply currently used by us for particular products, materials, components or services. A disruption in the supply or substantial increase in cost of any of these products or services could harm our sales, profitability, cash flows and financial condition.

We currently obtain all of the raw materials and components used to produce our mattresses, pillows and cushions from outside sources. In some cases, we have chosen to obtain these materials and components from suppliers who serve as the only source of supply, or who supply the vast majority of our needs of the particular material or component. While we believe that these materials and components, or suitable replacements, could be obtained from other sources, in the event of a disruption or loss of supply of relevant materials or components for any reason, we may not be able to find alternative sources of supply, or if found, may not be found on comparable terms. In addition, a change in the financial condition of some of our suppliers could impede their ability to provide products to us in a timely manner.

If our relationship with the primary supplier of our mineral oil is terminated, we could have short-term difficulty in replacing this source since there are relatively few other suppliers presently capable of supplying the local volume that we would need in a short period of time.

In addition, shipping and freight delays have also been increasing as port closures, port congestion, and shipping container and ship shortages have increased. These events, combined with the impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, could result in manufacturing and shipping delays and constraints and limit the ability of our suppliers to provide raw materials and other components in a timely manner, which could adversely affect our ability to acquire and maintain adequate inventory and meet demand for our products. Shipping delays could also adversely affect our ability to deliver products to our customers in a timely manner, which could harm our business.

Our success is highly dependent on our ability to provide timely delivery on a cost-effective basis to our customers, and any disruption in our delivery capabilities or our related planning and control processes may adversely affect our operating results.

An important part of our success is due to our ability to deliver our products to our customers in a timely manner. This in turn is due to our successful planning and distribution infrastructure, including ordering, transportation and receipt processing, the ability of our suppliers to meet our distribution requirements and the ability of our contractors to meet our delivery requirements. Our ability to maintain this success depends on the continued identification and implementation of improvements to our planning processes, distribution infrastructure and supply chain. We also need to ensure that our distribution infrastructure and supply chain keep pace with our anticipated growth and increased product output. The cost of these enhanced processes could be significant and any failure to maintain, grow or improve them could adversely affect our operating results.

We rely on common carriers and freight forwarders to deliver our products to customers on a timely, convenient, and cost-effective basis. We also rely on the systems of such carriers to provide us with accurate information about the status and delivery of our products. Any disruption to the business of delivery carriers could cause our business to be adversely affected. Any significant delay in deliveries to our customers could lead to increased cancellations and returns and cause us to lose sales. Any increase in freight charges could increase our costs of doing business and harm our sales, profitability, cash flows and financial condition. Lack of accurate information from such carriers could damage our brand and our relationship with our customers. In some areas, we are testing Company-owned delivery services that have been successful and efficient, and we intend to continue growing such services as demand and volume dictate. If our Company-owned delivery services do not continue to deliver products in a timely or cost-effective manner, we may need to revert to third party carriers and our reputation and business may be adversely affected.

Our business could also be adversely affected if there are delays in product shipments to us due to freight difficulties, supply chain disruptions or delays (including, for example, from port closures or shipping or labor shortages), delays in product shipments clearing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) for reasons of non-compliance or otherwise, challenges with our suppliers or contractors involving strikes or other difficulties at their principal transport providers or otherwise. The adverse effect on our business could include increase in freight costs if we choose to use more air freight. Our business could also be adversely affected if the business of our suppliers is disrupted because of infectious diseases or fear thereof such that quarantines, factory closures, labor disturbances, and transportation delays result. Such delays and events could adversely affect our profitability and reputation, as well as demand for our products.

In addition, if we are unable to deliver our products in a timely manner, our customers, both DTC and wholesale, may choose to limit future orders of our products, or choose to not order products from us at all. If, as a result of production or shipment issues, demand for our products declines or does not increase, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We depend on executive employees, and if we lose the services of members of the executive team, we may not be able to run our business effectively.

Our future success depends in part on our ability to attract and retain key executive, merchandising, marketing, sales, finance, operations and engineering personnel. If any of our executives cease to be employed by us, or if our growth or other changes in circumstances require executives with additional skill sets, we would have to hire replacement or additional qualified personnel. Our ability to successfully attract and hire other experienced and qualified executives cannot be assured and may be difficult because we face competition for these professionals from our competitors, our suppliers and other companies operating in our industry and in our geographic locations. Departures and any delay in replacing executives could significantly disrupt our ability to grow and pursue our strategic plans. If we are unable to attract and retain qualified executives and other employees, including through competitive compensation and other incentives, our business may be adversely affected. While we believe our current executives have benefitted and will continue to benefit us, we currently employ several interim or acting executives and finding qualified replacements is time-consuming, takes Company resources, and can disrupt our growth and achievement of strategic plans. We do not maintain key-person insurance for members of our executive management team.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to report our financial results accurately, may make a material misstatement in our financial statements, or may experience a financial loss. Any inability to report and file our financial results accurately and timely could harm our business and adversely affect the value of our business.

As a public company, we are required to establish and maintain internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures and to comply with other requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules promulgated by the SEC. Even when such controls are implemented, management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, cannot guarantee that our internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all possible errors or loss. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no system of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company or perpetrated against us will be prevented or have been detected. These inherent limitations include the possibility that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and subject to simple error or mistake. Furthermore, controls can be circumvented by individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more persons, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, measures of control may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, new fraudulent schemes, or the deterioration of compliance with policies or procedures. Because of inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and/or may not be detected.

The accuracy of our financial reporting depends on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements and may not prevent or detect misstatements. Failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, or lapses in disclosure controls and procedures, could undermine the ability to provide accurate disclosure (including with respect to financial information) on a timely basis, which could cause investors to lose confidence in our disclosures (including with respect to financial information), require significant resources to remediate the lapse or deficiency, and expose us to legal or regulatory proceedings. We have in the past identified material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting, some of which resulted in restatements of our financial statements. During 2021, we identified a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting related to ineffective information technology general controls in the areas of user access and segregation of duties related to certain information technology systems that support the Company’s financial reporting processes. We believe that these control deficiencies were a result of turnover of critical IT leadership; insufficient training of IT resources; and inadequate risk-assessment processes to identify and assess access in certain IT environments that could impact internal controls over financial reporting. Because the material weakness creates a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement to our consolidated financial statements would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis, the Company’s management concluded that at December 31, 2021, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was ineffective.

We continue to evaluate, design and work through the process of implementing controls and procedures under a remediation plan designed to address this material weakness, but there can be no assurance that we will be able to remediate this material weakness in a timely manner or at all. If our remediation measures are insufficient to address the material weaknesses, or if additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control are discovered or occur in the future, our financial statements may contain material misstatements and we could be required to restate our financial results, which could lead to substantial additional costs for accounting and legal fees and stockholder litigation.

Any failure to maintain such internal control could adversely impact our ability to report our financial position and results from operations on a timely and accurate basis. If our financial statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the stock exchange on which our common stock is listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. In either case, this could result in a material adverse effect on our business. Failure to timely file will cause us to be ineligible to utilize short form registration statements on Form S-3, which may impair our ability to obtain capital in a timely fashion to execute our business strategies or issue shares to effect an acquisition. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock. In addition, we may face potential for litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the restatement and material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may need to implement additional finance and accounting systems, procedures and controls as we grow our business and organization and to satisfy new reporting requirements.

We have a limited operating history, and our systems, procedures and controls are still developing to match the complexity of our business. We are required to comply with a variety of reporting, accounting and other rules and regulations. Compliance with existing requirements is expensive. As a public company, we are required to comply with additional regulations and other requirements. These and future requirements may increase our costs and require additional management time and resources. We may need to implement additional finance and accounting systems, procedures and controls to satisfy our reporting requirements. If our internal control over financial reporting is determined to be ineffective, such failure could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, negatively affect the value of our business, subject us to regulatory investigations and penalties, and could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, as a result of our recent growth we no longer qualify as a smaller reporting company and, therefore, can no longer take advantage of scaled disclosure requirements and are subject to shorter filing deadlines. Complying with such requirements will require us to expend additional resources and to enhance the capabilities of our finance and accounting departments. If we are unable to comply with such requirements, our business and stock price may be adversely affected.

Our business operations could be disrupted if our information technology systems fail to perform adequately or are disrupted by natural disasters or other catastrophes or if we are unable to protect the integrity and security of our information systems.

We depend largely upon our information technology systems in the conduct of all aspects of our operations. If our information technology systems fail to perform as anticipated, we could experience difficulties in virtually any area of our operations, including but not limited to receiving orders from customers, replenishing inventories or delivering our products. We may be required to incur significant capital expenditures in the pursuit of improvements or upgrades to our management information systems. These efforts may take longer and may require greater financial and other resources than anticipated, may cause distraction of key personnel, and may cause short-term disruptions to our existing systems and our business. If we experience difficulties in implementing new or upgraded information systems or experience significant system failures, or if we are unable to successfully modify our information systems to respond to changes in our business needs, our ability to run our business could be adversely affected. It is also possible that our competitors could develop better e-commerce platforms than ours, which could negatively impact our sales.

In addition, our systems may experience service interruptions or degradation due to hardware and software defects or malfunctions, computer denial-of-service and other cyberattacks, human error, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, natural disasters, power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, fraud, military or political conflicts, terrorist attacks, computer viruses, or other events. Some of our systems are not fully redundant and our disaster recovery planning is not sufficient for all eventualities. Our systems are also subject to break-ins, sabotage, information hijacking or ransom, and intentional acts of vandalism. Any of these or other systems related problems could, in turn, adversely affect our sales and profitability.

Regulatory and Litigation Risks

Regulatory requirements, including, but not limited to, trade, customs, environmental, health and safety requirements, may require costly expenditures and expose us to liability.

Our products and our marketing and advertising programs are subject to regulation in the U.S. by various federal, state and local regulatory authorities, including the Federal Trade Commission and the CBP. In addition, our operations are subject to federal, state and local consumer protection regulations and other laws relating specifically to the sleep product industry. These rules and regulations may conflict and may change from time to time, as a result of changes in the political environment or otherwise. There may be continuing costs of regulatory compliance including continuous testing, additional quality control processes and appropriate auditing of design and process compliance.

In addition, we are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to pollution, environmental protection, recycling, and occupational health and safety. We may not be in complete compliance with all such requirements at all times, and we have been required in the past to make changes to our facilities in order to comply with these requirements. We have made and will continue to make capital and other expenditures to comply with environmental and health and safety requirements. If a release of harmful or hazardous substances occurs on or from our properties or any associated offsite disposal location, or if contamination from prior activities is discovered at any of our properties, we may be held liable and the amount of such liability could be material. As a manufacturer of mattresses, pillows, cushions and related products, we use and dispose of a number of substances, such as glue, oil, solvents and other petroleum products, as well as certain foam ingredients, that may subject us to regulation under numerous foreign, federal and state laws and regulations governing the environment. Among other laws and regulations, we are subject in the U.S. to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Air Act and related state and local statutes and regulations.

We are also subject to federal laws and regulations relating to international shipments, customs, and import controls. We may not be in complete compliance with all such requirements at all times, and if we are not in compliance with such requirements, we may be subject to penalties or fines, which could have an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our operations could also be impacted by a number of pending legislative and regulatory proposals to address greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. and other countries. The U.S. and certain other countries have adopted international agreements such as the Paris Agreement on climate change that include commitments for companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the potential for federal and state actions could increase costs associated with our manufacturing operations, including costs for raw materials, pollution control equipment and transportation. Because it is uncertain what laws will be enacted, we cannot predict the potential impact of such laws on our future consolidated financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

We are also subject to regulations and laws specifically governing the internet, e-commerce, electronic devices, and other services. These regulations and laws may cover taxation, privacy, data protection, pricing, content, copyrights, distribution, mobile communications, electronic device certification, electronic waste, energy consumption, electronic contracts and other communications, competition, consumer protection, trade and protectionist measures, web services, the provision of online payment services, information reporting requirements, unencumbered Internet access to our services or access to our facilities, the design and operation of websites and the characteristics and quality of products and services. It is not clear how existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, libel, and personal privacy apply to the internet, e-commerce, digital content, and web services. Unfavorable regulations and laws could diminish the demand for, or availability of, our products and services and increase our cost of doing business.

Claims have been made against us for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) related to accessibility to our website by the blind. The law is unsettled as to which types of websites the ADA covers and what standards are applicable, but courts in certain jurisdictions have recognized these types of ADA claims. While we comply with industry standards and are continuing to significantly enhance our compliance efforts for making our website accessible to the blind, and regularly test our site for this purpose, we may be subject to such claims and, as a result, we may be required to expend resources in defense of these claims that could increase our cost of doing business.

We are also subject to various health and environmental provisions such as California Proposition 65 (the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986). We have received a claim that one of our products does not have the proper warning label required by California Proposition 65, which requires businesses to provide warnings to Californians about significant exposures to chemicals that are known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. While we are investigating this claim and generally make efforts to comply with Proposition 65, we may be subject to such claims and, as a result, we may be required to expend resources in defense of these claims that could increase our cost of doing business. In addition, to the extent we may have violated Proposition 65 we may incur expense associated with complying including but not limited to providing warnings or product recalls.

Regulatory requirements relating to the manufacture and disposal of mattresses may increase our product costs and increase the risk of disruption to our business.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) and other jurisdictions have adopted rules relating to fire retardancy standards for the mattress industry. Some states and the U.S. Congress continue to consider fire retardancy regulations that may be different from or more stringent than the current standard. In addition, these regulations require manufacturers to implement quality assurance programs and encourage manufacturers to conduct random testing of products. These regulations also require maintenance and retention of compliance documentation. These quality assurance and documentation requirements are costly to implement and maintain. If any product testing, other evidence, or regulatory inspections yield results indicating that any of our products may not meet the flammability standards, we may be required to temporarily cease production and distribution or to recall products from the field, and we may be subject to fines or penalties, any of which outcomes could harm our business, reputation, sales, profitability, cash flows and financial condition.

The CPSC adopted new flammability standards and related regulations which became effective nationwide in July 2007 for mattresses and mattress and foundation sets. Compliance with these requirements has resulted in higher materials and manufacturing costs for our products and has required modifications to our information systems and business operations, further increasing our costs and negatively impacting our capacity. Some states and the U.S. Congress continue to consider fire retardancy regulations that may be different from or more stringent than the CPSC standard. Adoption of multi-layered regulatory regimes, particularly if they conflict with each other, could increase our costs, alter our manufacturing processes and impair the performance of our products which may have an adverse effect on our business.

Also, California recently enacted laws effective in 2021 requiring mattress retailers delivering mattresses via common carrier in California to offer to pick up their customers’ old mattresses at no cost to the customer. Additionally, California, Rhode Island and Connecticut have all enacted laws requiring the recycling fees for mattresses discarded in their states. State and local sleep product industry regulations and regulatory proposals vary among the states in which we operate but generally impose or propose requirements as to the proper labeling of sleep product merchandise, restrictions regarding the identification of merchandise as “new” or otherwise, controls as to hygiene and other aspects of product handling, packaging, disposal, sales, resales and penalties for violations. We or our suppliers may be required to incur significant expense to the extent that these regulations change and require new and different compliance measures.

New legislation aimed at improving the fire retardancy of mattresses, regulating the handling of mattresses in connection with preventing or controlling the spread of bed bugs could be passed, or requiring the collection or recycling of discarded mattresses, could result in product recalls or in a significant increase in the cost of operating our business. In addition, failure to comply with these various regulations may result in penalties, the inability to conduct business as previously conducted or at all, or adverse publicity, among other things. Adoption of multi-layered regulatory regimes, particularly if they conflict with each other, could increase our costs, alter our manufacturing processes and impair the performance of our products which may have an adverse effect on our business. We are also subject to various health and environmental provisions such as 16 CFR Part 1633 (Standard for the Flammability (Open Flame) of Mattress Sets).

We could be subject to additional sales tax or other indirect tax liabilities.

The application of indirect taxes (such as sales and use tax, value-added tax (“VAT”), goods and services tax, business tax and gross receipt tax) to e-commerce businesses and to our users is a complex and evolving issue and we may be unable to timely or accurately determine our obligations with respect to such indirect taxes, if any, in various jurisdictions. Many of the fundamental statutes and regulations that impose these taxes were established before the adoption and growth of the Internet and e-commerce. 

An increasing number of states and foreign jurisdictions have considered or adopted laws or administrative practices, with or without notice, that impose additional obligations on remote sellers and online marketplaces to collect transaction taxes such as sales, consumption, value added, or similar taxes. Failure to comply with such laws or administrative practices or a successful assertion by such states or foreign jurisdictions requiring us to collect taxes where we did not, could result in substantial tax liabilities for past sales, as well as penalties and interest.

We are subject to sales tax or other indirect tax obligations as imposed by the various states in the United States. If the tax authorities in these jurisdictions were to challenge our filings or request an audit, our tax liability may increase. We are currently undergoing routine audits in a few states.

We may be subject to laws, regulations, and administrative practices that require us to collect information from our customers, vendors, merchants, and other third parties for tax reporting purposes and report such information to various government agencies. The scope of such requirements continues to expand, requiring us to develop and implement new compliance systems. Failure to comply with such laws and regulations could result in significant penalties.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., No.17-494, reversed a longstanding precedent that remote sellers are not required to collect state and local sales taxes. We cannot predict the effect of these and other attempts to impose sales, income or other taxes on e-commerce. The Company currently collects and reports on sales tax in all states in which it does business. However, the application of existing, new or revised taxes on our business, in particular, sales taxes, VAT and similar taxes would likely increase the cost of doing business online and decrease the attractiveness of selling products over the internet. The application of these taxes on our business could also create significant increases in internal costs necessary to capture data and collect and remit taxes. There have been, and will continue to be, substantial ongoing costs associated with complying with the various indirect tax requirements in the numerous markets in which we conduct or will conduct business.

We could be subject to additional income tax liabilities.

We are subject to federal and state income taxes in the U.S. tax laws, regulations, and administrative practices in the U.S. and in various state and local jurisdictions are subject to significant change or increase, and significant judgment is required in evaluating and estimating our provision and accruals for taxes. In addition, some states and cities require additional taxes or fees for the right to sell mattresses in their jurisdiction. While we have established reserves based on assumptions and estimates that we believe are reasonable to cover such taxes and fees, these reserves may prove to be insufficient.

Our determination of our tax liability is always subject to audit and review by applicable tax authorities. Any adverse outcome of any such audit or review could harm our business, and the ultimate tax outcome may differ from the amounts recorded in our financial statements and may materially affect our financial results in the period or periods for which such determination is made. Regardless of the outcome, responding to any such audit or review could cause us to incur significant costs and could divert resources away from our operations.

There are many transactions that occur during the ordinary course of business for which the ultimate tax liability is uncertain. Our effective tax rates could be affected by earnings being lower than anticipated in jurisdictions where we have lower statutory rates and higher than anticipated in jurisdictions where we have higher statutory rates, losses incurred in jurisdictions for which we are not able to realize the related tax benefit, changes in foreign currency exchange rates, entry into new businesses and geographies and changes to our existing businesses, acquisitions (including integrations) and investments, changes in the price of our securities, changes in our deferred tax assets and liabilities and their valuation, and changes in the relevant tax, accounting, and other laws, regulations, administrative practices, principles, and interpretations.

A number of U.S. states have attempted to increase corporate tax revenues by taking an expansive view of corporate presence to attempt to impose corporate income taxes and other direct business taxes on companies that have no physical presence in their state, and taxing authorities in other jurisdictions may take similar actions. Many U.S. states are also altering their apportionment formulas to increase the amount of taxable income or loss attributable to their state from certain out-of-state businesses. Further, we are required to pay sales and other taxes and fees to states where our products are warehoused before shipping or where Purple retail showrooms are located presently or in the future. If more taxing authorities are successful in applying direct taxes to internet companies that do not have a physical presence in their respective jurisdictions, this could increase our effective tax rate.

We may face litigation and other risks as a result of current and previous material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting.

We have determined that a material weakness exists related to ineffective information technology general controls (“ITGCs”) in the areas of user access and segregation of duties related to certain information technology (“IT”) systems that support the Company’s financial reporting processes. We believe that these control deficiencies were a result of turnover of critical IT leadership; insufficient training of IT personnel; and inadequate risk-assessment processes to identify and assess access in certain IT environments that could impact internal controls over financial reporting. As a result, we determined that we did not have effective controls to prevent or detect a financial statement misstatement on a timely basis.

In addition, we have had previous material weaknesses that have been remediated, some of which resulted in restatements of our previously issued audited financial statements. As a result of such restatements, material weakness, and other matters that may in the future arise, we face potential for litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the restatement and material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this filing, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Risks Relating to our Intellectual Property and Use of Technology

We may not be able to protect our product designs, brand, and other proprietary rights adequately, which could adversely affect our competitive position and reduce the value of our products and brands, and litigation to protect our intellectual property rights may be costly.

We attempt to strengthen and differentiate our product portfolio by developing new and innovative brands, product designs and functionality and materials for use in our products. We regard our trademarks, service marks, copyrights, patents, trade dress, trade secrets, proprietary technology, and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on trademark, copyright, and patent law, trade secret protection, and confidentiality agreements and license agreements with our vendors, contractors, employees, customers, and others to protect our proprietary rights.

We own various U.S. and foreign patents and patent applications related to certain elements of the design and function of our products including mattresses, pillows, cushions and related products, as well as related to proprietary formulas and related technology for certain materials used in the manufacturing of our products. We own numerous registered and unregistered trademarks and trademark applications, as well as other intellectual property rights, including trade secrets, trade dress and copyrights, which we believe have significant value and are important to the marketing of our products. Our success will depend in part on our ability to protect our products, methods, processes and other technologies, to preserve our trade secrets, and to operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of third parties.

As we continue to increase our innovations and create new products and technologies, and as we enter new product spaces, we may be limited by the intellectual property rights of others. We respect the intellectual property rights of others; however, our ability to innovate and increase our product footprint may be limited by the intellectual property rights of those other parties.

Despite our efforts, we may not be able to adequately protect or enforce our intellectual property and other proprietary rights. We have seen an increase in the number of counterfeit goods and products that infringe on our patents, trademarks and trade dress. We have increased our proactive policing of these counterfeit goods which has led to an increased cost of intellectual property enforcement. Effective protection or enforcement of intellectual property rights may be unavailable or limited in the jurisdictions in which we do business. We also may be unable to acquire or maintain appropriate trademarks and domain names in all jurisdictions in which we do business. Furthermore, regulations governing domain names may not protect our trademarks and similar proprietary rights. We may be unable to prevent third parties from acquiring domain names that are similar to, infringe upon, or diminish the value of our trademarks and other proprietary rights.

The protection of our intellectual property, such as preventing counterfeit goods from entering the market or defending our patents, may require the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources. We may not be able to discover or determine the extent of all unauthorized use of our proprietary rights. Policing the unauthorized use of our proprietary technology, trademarks and copyrights can be difficult and expensive. Litigation has been and may continue to be necessary to protect our intellectual property rights, which may be costly and may divert our management’s attention away from our core business. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that litigation would result in an outcome favorable to us. Third parties that license our proprietary rights also may take actions that diminish the value of our proprietary rights or reputation. We also cannot be certain that others will not independently develop or otherwise acquire equivalent or superior technology or other intellectual property rights. If we are unable to protect our proprietary rights adequately, it would have a negative impact on our operations.

We, or the owners of any intellectual property rights licensed to us, may be subject to claims that we or such licensors have infringed the proprietary rights of others, which could require us and our licensors to obtain a license or change designs.

We have been subject to, and expect to continue to be subject to, claims and legal proceedings regarding alleged infringement by us of the intellectual property rights of third parties. Although we do not believe any of our products infringe upon the proprietary rights of others, there is no assurance that infringement or invalidity claims (or claims for indemnification resulting from infringement claims) will not be asserted or pursued against us or those from whom we have licenses or that any such assertions or prosecutions will not have a material adverse effect on our business. Regardless of whether any such claims are valid or can be asserted successfully, defending against such claims could cause us to incur costs and could divert resources away from our other activities. In addition, assertion of infringement claims could result in injunctions that prevent us from distributing our products. If any claims or actions are asserted against us or those from whom we have licenses, we may seek to obtain a license to the intellectual property rights that are in dispute. Such a license may not be available on reasonable terms, or at all, which could force us to change our designs.

Purple LLC has licensed certain intellectual property to EdiZONE, LLC, which is owned by Tony and Terry Pearce, former members of our Board, via TNT Holdings, LLC (“TNT Holdings”), for the purpose of enabling EdiZONE to meet its contractual obligations to licensees of EdiZONE under contracts entered into years before the Business Combination, and some of those licensees are competitors of Purple LLC and have exclusivity rights that Purple LLC is required to observe.

Prior to the Business Combination, we also entered into an Amended and Restated Confidential Assignment and License Back Agreement with EdiZONE, an entity beneficially owned and controlled by the founders, Tony Pearce and Terry Pearce (former employees, directors and beneficial majority shareholders), through their ownership of TNT Holdings, pursuant to which EdiZONE transferred tangible and intellectual property to us and we licensed back to EdiZONE certain intellectual property previously licensed by EdiZONE to third parties prior to the Business Combination in order to enable EdiZONE to continue to meet certain pre-existing license obligations to those third parties. EdiZONE and the Pearces have agreed to not modify or extend these third-party licenses and to not enter new third-party licenses. As these third-party license obligations end, all rights under the license revert to the Company. These third parties include direct competitors to us that at the time of the Business Combination were not selling products through retail channels and in geographical areas in which we were selling our products. One of these third parties is Advanced Comfort Technologies, Inc. dba Intellibed (“Intellibed”) who has been a licensee of EdiZONE for over fifteen years. Intellibed sells mattresses in the U.S. and Canada including now through some of the same retailers through which we also sell our products.

On August 14, 2020, with the approval of our independent directors, Purple LLC entered into a License Transfer and IP Assignment Agreement with EdiZONE (the “EdiZONE Agreement”), pursuant to which EdiZONE assigned to Purple LLC all its interest in and obligations under its license to Intellibed (the “Intellibed License Agreement”) which covers patents, trade secrets as well as the trademarks, including the GEL MATRIX and INTELLIPILLOW trademarks transferred under the EdiZONE Agreement, now owned by Purple LLC. In connection with such assignment, we agreed to indemnify EdiZONE against claims by Intellibed against EdiZONE relating to EdiZONE’s breach under the Intellibed License Agreement, if any, future claims arising out of the execution of the EdiZONE Agreement, or Purple LLC’s ownership, enforcement or breach of the Intellibed License Agreement. As a result of the EdiZONE Agreement, Intellibed pays royalties under the Intellibed License Agreement, and now owes its contractual obligations thereunder to Purple LLC. Should the Intellibed License Agreement end or be terminated, all of Intellibed’s rights thereunder revert to Purple LLC, including the right to continue to sell mattress, topper and pillow products using the same trademarks required by the license to be used with such products and to benefit from all equity in those brands.

Under the Intellibed License Agreement, Intellibed is licensed the right to use some technology we do not use in our products or to make our products. That licensed technology allows Intellibed to make a certain type of hollow buckling cushioning structure from elastomeric material, which Intellibed uses in its own mattress, topper and pillow products, but using only a specific type of elastomeric material and manufacturing process that were developed by EdiZONE years earlier that has long been replaced by the Company with different gel materials and more efficient manufacturing processes that Intellibed has no right to use. Whereas Intellibed’s rights are limited to specific products and has exclusivity to this technology only for mattresses, the Company can use the licensed technologies, should it want to, for any purpose except mattresses, and Intellibed cannot use any of the many other technologies owned by Purple LLC including any of the advanced technologies being used for Purple products. Nevertheless, because of the appearance of Intellibed’s cushioning element, its products may be wrongfully perceived by consumers as being comparable to the Company’s mattress and pillow products. Likewise, because of the novelty of the Company’s technologies, consumers and investors also may conclude incorrectly that Intellibed’s licensed elastomeric material and manufacturing process can produce a cushioning element with the same qualities and at the same scale as the Company’s Hyper-Elastic Polymer material in the Purple Grid cushion used in Purple products. This confusion could lead consumers to purchase Intellibed’s products instead of the Company’s products. The lack of a clear understanding of these differences could result in lower sales that would harm the Company.

Intellibed has been growing its sales over the past years and now distributes a portion of its products through wholesale partners with retail locations where our mattresses are sold. This competitor may continue to increase its sales and expand into additional distribution channels which could erode our sales in those retail locations and channels. This competitor may decide to sell its business to other competitors, which may have implications on the assignment and continuity of the Intellibed License Agreement, including the continuing receipt by Purple LLC of royalties under the Intellibed License Agreement, or it may go out of business. Even with the Company’s receipt of royalties from Intellibed and entitlement to the value of the brand being built by Intellibed, pursuant to the Intellibed License Agreement, the continuing growth of this single competitor could adversely affect our business during the time that the license is effective, to the extent lost sales are not offset by royalties, and alternatively the cessation of the Intellibed License Agreement may require the Company to incur the costs of making and selling GEL MATRIX branded products to preserve and monetize the value of the equity in that brand. Although the Company believes there is value in controlling this license covering limited intellectual property owned, but not being used, by Purple LLC, that value may be offset by expenses related to Intellibed’s conduct and events outside our control. Purple LLC currently is involved in litigation with Intellibed involving rights of the parties to the Intellibed License Agreement and what we believe to be unlawful conduct by Intellibed outside its licensed rights, as explained more fully in the section on litigation. However, such litigation has been paused pending pursuit by the parties of the dispute resolution provisions in the Intellibed License Agreement. See Note 12, “Commitments and Contingencies,” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Part II, ITEM 8 of this Report, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” which is incorporated herein by reference.

Among EdiZONE’s previously entered into licenses of comfort-related intellectual property, as described above, another license includes exclusivity rights that may prohibit us from selling our existing mattresses or potentially new products in the European Union. That risk may be addressed by redesign of the configuration of the Hyper-Elastic Polymer material in that geographic region by either using existing technologies already assigned by EdiZONE to Purple LLC or developing new technologies. Alternatively, that risk may not exist at all to the extent Purple LLC’s current mattress products are the subject of expired patent rights licensed by that licensee or because Purple LLC is not the licensor. However, there can be no assurance that our future sales in the European Union, if any, will not be challenged by EdiZONE’s licensee as a violation of the license agreement, or that any redesigned mattresses created by us will be successful in that market when we may enter it. If Purple LLC’s activities are challenged by a licensee, Purple LLC has an indemnification obligation to EdiZONE and the Pearces, which may be an expense to the Company.

If any of these third parties violate their licenses with EdiZONE or infringe on intellectual property owned by Purple LLC and Purple LLC is unable to take effective action against such violating or infringing parties, we may be unable to protect against this infringement or the effects of such violations and our business could be harmed.

Purple LLC has obtained, with the cooperation of EdiZONE and the Pearces, the right to enforce its intellectual property rights at Purple LLC’s option, provided that Purple LLC will indemnify EdiZONE and fund the expense of such enforcement. In addition, as the licensor under the Intellibed License Agreement, the Company now has the ability to enforce its intellectual property rights directly against Intellibed. In the event such enforcement is deemed necessary by Purple LLC, and in the case currently pending against Intellibed, Purple LLC may not be successful in any such efforts to enforce its intellectual property and other rights under the Intellibed License Agreement and this may harm our business.

While the current license back to EdiZONE, as amended following the Business Combination, is much narrower than the license that existed at the time of the Business Combination, EdiZONE’s third-party licenses may lead to conflicts between us and EdiZONE. The EdiZONE Agreement pertaining to the Intellibed License Agreement also may lead to conflicts with EdiZONE. Although only the current conflict with Intellibed exists at this time and other conflicts are not foreseen, if additional conflicts do arise and are not properly addressed, disputes may occur which may be detrimental to the Company.

If we cannot keep pace with rapid technological developments to provide new and innovative programs, products and services, the use of our products and our revenues could decline.

Rapid, significant technological changes continue to confront the industries in which we operate. We cannot predict the effect of technological changes on our business. We expect that new services and technologies applicable to the industries in which we operate will continue to emerge. These new services and technologies may be superior to, or render obsolete, the technologies we currently use in our products and services. Incorporating new technologies into our products and services may require substantial expenditures and take considerable time, and ultimately may not be successful. In addition, our ability to adopt new services and develop new technologies may be inhibited by industry-wide standards, new laws and regulations, resistance to change from clients or merchants, or third parties’ intellectual property rights. Our success will depend on our ability to develop new technologies and adapt to technological changes and evolving industry standards.

Our business and our reputation could be adversely affected by the failure to protect sensitive employee, customer and consumer data, or to comply with evolving regulations relating to our obligation to protect such data.

In the ordinary course of our business, we collect and store certain personal information from individuals, such as our customers and suppliers, and we process customer payment card and check information for purchases via our website. In addition, we may share with third-parties personal information we have collected. Cyber-attacks designed to gain access to sensitive information by breaching security systems of large organizations leading to unauthorized release of confidential information have occurred at a number of major U.S. companies despite widespread recognition of the cyber-attack threat and improved data protection methods. Computer hackers may attempt to penetrate our computer system or the systems of third-parties with which we have shared personal information and, if successful, misappropriate personal information, payment card or check information or confidential Company business information. In addition, a Company employee, contractor or other third party with whom we do business may attempt to circumvent our security measures in order to obtain such information and may purposefully or inadvertently cause a breach involving such information. Breaches involving any such information could be more likely to the extent we have any material weakness in internal control over financial reporting related to ITGCs in the areas of user access and segregation of duties related to certain IT systems that support the Company’s financial reporting processes.

We and third-parties with which we have shared personal information have been subject to attempts to breach the security of networks, IT infrastructure, and controls through cyber-attack, malware, computer viruses, social engineering attacks, ransomware attacks, and other means of unauthorized access. In the past, we have been a victim of a spear-phishing attack and we anticipate that we may, in the future, continue to be subject to these and similar cyber threats. A breach of systems that resulted in the unauthorized release of sensitive data could adversely affect our reputation and lead to financial losses from remedial actions or potential liability, possibly including punitive damages. An electronic security breach resulting in the unauthorized release of sensitive data from information systems could also materially increase the costs we already incur to protect against these risks. In addition, cyber-attacks, such as ransomware attacks, if successful, could interfere with our ability to access and use systems and records that are necessary to operate our business. Such attacks could materially adversely affect our reputation, relationships with customers, and operations and could require us to expend significant resources to resolve such issues. We continue to balance the additional risk with the cost to protect us against a breach. Additionally, while losses arising from a breach may be covered in part by insurance that we carry, such coverage may not be adequate for liabilities or losses actually incurred.

We may be subject to data privacy and data breach laws in the states in which we do business, and as we expand into other countries, we may be subject to additional data privacy laws and regulations. In many states, state data privacy laws (such as the California Consumer Privacy Act), including application and interpretation, are rapidly evolving. The rapidly evolving nature of state and federal privacy laws, including potential inconsistencies between such laws and uncertainty as to their application, adds additional compliance costs and increases our risk of non-compliance. While we attempt to comply with such laws, we may not be in compliance at all times in all respects. Failure to comply with such laws may subject us to fines, administrative actions, and reputational harm.

Risks Relating to our Organizational Structure

The market price of our Class A Stock may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance, and you may not be able to resell your shares at or above your purchase price.

The market price of our stock has historically experienced high levels of volatility. If you purchase shares of our Class A Stock, you may not be able to resell those shares at or above your purchase price. The market price of our Class A Stock has fluctuated and may fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be related to our operating performance, including but not limited to: 

In addition, if the stock market for companies in our industry or related industries, or the stock market generally, experiences a loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our Class A Stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, financial condition or results of operations. Stock prices of many companies have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. The trading price of our Class A Stock might also decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in our industry even if these events do not directly affect us. In the past, stockholders have filed securities class action litigation following periods of market volatility. If we were to become involved in securities litigation, it could subject us to substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our core business, and adversely affect our business.

Delaware law and our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation contain anti-takeover provisions, any of which could delay or discourage a merger, tender offer, or assumption of control of the Company not approved by our Board of Directors that some stockholders may consider favorable.

Provisions of Delaware law and our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation could hamper a third party’s acquisition of us, or discourage a third party from attempting to acquire control of us. You may not have the opportunity to participate in these transactions. These provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for equity interests in the Company. These provisions include:

In addition, we are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which may prohibit certain transactions with stockholders owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock or require us to obtain stockholder approval prior to engaging in such transactions. CCP and certain of its affiliates collectively hold approximately 26% of our outstanding voting stock. Any delay or prevention of a change in control transaction or changes in our board of directors could adversely affect our ability to execute transactions that are needed to carry out our operations and growth strategies and cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

Provisions in our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation could make it very difficult for an investor to bring any legal actions against us and our directors or officers and could require us to pay any amounts incurred by our directors or officers in any such actions.

Our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, our directors shall not be personally liable for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duties. Our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation also allows us to indemnify our directors and officers from and against any and all costs, charges and expenses resulting from their acting in such capacities with us. This means that if you were able to enforce an action against our directors or officers, in all likelihood, we would be required to pay any expenses they incurred in defending the lawsuit and any judgment or settlement they otherwise would be required to pay. Accordingly, our indemnification obligations could divert needed financial resources and may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and adversely affect the value of our business.

Provisions in our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation may limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum.

Our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall be the sole and exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents. It also provides that, unless we consent to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall be the sole and exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting a claim for or based on a breach of duty or obligation owed by any current or former director, officer or employee of ours to us or to our stockholders, including any claim alleging the aiding and abetting of such a breach; any action asserting a claim against us or any current or former director, officer or employee of ours arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or our certificate of incorporation or bylaws; or any action asserting a claim related to or involving us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. This exclusive forum provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. To the extent that any such claims may be based upon federal law claims, Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers or employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Future sales of our Class A Stock by our existing stockholders may cause our stock price to fall.

The market price of our Class A Stock could decline as a result of sales by a few large stockholders, including CCP and Blackwell, in the market, or the perception that these sales could occur. These sales might also make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities at a time and price that we deem appropriate.

Our stockholders may experience substantial dilution in the value of their investment or may otherwise have their interests impaired if we issue additional shares of our capital stock.

Our charter allows us to issue up to 300 million shares of our Common Stock, including 210 million shares of Class A Stock and 90 million shares of Class B Stock, and up to five million shares of undesignated preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. To raise additional capital, we may in the future sell additional shares of our Class A Stock or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our Class A Stock at prices that are lower than the prices paid by existing stockholders, and investors purchasing shares or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing stockholders, which could result in substantial dilution to the interests of existing stockholders.

Pursuant to our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the Board has the ability to authorize the issuance of up to five million shares of preferred stock at any time and from time to time, with such terms and preferences as the Board determines and without any stockholder approval other than as may be required by NASDAQ Global Market rules. The issuance of such shares of preferred stock could dilute the interest of, or impair the voting power of, our common stockholders. The issuance of such preferred stock could also be used as a method of discouraging, delaying, or preventing a change of control.

Our only significant asset is our ownership of Purple LLC and such ownership may not be sufficient to pay dividends or make distributions or loans to enable us to pay any dividends on our Class A Stock or satisfy our other financial obligations, including our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement.

We are a holding company and do not directly own any operating assets other than our ownership of interests in Purple LLC. We depend on Purple LLC for distributions, loans and other payments to generate the funds necessary to meet our financial obligations, including our expenses as a publicly traded company, to pay any dividends, and to satisfy our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement. The earnings from, or other available assets of, Purple LLC may not be sufficient to make distributions or pay dividends, pay expenses or satisfy our other financial obligations, including our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Moreover, our debt covenants may not allow us to pay dividends.

We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

We intend to retain future earnings, if any, for use in the business or for other corporate purposes and do not anticipate that cash dividends with respect to our Class A Stock will be paid in the foreseeable future. Any decision as to the future payment of dividends will depend on our results of operations, financial position and such other factors as our Board, in its discretion, deems relevant. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our Class A Stock will be a stockholder’s sole source of gain for the foreseeable future. Moreover, our debt covenants may not allow us to pay dividends.

Our level of indebtedness and related covenants could limit our operational and financial flexibility and significant adversely affect our business if we breach such covenants and default on such indebtedness.

As of December 31, 2021, Purple LLC had total debt of $97.2 million outstanding under the 2020 Credit Agreement. While any amounts are outstanding under the 2020 Credit Agreement, we are subject to a number of affirmative and negative covenants, including covenants regarding dispositions of property, investments, forming or acquiring subsidiaries, business combinations or acquisitions, incurrence of additional indebtedness, and transactions with affiliates, among other customary covenants, subject to certain exceptions. In particular, we are (i) subject to annual capital expenditure limits that can be adjusted based on the Company achieving certain Net Leverage Ratio thresholds as provided in the 2020 Credit Agreement, (ii) restricted from incurring additional debt up to certain amounts, subject to limited exceptions, as set forth in the Credit Agreement, and (iii) maintain minimum Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio and Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio (as those terms are defined in the Credit Agreement) thresholds at certain measurement dates. Purple LLC is also restricted from paying dividends or making other distributions or payments on its capital stock, subject to limited exceptions.

These restrictions may prevent us from taking actions that we believe would be in the best interests of the business and may make it difficult for us to successfully execute our business strategy or effectively compete with companies that are not similarly restricted. If we determine that we need to take any action that is restricted under the 2020 Credit Agreement, we will need to first obtain a waiver from the Institutional Lenders. Obtaining such waivers, if needed, may impose additional costs on the Company or we may be unable to obtain such waivers. Our ability to comply with these restrictive covenants in future periods will largely depend on our ability to successfully implement our overall business strategy. The breach of any of these covenants or restrictions could result in a default, which could result in the acceleration of our outstanding debt. In the event of an acceleration of such debt, we could be forced to apply all available cash flows to repay such debt, which could also force us into bankruptcy or liquidation.

On February 28, 2022, prior to the covenant compliance certification date under the 2020 Credit Agreement, we entered into the first amendment of the 2020 Credit Agreement. The amendment contains a covenant waiver period such that the net leverage ratio and fixed charge coverage ratio will not be tested for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2021 through the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2022. Other changes in the amendment include modification of leverage ratio and fixed charge coverage definitions and thresholds, the addition of minimum liquidity requirements with mandatory prepayments of the revolving loan if cash exceeds $25.0 million, new weekly and monthly reporting requirements, limits on the amount of capital expenditures, including expenditures for acquisitions of other business or technologies, the addition of a lease incurrence test for opening additional showrooms, and additional negative covenants during a covenant amendment period that will extend into 2023 until certain conditions are met. The additional negative covenants during the covenant amendment period include additional restrictions on certain consolidations, mergers, acquisitions, asset sales, statutory divisions, liens, indebtedness, investments, guaranty obligations, and restricted payments

Our failure to satisfy the required conditions under the amendment or maintain compliance with the financial and performance covenants under the 2020 Credit Agreement could result in a default, including acceleration of our outstanding debt, which would adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations, and significantly limit our ability to execute on our business strategies.

Our warrants are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants could have a material effect on our financial results.

Included on our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 are derivative liabilities related to embedded features contained within our warrants. Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Codification 815 provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our consolidated financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors, which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash gains or losses on our warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material.

Certain outstanding warrants could be exercised and result in dilution of all shareholders without any concurrent payment or other benefit to the Company.

Certain outstanding warrants held by former members of Global Partner Sponsor, LLC (the sponsor for GPAC) and its permitted transferees are not redeemable and may be exercised on a cashless basis. As of February 28, 2022, approximately 1.9 million sponsor warrants remain outstanding, which are exercisable for an aggregate of less than one million shares of Class A Stock. If the holders of the sponsor warrants choose to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, we would be required to issue shares of Class A Stock without any further consideration paid to us, resulting in dilution to our existing stockholders.

We may issue debt and equity securities or securities convertible into equity securities, any of which may be senior to our Class A Stock as to distributions and in liquidation, which could negatively affect the value of our Class A Stock.

In the future, we may attempt to increase our capital resources by entering into additional debt or debt-like financing that is unsecured or secured by up to all of our assets, or by issuing additional debt or equity securities, which could include issuances of secured or unsecured notes, preferred stock, hybrid securities or securities convertible into or exchangeable for equity securities. In the event of our liquidation, our lenders and holders of our debt would receive distributions of our available assets before distributions to holders of our Class A Stock, and holders of preferred securities would receive distributions of our available assets before distributions to the holders of our Class A Stock. Because our decision to incur debt and issue securities in future offerings may be influenced by market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings or debt financings. Further, market conditions could require us to accept less favorable terms for the issuance of our securities in the future.

Tax Risks Relating to our Structure

Although we may be entitled to tax benefits relating to additional tax depreciation or amortization deductions as a result of the tax basis step-up we receive in connection with the exchanges of Class B Units and shares of Class B Stock into our Class A Stock and related transactions, we will be required to pay InnoHold 80% of these tax benefits under the Tax Receivable Agreement.

Owners of Class B Units and shares of Class B Stock may, subject to certain conditions and transfer restrictions, exchange their Class B Units and shares of Class B Stock (together with an equal number of Class B Units, the “Paired Securities”) for shares of Class A Stock pursuant to an exchange agreement, dated February 2, 2018, with Purple LLC, InnoHold and the Class B Unit holders who became a party thereto (the “Exchange Agreement”). The deemed exchanges in the Business Combination and any exchanges pursuant to the Exchange Agreement are expected to result in increases in our allocable share of the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of Purple LLC. These increases in tax basis may increase (for tax purposes) depreciation and amortization deductions and therefore reduce the amount of income or franchise tax that we would otherwise be required to pay in the future, although the Internal Revenue Service or any applicable foreign, state or local tax authority may challenge all or part of that tax basis increase, and a court could sustain such a challenge. As of December 31, 2021, there have been 43.6 million exchanges of Class B Units and shares of Class B Stock for shares of Class A Stock, in addition to the deemed exchanges that occurred in connection with the Business Combination.

In connection with the Business Combination, we entered into the Tax Receivable Agreement, which generally provides for the payment by us to InnoHold of 80% of certain tax benefits, if any, that we realize as a result of these increases in tax basis and of certain other tax benefits related to entering into the Tax Receivable Agreement, including income or franchise tax benefits attributable to payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement. These payment obligations pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement are the obligation of the Company and not of Purple LLC. The actual increase in our allocable share of the Company’s tax basis in its assets, as well as the amount and timing of any payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, will vary depending upon a number of factors, including the timing of exchanges, the market price of shares of our common stock at the time of the exchange, the extent to which such exchanges are taxable and the amount and timing of our income. As of December 31, 2021, the Company’s preliminary estimate of the liability under the Tax Receivable Agreement resulting from the deemed exchanges that occurred in connection with the Business Combination and subsequent exchanges of 43.6 million Paired Securities as of December 31, 2021 was approximately $168.1 million, of which $172.0 was recorded through 2020. To the extent the Company realizes tax benefits in future years, or in the event of a change in future tax rates, or if payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement are required to be accelerated, this liability may exceed the estimated liability.

Because not all of the relevant factors described above are known at this time with respect to the exchanges that have occurred, and none of the relevant factors are known with respect to 0.4 million future exchanges (whether this year or in subsequent years), except as estimated above, we cannot yet with certainty determine the final amounts that will be payable under the Tax Receivable Agreement. However, as a result of the size and frequency of the exchanges and the resulting increases in the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of Purple LLC, the payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be substantial and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. The payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement are not conditioned upon continued ownership of the Company by the holders of Class B Units.

InnoHold will not be required to reimburse us for any excess payments that may previously have been made under the Tax Receivable Agreement, for example, due to adjustments resulting from examinations by taxing authorities. Rather, excess payments made to such holders will be netted against payments otherwise to be made, if any, after the determination of such excess. As a result, in certain circumstances we could make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement in excess of our actual income or franchise tax savings, if any, and we may not be able to recoup such excess, which could materially impair our financial condition and adversely affect our liquidity.

If all of the 0.5 million Paired Securities outstanding as of December 31, 2021 were exchanged for shares of Class A Stock pursuant to the Exchange Agreement, and the fair market value of the Class A Stock at the time of such exchange were equal to $6.01 per share (the closing price of a share of our Class A Stock on February 18, 2022), our aggregate liability under the Tax Receivable Agreement would not increase from the estimated $168.1 million liability described above, with the amount payable in estimated annual amounts ranging from $0.3 million to $14.6 million over a 16-year period. The foregoing estimate of our aggregate liability is based on certain assumptions, including that there are no changes in relevant tax law, that we are able to fully depreciate or amortize our assets, and that we recognize taxable income sufficient to realize the full benefit of the increased depreciation and amortization of our assets in each of the tax years. These assumptions may not be accurate with respect to all or any exchanges of Paired Securities for Class A Stock. As a result, the amount and timing of our actual aggregate liability under the Tax Receivable Agreement may differ materially from our estimates depending on a number of factors, including those described above and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

In certain cases, payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement may be accelerated or significantly exceed the actual benefits we realize in respect of the tax attributes subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement.

The Tax Receivable Agreement provides that, in the event that we exercise our right to early termination of the Tax Receivable Agreement, or in the event of a change of control of the Company or we are more than 90 days late in making of a payment due under the Tax Receivable Agreement, the Tax Receivable Agreement will terminate, and we will be required to make a lump-sum payment to InnoHold equal to the present value of all forecasted future payments that would have otherwise been made under the Tax Receivable Agreement, which lump-sum payment would be based on certain assumptions, including those relating to our future taxable income. The change of control payment to InnoHold and the other owners could be substantial and could exceed the actual tax benefits that we receive as a result of acquiring units from other owners of Purple LLC because the amounts of such payments would be calculated assuming that we would have been able to use the potential tax benefits each year for the remainder of the amortization periods applicable to the basis increases, and that tax rates applicable to us would be the same as they were in the year of the termination. In these situations, our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement could have a substantial negative impact on our liquidity and could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing certain mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combinations or other changes of control due to the additional transaction cost a potential acquirer may attribute to satisfying such obligations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to finance our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement.

Decisions made in the course of running our business, such as with respect to mergers, asset sales, other forms of business combinations or other changes in control, may influence the timing and amount of payments that are received by InnoHold under the Tax Receivable Agreement. For example, the earlier disposition of assets following an exchange or acquisition transaction will generally accelerate payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement and increase the present value of such payments, and the disposition of assets before an exchange or acquisition transaction will increase an existing owner’s tax liability without giving rise to any rights of InnoHold to receive payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement.

Even in the absence of an early termination of the Tax Receivable Agreement, change of control of the Company or a payment that is more than 90 days late under the Tax Receivable Agreement, there may be a material negative effect on our liquidity if the payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement exceed the actual income or franchise tax savings that we realize in respect of the tax attributes subject to the Tax Receivable Agreement or if distributions to us by Purple LLC are not sufficient to permit us to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement after we have paid taxes and other expenses. Furthermore, our obligations to make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement could make us a less attractive target for an acquisition, particularly in the case of an acquirer that cannot use some or all of the tax benefits that are deemed realized under the Tax Receivable Agreement. We may need to incur additional indebtedness to finance payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement to the extent our cash resources are insufficient to meet our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement as a result of timing discrepancies or otherwise which may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. There can be no assurance that we will be able to finance our obligations under the Tax Receivable Agreement.

We may not be able to realize all or a portion of the tax benefits that are expected to result from the acquisition of Units from Purple LLC Class B Unitholders.

Pursuant to the Tax Receivable Agreement, the Company will share tax savings resulting from (A) the amortization of the anticipated step-up in tax basis in Purple LLC’s assets as a result of (i) the Business Combination and (ii) the exchange of (a) the Class B Units and (b) the Class B Stock, in each case that were received in connection with the Business Combination, for shares of Class A Stock pursuant to the Exchange Agreement and (B) certain other related transactions with InnoHold in connection with the Business Combination. The amount of any such tax savings attributable to the payment of cash to InnoHold in connection with the Business Combination and the exchanges contemplated by the Exchange Agreement will be paid 80% to InnoHold and other owners of such securities and retained 20% by the Company. Our ability to realize, and benefit from, these tax savings depends on a number of assumptions, including that we will earn sufficient taxable income each year during the period over which the deductions arising from any such basis increases and payments are available and that there are no adverse changes in applicable law or regulations. If our actual taxable income were insufficient to fully utilize such tax benefits or there were adverse changes in applicable law or regulations, we may be unable to realize all or a portion of these expected benefits and our cash flows and stockholders’ equity could be negatively affected.

Unanticipated changes in effective tax rates, including as a result of new tax jurisdictions, or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income or other tax returns could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:

In addition, we may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other transaction taxes by U.S. federal and state authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

Under Section 382 and related provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change” generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in its equity ownership by certain stockholders over a three-year period), the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards (“NOLs”) and other pre-change tax attributes to offset its post-change income may be limited. If finalized, Treasury Regulations currently proposed under Section 382 of the Code may further limit our ability to utilize our pre-change NOLs or other tax attributes if we undergo a future ownership change. We may have experienced ownership changes in the past, and we may experience ownership changes in the future and/or subsequent shifts in our stock ownership (some of which may be outside our control). Thus, our ability to utilize carryforwards of our net operating losses and other tax attributes to reduce future tax liabilities may be substantially restricted. At this time, we have not completed a study to assess the impact, if any, of ownership changes on our NOLs under Section 382 of the Code.

The amount of our deferred tax assets considered realizable could be adjusted if projections of future taxable income are reduced or objective negative evidence in the form of a three-year cumulative loss is present or both.  Should we no longer have a level of sustained profitability, excluding nonrecurring charges, we will have to rely more on our future projections of taxable income to determine if we have an adequate source of taxable income for the realization of our deferred tax assets, namely NOL carryforwards.  This may result in the need to record a valuation allowance against all or an additional portion of our deferred tax assets, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

We lease three manufacturing facilities in Alpine, Utah, Grantsville, Utah and McDonough, Georgia, which manufacture and distribute Purple products. These factories have a total of 1.5 million square-feet (35 acres under roof), including approximately 574,000 square-feet at our Grantsville, Utah facility, 844,000 square feet at our McDonough, Georgia facility and approximately 93,000 square-feet at our Alpine, Utah facility (which comprises two buildings)., The Georgia location, our first manufacturing plant outside of Utah, will serve our customers on the east coast more efficiently. We also lease approximately 58,000 square-feet of office space in Lehi, Utah for our corporate headquarters. In addition to the properties described, we have other facilities and Purple retail showrooms in the United States all of which are under lease.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

Information regarding legal proceedings can be found in Note 12, “Commitments and Contingencies,” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Part II, ITEM 8 of this Report, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Our Class A Stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “PRPL”. As of February 28, 2022, there were approximately 20 holders of record of shares of our Class A Stock and 14 holders of record of shares of our Class B Stock. Our Class B Stock is not listed or quoted on any exchange and is not transferrable by the holders, subject to certain limited exceptions. This number does not include stockholders for which shares are held in “nominee” or “street” name.

We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements, general financial condition, our compliance with restrictive covenants in the 2020 Credit Agreement and other future indebtedness that we may incur, opportunities to invest in future growth initiatives, and the discretion of our Board of Directors at such time. Our Board of Directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future.

Comparative Stock Performance

The following graph illustrates the cumulative total return from February 2, 2018 through December 31, 2021, for (i) our Class A Stock, (ii) the Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 500 Home Furnishings Index, and (iii) the Nasdaq Stock Market (U.S.) Index. The graph assumes $100 was invested on February 2, 2018 in each of our common stock, the S&P 500 Home Furnishings Index, and the Nasdaq Stock Market (U.S.) Index, and that any dividends were reinvested. The comparisons reflected in the graph are not intended to forecast the future performance of our stock and may not be indicative of our future performance. The graph and related information shall not be deemed to be "soliciting material" or to be "filed" with the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act or Exchange Act, except to the extent that the Company specifically incorporates it by reference into such filing.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.

Item 6. [Reserved]

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K, including this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and our future results that are subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements other than statements of historical facts are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about the industries in which we operate and the beliefs and assumptions of our management. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “targets,” “goals,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “momentum,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “continues,” “endeavors,” “strives,” “may,” variations of such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections of our future financial performance, our anticipated growth and trends in our businesses (including the discussion under the heading “Outlook for Growth”), and other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict, including those under “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors,” and elsewhere herein. Therefore, actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements for any reason.

The following discussion is intended to provide a more comprehensive review of the operating results and financial condition of Purple than can be obtained from reading the Consolidated Financial Statements alone. The discussion should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and the notes thereto included in “Part II Item 8. Financial Statements.”

Overview of Our Business

Our mission is to help people feel and live better through innovative comfort solutions.

We are a digitally-native vertical brand founded on comfort product innovation with premium offerings. We design and manufacture a variety of innovative, branded and premium comfort products, including mattresses, pillows, cushions, bases, sheets, and other products. Our products are the result of over 30 years of innovation and investment in proprietary and patented comfort technologies and the development of our own manufacturing processes. Our proprietary gel technology, Hyper-Elastic Polymer, underpins many of our comfort products and provides a range of benefits that differentiate our offerings from other competitors’ products. We market and sell our products through direct-to-consumer e-commerce and Purple retail showrooms and retail brick-and-mortar wholesale partners.

Organization

The Company consists of Purple Inc. and its consolidated subsidiary, Purple LLC. Purple Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on May 19, 2015 as a special purpose acquisition company under the name of GPAC. On February 2, 2018, the Company consummated a transaction structured similar to a reverse recapitalization (the “Business Combination”) pursuant to which Purple Inc. acquired an equity interest in Purple LLC and became its sole managing member. As the sole managing member of Purple LLC, Purple Inc., through its officers and directors, is responsible for all operational and administrative decision making and control of the day-to-day business affairs of Purple LLC without the approval of any other member. At December 31, 2021, Purple Inc. had a 99% economic interest in Purple LLC while other Class B unit holders had the remaining 1%.

COVID-19 Pandemic Developments

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many aspects of our operations, directly and indirectly, including disruption of our employees, consumer behavior, distribution and logistics, our suppliers, and the market overall. The scope and nature of these impacts continue to evolve. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have taken precautionary measures recommended by the appropriate national and state health agencies to manage our resources and mitigate the adverse impact of the pandemic, which is intended to help minimize the risk to our Company, employees, customers, and the communities in which we operate.

Although we have taken measures to protect our business, we cannot predict the specific duration for which precautionary measures relating to COVID-19 will stay in effect. We may elect or be required to take additional measures as the information available to us continues to develop, including with respect to our employees, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers, and relationships with our suppliers and customers. Based on our current projections, subject to certain assumptions regarding the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, and government, consumer, and our responses thereto, we believe our cash on hand and ongoing cash generated from our e-commerce, wholesale and retail showroom sales channels will be sufficient to cover our working capital requirements and anticipated capital expenditures for the next 12 months.

While most state and local governments have eased restrictions on commercial retail activity, it is possible that a recent resurgence in cases of COVID-19 or one of its future variants could prompt a return to tighter restrictions in certain areas of the country. Furthermore, while the sleep product industry has fared much better during the pandemic than certain other sectors of the economy, continued economic weakness may eventually have an adverse impact upon the industry and our business. Therefore, significant uncertainty remains regarding the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak upon our financial condition and future results of operations, as well as upon the significant estimates and assumptions we utilize in reporting certain assets and liabilities.

Recent Developments in Our Business

Production and Demand Developments

During the second quarter of 2021, following an accident that resulted in the death of an employee and subsequent safety improvements involving the Mattress Max machines, we encountered isolated production challenges caused by unanticipated mechanical and maintenance issues when bringing the machines back online. As a result, we experienced significantly reduced production levels causing shipment backlogs that unfavorably affected both second and third quarter net revenues. We exited the month of July with production from our existing machines back at planned levels and emerged from our backlog position at the end of August. With our production back at planned levels, we were able to increase our finished goods inventory to adequate stock levels that enabled us to resume timely shipments to our customers during the latter part of the third quarter.

Even though we were able to return to planned production capacity in the third quarter, our results of operations did not return to expected levels, which we believe was primarily due to slower than expected acceleration back to prior trending demand levels. We also believe that the production challenges experienced in the second and third quarters adversely affected the confidence of consumers and our wholesale partners in our ability to timely deliver our products, which resulted in reduced orders and increased cancellations from e-commerce, wholesale and Purple retail showroom customers. Further, in an effort to manage costs as we worked to resolve the production issues described above, we initiated a reduction in marketing spend late in the second quarter that carried through most of the third quarter, which further negatively affected demand for our products, particularly in our e-commerce sales channel. In addition to adversely impacting immediate demand, these issues also interrupted our momentum in growth for future periods. Although we did generate net revenue growth of 7.2% in the fourth quarter compared to the prior year fourth quarter, we experienced an operating loss in the quarter due to lower gross margins, higher marketing costs and an increase in general and administrative expenses. While our production and marketing efforts returned to planned levels in the fourth quarter, post-pandemic demand is shifting away from e-commerce and back towards retail brick-and-mortar. We believe this shift will continue through 2022.

In addition to a slower recovery to expected demand levels following our return to full production capacity and shift in demand from e-commerce to physical stores, our business has also been adversely impacted by increases in raw material, labor and freight costs. While we are still able to obtain necessary materials when needed, the costs of such materials have increased significantly, consistent with general macroeconomic trends. In addition, as experienced in other industries, in order to remain competitive in hiring the labor necessary to maintain our production, we have had to increase wages and other compensation. These increases in materials and labor costs have resulted in higher cost of goods sold and lower margins. We believe that raw material, labor and freight costs will continue to remain at elevated levels or increase further in the foreseeable future. In order to offset the impact of these costs on our gross margins, we have taken a number of pricing actions in the fourth quarter and early 2022. In February 2022, we completed a restructuring of our workforce that was necessitated by a realignment of our cost structure. As a result of the realignment and restructuring, we reduced employee headcount by approximately 15%. In addition, we have initiated a number of other projects to improve efficiencies and reduce costs. Following several years of hyper growth and increased investments to support current and future expansion, we are now focusing on right-sizing our operations, improving our execution and refining our strategies to drive profitable growth in the current market environment.

We are also closely monitoring the impacts of COVID-19 and general economic conditions on global supply chain, manufacturing, and logistics operations. As inflationary pressures increase, we anticipate that our production and operating costs will similarly increase. In addition, COVID-19 and other events, including port closures or labor shortages, have resulted in the continuation or worsening of manufacturing and shipping costs, delays and constraints. While most of our domestic suppliers have been able to continue operations and provide necessary materials when needed, we have experienced some constraints from certain suppliers, with respect to both the availability and cost of materials. We have also experienced some delays in shipments from our suppliers. Any significant delay or interruption in our supply chain could impair our ability to meet the demands of our customers and could negatively impact our business.

Mattress Firm Relationship

On November 8, 2021, Purple LLC and Mattress Firm agreed to terminate the September 2018 retailer agreement and replace it with a new agreement that has terms consistent with the Company’s standard retailer agreement. This new agreement provides opportunity for continued partnership and growth with Mattress Firm while also eliminating the prior exclusivity arrangements. With the constraints on entering markets in which Mattress Firm conducts business no longer in place, this creates opportunities to partner with new specialty retailers that were previously not available to us.

Revolving Line of Credit

In September 2020, Purple LLC entered into a financing arrangement with KeyBank National Association and a group of financial institutions that provided for a $45.0 million term loan and a $55.0 million revolving line of credit. In November 2021, the Company executed a $55.0 million draw on its revolving line of credit, which represented the full amount available under the line. The outstanding balance on the revolving line of credit was classified as long-term debt in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2021.

First Amendment to 2020 Credit Agreement

Our operating and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2021 did not satisfy our financial and performance covenants required pursuant to the 2020 Credit Agreement. In order to avoid a breach of such covenants and related default, on February 28, 2022, prior to the covenant compliance certification date under the 2020 Credit Agreement, we entered into the first amendment of the 2020 Credit Agreement. The amendment contains a covenant waiver period such that the net leverage ratio and fixed charge coverage ratio will not be tested for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2021 through the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2022. Other changes in the amendment include modification of leverage ratio and fixed charge coverage definitions and thresholds, the addition of minimum liquidity requirements with mandatory prepayments of the revolving loan if cash exceeds $25.0 million, new weekly and monthly reporting requirements, limits on the amount of capital expenditures, the addition of a lease incurrence test for opening additional showrooms, and additional negative covenants during a covenant amendment period that will extend into 2023 until certain conditions are met. In addition, the interest rate on outstanding borrowings under the 2020 Credit Agreement changed from LIBOR with a floor of 0.5% plus an applicable margin (historically at 3.0%) to an initial rate of SOFR with a floor of 0.5% plus 4.75%, for a total rate of 5.25% as long as the applicable liquidity threshold is met. If it is not met, then the interest rate goes to SOFR with a floor of 0.5% plus 9.00%. Once the consolidated leverage ratio is below 3.00 to 1.00, the interest rate will be based on SOFR with a floor of 0.5% plus a 3.00% to 3.75% depending on the consolidated leverage ratio. Pursuant to the amendment, the Company paid fees and expenses of $0.9 million and prepaid all principal payments due in 2022 of $2.5 million. 

Outlook for Growth

To support our plans for future growth, we are initially focusing on the following immediate opportunities:

There is no guarantee that we will be able to effectively execute on these opportunities, which are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict, including the risks described under “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere herein. Therefore, actual results may differ materially and adversely from those described above. In addition, we may, in the future, adapt these focuses in response to changes in the market or our business.

Critical Accounting Estimates

In connection with the preparation of our consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), we are required to make estimates and assumptions about future events and apply judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, sales, expenses and the related disclosures. Predicting future events is inherently an imprecise activity and as such requires the use of judgment. We base our assumptions, estimates and judgments on historical experience, current trends and other factors that management believes to be relevant at the time our consolidated financial statements are prepared. On a regular basis, management reviews the accounting policies, assumptions, estimates and judgments to ensure that our consolidated financial statements are presented fairly and in accordance with GAAP. However, because future events and their effects cannot be determined with certainty, actual results could differ from our assumptions and estimates, and such differences could be material.

Management believes the accounting estimates discussed below are the most critical because they require management’s most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, resulting from the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain.

Revenue Recognition

The Company’s revenue recognition accounting methodology contains uncertainties because it requires management to make assumptions and to apply judgment to estimate the amount and timing of future sales returns and uncollectible accounts. The Company’s estimates of the amount and timing of sales returns and uncollectible accounts are based primarily on historical transaction experience. The Company’s sales return liability decreased from $8.4 million at December 31, 2020 million to $7.1 million as of December 31, 2021. The Company’s allowance for doubtful accounts as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 was not material. The Company does not believe there is a reasonable likelihood that there will be any material changes in the accounting methodology, future estimates or assumptions used to measure the estimated liability for sales returns and exchanges or credit losses. However, if actual results are not consistent with the Company’s estimates or assumptions, it may be exposed to losses or gains that could be material.

Warranty Liabilities

The Company provides a limited warranty on most of the products it sells. The estimated warranty costs, which are expensed at the time of sale and included in cost of revenues, are based on the results of product testing, industry and historical trends and warranty claim rates incurred and are adjusted for any current or expected trends as appropriate. The Company regularly assesses and adjusts the estimate of accrued warranty claims by updating claims rates for actual trends and projected claim costs. The Company classifies as non-current those estimated warranty costs expected to be paid out in greater than one year. As of December 31, 2021, the current and non-current portions of the Company’s warranty liabilities were $3.9 million and $11.1 million, respectively, compared to $2.8 million and $5.6 million, respectively, at December 31, 2020. We have not made any material changes in the warranty liability assessment methodology used and we do not believe there is a reasonable likelihood that a material change in the estimates or assumptions we use to calculate our warranty liability will occur. However, if actual results are not consistent with our estimates or assumptions, we may be exposed to losses or gains that could be material.

Warrant Liability

The Company accounts for the sponsor warrants issued in connection with its initial public offering and simultaneous private placement as liabilities. The liability for these warrants was initially measured at fair value on the date of the Business Combination and is subsequently re-measured to fair value at each reporting date or exercise date with changes in the fair value included in earnings. The Company uses the Black-Scholes model to determine the fair value of the liability associated with the sponsor warrants. The model uses key assumptions and inputs such as exercise price, fair market value of common stock, risk free interest rate, warrant life and expected volatility. This liability generally increases or decreases based upon changes in the fair value of sponsor warrants outstanding at the end of a respective period and decreases as sponsor warrants are exercised during the respective periods. During 2021, this liability decreased from $92.7 million at December 31, 2020 to $4.3 million at December 31, 2021 due to $64.3 million related to the fair value of warrants exercised and $24.1 million associated with changes in the valuation inputs. We have not made any material changes in the valuation methodology used. Although we do not believe there is a reasonable likelihood there will be a material change in the estimates or assumptions used to calculate this liability, a 10% increase in our stock price at December 31, 2021 would have increased the warrant liability by $0.9 million.

Income Taxes

Accounting for income taxes requires recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. In assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more-likely-than-not that the deferred tax assets will be realized. During fiscal 2020, the Company achieved three-year cumulative income for the first time and determined that it would likely generate sufficient taxable income to utilize some of its deferred tax assets. Based on this and other positive evidence, the Company concluded it was more likely than not that some of its deferred tax assets would be realized and that a full valuation allowance for its deferred tax assets was no longer appropriate. The Company recognized deferred tax benefits of $3.6 million and $45.8 million in its consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are calculated by applying existing tax laws and the rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in the year of the enacted rate change. Our effective tax rate is primarily impacted by the allocation of income taxes to the noncontrolling interest and changes in our valuation allowance. In certain cases, we also base this estimate on business plan forecasts and other expectations about future outcomes. Changes in positive and negative evidence, including differences between our future operating results and estimates, could result in the establishment of an additional valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets. Accounting for deferred taxes is based upon estimates of future results. Judgment is required in determining the future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in our consolidated financial statements and/or tax returns. Differences between the anticipated and actual outcomes of these future results could have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. Also, changes in existing federal and state tax laws and corporate income tax rates could affect future tax results and the realization of deferred tax assets over time.

The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes using a recognition and measurement threshold for tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return, which are subject to examination by federal and state taxing authorities. The tax benefit from an uncertain tax position is recognized when it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities based on technical merits of the position. The amount of the tax benefit recognized is the largest amount of the benefit that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The effective tax rate and the tax basis of assets and liabilities reflect management’s estimates of the ultimate outcome of various tax uncertainties. Judgment is required in evaluating uncertain tax positions. We evaluate our uncertain tax positions quarterly based on various factors, including changes in facts or circumstances, tax laws or the status of audits by tax authorities. Changes in the recognition or measurement of uncertain tax positions could have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements in the period in which we make the change. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, no uncertain tax positions were recognized as liabilities in the consolidated financial statements.

Tax Receivable Agreement

In connection with the Business Combination, the Company entered into an agreement with InnoHold LLC (InnoHold) , which provides for the payment by the Company to InnoHold of 80% of the net cash savings, if any, in U.S. federal, state and local income tax that the Company actually realizes (or is deemed to realize in certain circumstances) in periods after the closing of the Business Combination as a result of (i) any tax basis increases in the assets of Purple LLC resulting from the distribution to InnoHold of the cash consideration, (ii) the tax basis increases in the assets of Purple LLC resulting from the redemption by Purple LLC or the exchange by the Company, as applicable, of Class B Paired Securities or cash, as applicable, and (iii) imputed interest deemed to be paid by the Company as a result of, and additional tax basis arising from, payments it makes under the agreement.

As noncontrolling interest holders exercise their right to exchange or cause Purple LLC to redeem all or a portion of its Class B Units, a liability under the Tax Receivable Agreement may be recorded based on 80% of the estimated future cash tax savings that the Company may realize as a result of increases in the basis of the assets of Purple LLC attributed to the Company as a result of such exchange or redemption. The amount of the increase in asset basis, the related estimated cash tax savings and the attendant tax receivable agreement liability to be recorded will depend on the price of the Company’s Class A Stock at the time of the relevant redemption or exchange.

As a result of the initial merger transaction and subsequent exchanges of Class B Units for Class A Stock, the potential future tax receivable agreement liability was $168.1 million as of December 31, 2021 compared to $172.0 million as of December 31, 2020. In addition, we estimated the amount of payments expected to be paid within the next 12 months to be $5.8 million and classified this amount as a current liability in our 2021 Consolidated Balance Sheet, which was paid in January 2022. To the extent our estimate differs from actual results, we may be required to reclassify portions of our liabilities under this agreement between current and non-current.

We are currently unable to determine the total future amount of these payments due to the unpredictable nature of several factors, including the timing of future exchanges, the market price of shares of Class A Stock at the time of the exchanges, the extent to which such exchanges are taxable and the amount and timing of future taxable income sufficient to utilize tax attributes that give rise to the payments under the tax receivable agreement.

Results of Operations

A discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020 is presented below. A separate discussion regarding our financial condition and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the year ended December 31, 2019 can be found under Item 7 of Part II of our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on May 10, 2021. 

Operating Results for the Year Ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020

The following table sets forth for the periods indicated, our results of operations and the percentage of total net revenues represented in our consolidated statements of operations:

Revenues, Net

Net revenues increased $77.8 million, or 12.0%, to $726.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $648.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This increase primarily consisted of wholesale net revenues growing $88.8 million, or 54.5% and Purple retail showroom net revenues increasing $21.9 million, or 207.9%. These increases were offset in part by e-commerce net revenues decreasing $33.0 million, or 6.9%. Our wholesale business was favorably impacted by wholesale partner expansion coupled with wholesale partner doors being open all of 2021 while the prior year was negatively impacted by the pandemic and the temporary shutdown of wholesale partner operations during 2020. Net revenue growth associated with the Purple retail showrooms was primarily due to the opening of new showrooms. Net revenue growth overall was negatively affected by the production issues we experienced in the second and third quarters of 2021, as our ability to manufacture and deliver our products was adversely impacted, which resulted in reduced orders and increased cancellations. Also, in response to these production delays, we initiated a reduction in marketing spend late in the second quarter that carried through most of the third quarter, which further impacted demand for our products, particularly with respect to our e-commerce channel. The growth in net revenues from a product perspective, reflected a $42.4 million increase in mattress sales, a $24.1 million increase in other sleep product sales and an $11.3 million increase in other product sales, was primarily driven by an increase in wholesale and Purple retail showroom revenues. We believe that sales of our products are typically subject to seasonality corresponding to different periods of the consumer spending cycle, holidays and other seasonal factors. Our sales may also vary with the performance of the broader economy consistent with the market.

Cost of Revenues

The cost of revenues increased $87.9 million, or 25.6%, to $431.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $343.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This increase, which was comprised of a $50.9 million increase in direct material costs, a $31.8 million increase in labor and overhead costs, and a $5.2 million increase in other costs, was primarily due to increased sales volume and higher raw material, labor and freight costs. Our gross profit percentage, which decreased to 40.6% of net revenues in 2021 from 47.0% in 2020, was adversely impacted by the elevated level of our material, labor and freight costs, the unfavorable impact of inefficiencies realized as we worked to resolve the production issues described above (see Production and Demand Developments above) and a higher proportion of wholesale channel revenue, which carries a lower gross margin than revenue from the e-commerce channel. While we have returned to planned production capacity, we anticipate that raw material, labor and freight costs will continue to remain at elevated levels.

Marketing and Sales

Marketing and sales expense increased $51.3 million, or 27.3%, to $239.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $188.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This increase reflected a $19.4 million increase in advertising costs due in part to higher advertising rates in 2021, a $22.3 million increase in marketing costs related primarily to planned expansion of our workforce, an $8.4 million increase in showroom-related expenses associated with our continued showroom expansion, and a $1.2 million increase in wholesale-related marketing and selling costs. Marketing and sales expense as a percentage of net revenues was 33.0% in 2021 compared to 29.0% in 2020. This increase was primarily due to demand levels and net revenue growth being lower than expected relative to the increase in marketing and sales costs we incurred in 2021.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expense increased $32.2 million, or 80.6%, to $72.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $39.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This increase was primarily due to a $18.8 million increase in legal and professional fees, a $6.6 million increase related to payroll costs attributed to planned increases in our workforce, and a $6.8 million increase in all other expenses consistent with the growth of the Company. The increase in legal and professional fees was primarily due to underwriting commissions we paid related to shares sold by Coliseum Capital Partners coupled with higher consulting, professional and recruiting expenses.

Research and Development

Research and development costs increased $1.0 million, or 16.5%, to $6.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 from $6.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This increase was primarily due to an increase in payroll costs related to planned increases in our research and development workforce.

Operating Income (Loss)

Operating income (loss) decreased $94.6 million to an operating loss of $23.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to operating income of $71.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This decrease was primarily due to net revenues being unfavorably impacted by production issues in the second and third quarters of 2021, lower than expected demand, reduced gross margins due in part to elevated raw material, labor and freight costs, increased marketing and sales expenses, and higher general and administrative costs.

Interest Expense

Interest expense totaled $1.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 as compared to $4.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The $2.8 million decrease was due in part to $1.0 million of interest capitalized during 2021. The remaining decrease was due to a $35.0 million loan, which carried an interest rate of 12.00%, being refinanced in the third quarter of 2020 with a $45.0 million term loan at an initial interest rate of 3.50%. In November 2021, the Company executed a $55.0 million draw on its revolving line of credit at an initial borrowing rate of 3.50%, which resulted in $0.3 million of interest expense in 2021. Interest expense in 2021 also included a full year of amortization of deferred loan costs associated with the term loan and fees related to the revolving line of credit.

Loss on Extinguishment of Debt

On September 3, 2020, the Company paid $45.0 million to retire, in full, all indebtedness related to Purple LLC’s 2018 credit agreement. The payment included $25.0 million for the original loan under the agreement, $10.0 million for a subsequent incremental loan, $6.6 million for paid-in-kind interest, $2.5 million for a prepayment fee and $0.9 million for accrued interest. As a result of paying off this loan, the Company recognized a $5.8 million loss on extinguishment of debt in its 2020 consolidated statement of operations.

Change in Fair Value – Warrant Liabilities

There were 15.5 million public warrants issued in connection with GPAC’s formation and initial public offering and 12.8 million sponsor warrants issued pursuant to a simultaneous private placement with the initial public offering. The Company has accounted for these warrants as liabilities and recorded them at fair value on the date of the transaction and subsequently re-measured them to fair value at each reporting date with changes in fair value included in earnings. The 1.9 million sponsor warrants outstanding at December 31, 2021 had a fair value of $4.3 million. The fair value of the sponsor warrants outstanding at December 31, 2020 was $92.7 million. All of the public warrants were exercised in 2020. During the year ended December 31, 2021, we recognized a gain of $24.1 million in our consolidated statement of operations related to a decrease in the fair value of the sponsor warrants exercised in 2021 or that were outstanding at December 31, 2021. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we recognized a loss of $240.7 million in our consolidated statement of operations related to increases in the fair value of the public and sponsor warrants exercised during 2020 or that were outstanding at December 31, 2020.

On February 26, 2019, two of the three lenders involved with the original loan under the 2018 credit arrangement also funded a $10.0 million incremental loan and received 2.6 million warrants to purchase 2.6 million shares of the Company’s Class A Stock at a price of $5.74 per share, subject to certain adjustments. The Company accounted for these warrants as liabilities and recorded them at fair value on the date of the transaction and subsequently re-measured them to fair value at each reporting date with changes in the fair value included in earnings. On November 9, 2020, the Company issued 2.6 million shares of Class A Stock pursuant to the exercise of these warrants held by the lenders who funded the incremental loan. The Company determined the fair value of these warrants to be $81.0 million at the time of the exercise. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company recorded a loss related to increases in the fair value of the warrants of $59.4 million.

Tax Receivable Agreement Income (Expense)

In connection with the Business Combination, we entered into an agreement which generally provides for the payment by us to InnoHold of 80% of certain tax benefits, if any, that we realize as a result of increases in our allocable share of the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of Purple LLC. The tax receivable agreement liability totaled $168.1 million and $172.0 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. During 2021, we realized $4.0 million of tax receivable agreement income due to the impact of a change in tax rates and recording the 2020 provision to return adjustments. The $3.9 million reduction in the 2021 tax receivable agreement liability reflected $4.0 million that was recorded as tax receivable agreement income coupled with a payment of $0.6 million made during the year. These decreases in the liability were offset in part by $0.8 million that related to current year exchanges and was recorded as a decrease to additional paid-in capital in the 2021 consolidated statement of stockholders’ equity.

Income Tax Benefit (Expense)

Our income tax benefit was $1.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to an income tax benefit of $43.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This decrease was primarily due to $35.5 million of the valuation allowance associated with the Company’s federal and state deferred tax assets being released and recorded as an income tax benefit during 2020.

Noncontrolling Interest

The Company calculates net income or loss attributable to noncontrolling interests on a quarterly basis using their weighted average ownership percentage. Net loss attributed to noncontrolling interests was $0.2 million in 2021 compared to net income of $7.1 million in 2020. The decrease in the level of net income (loss) attributed to noncontrolling interests primarily resulted from the noncontrolling interest ownership percentage being significantly lower in 2021.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our principal sources of funds are cash flows from operations, supplemented with borrowings made pursuant to our credit facilities and cash and cash equivalents on hand. Principal uses of funds consist of payments of principal and interest on our debt facilities, capital expenditures and working capital needs as well as other contractual obligations described below. Our working capital needs depend largely upon the timing of cash receipts from product sales, payments to vendors and others, changes in inventories, and operating lease payment obligations. Our cash and working capital positions were $91.6 million and $87.5 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2021 compared to $123.0 million and $96.9 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2020. Cash used for capital expenditures increased from $39.1 million in 2020 to $57.1 million in 2021. This increase primarily resulted from ongoing investments in our business that included building out our new manufacturing facility in Georgia that became fully operational in 2021, enhancing our manufacturing and safety capabilities at our manufacturing facility in Utah, scaling our infrastructure to support the growth of our workforce, and continued opening of new Purple retail showrooms throughout 2021.

As described above, we experienced production and demand issues in the second and third quarters of 2021 that adversely affected net revenues and we have also experienced increases in raw material, labor and freight costs. While we have returned to planned production levels, we currently anticipate that the impact of lower-than-expected demand and higher material, labor and freight costs will continue to adversely affect our business and results of operations into the first quarter of 2022. These issues have also adversely affected our ability to comply with covenants under the 2020 credit agreement. In order to offset the impact of these costs on our gross margins, we have taken a number of pricing actions in the fourth quarter and early 2022. In February 2022, we reduced employee headcount by approximately 15%. In addition, we have initiated a number of other projects to improve efficiencies and reduce costs.

In the event our cash flow from operations or other sources of financing are less than anticipated, we believe we will be able to fund operating expenses based on our ability to scale back operations, reduce marketing spend and postpone or discontinue our growth strategies. In such event, this could result in slower growth or no growth, and we may run the risk of losing key suppliers, we may not be able to timely satisfy customer orders, and we may not be able to retain all of our employees. In addition, we may be forced to restructure our obligations to current creditors, pursue work-out options or seek additional funding sources including new debt or equity capital. Our ability to obtain additional debt or alternative capital on acceptable terms or at all is subject to a variety of uncertainties, including instability in the credit and financial markets resulting from macroeconomic factors and approval from the lenders under the 2020 Credit Agreement. Adequate financing may not be available or, if offered, may only be available on unfavorable terms. The restrictive covenants in the 2020 Credit Agreement, as amended, may make it difficult to obtain additional capital on terms that are favorable to us and to execute on our growth strategies, including the acquisition of other businesses or technologies. There is no assurance we would be able to obtain the capital we could potentially require. As a result, there can be no assurance that we will be able to fund our future operations or growth strategies. In addition, future equity or debt financings may require us to also issue warrants or other equity securities that are likely to be dilutive to our existing stockholders. Newly issued securities may include preferences or superior voting rights or, as described above, may be combined with the issuance of warrants or other derivative securities, which each may have additional dilutive effects. Furthermore, we may incur substantial costs in pursuing future capital and financing, including investment banking fees, legal fees, accounting fees, printing and distribution expenses and other costs. We may also be required to recognize non-cash expenses in connection with certain securities we may issue, such as convertible notes and warrants, which will adversely impact our financial condition. If we cannot raise additional funds on favorable terms or at all, we may not be able to carry out all or parts of our long-term growth strategy, maintain our growth and competitiveness or continue in business.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we took a number of precautionary measures to manage our resources and mitigate its adverse effect. Given the initial difficultly in predicting how long the pandemic would persist and its full impact, we managed our business and opportunities to preserve liquidity. In the second half of 2020, we ended most of the cash preservation programs and returned to full production to meet increased demand. During 2021, we have increased our inventory levels and invested in our manufacturing capacity and showroom expansion. Subject to certain assumptions regarding the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our responses thereto, based on our current projections we believe our cash on hand, cash generated from our e-commerce and wholesale channels, and continued ramp up of Purple retail store operations will be sufficient to cover our working capital requirements and anticipated capital expenditures for the next 12 months.

During 2021, 6.6 million sponsor warrants were exercised on a cash and cashless basis resulting in the issuance of 2.3 million shares of Class A Stock. The proceeds received for the cash exercise was $0.1 million. At December 31, 2021, there were 1.9 million sponsor warrants outstanding. During 2020, 15.5 million public warrants and 4.3 million sponsor warrants were exercised resulting in the issuance of 7.6 million shares of Class A Stock and cash proceeds to the Company of $46.4 million.

Debt

On September 3, 2020, the Company paid $45.0 million to retire, in full, all indebtedness related to Purple LLC’s 2018 credit agreement. The payment included $25.0 million for the original loan under the agreement, $10.0 million for a subsequent incremental loan, $6.6 million for paid-in-kind interest, $2.5 million for a prepayment fee and $0.9 million for accrued interest.

Also on September 3, 2020, Purple LLC entered into the 2020 Credit Agreement that provided for a $45.0 million term loan and a $55.0 million revolving line of credit. The agreement has a five-year term and borrowing rates for both the term loan and revolving line of credit and were initially based on Purple LLC’s leverage ratio and ranged from LIBOR plus a 3.00% to 3.75% margin with a LIBOR minimum of 0.50%. Pursuant to the first amendment of the 2020 Credit Agreement, the interest rates have changed from LIBOR to SOFR with new interest rate amounts and thresholds as noted below. Proceeds from the term loan were used to retire all indebtedness associated with the 2018 credit agreement.

In November 2021, the Company executed a $55.0 million draw on its revolving line of credit, which represented the full amount available under the line. The outstanding balance on the revolving line of credit was classified as long-term debt in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2021.

Our operating and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2021 did not satisfy our financial and performance covenants required pursuant to the 2020 Credit Agreement. In order to avoid a breach of such covenants and related default, on February 28, 2022, prior to the covenant compliance certification date under the 2020 Credit Agreement, we entered into the first amendment of the 2020 Credit Agreement. The amendment contains a covenant waiver period such that the net leverage ratio and fixed charge coverage ratio will not be tested for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2021 through the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2022. Other changes in the amendment include modification of leverage ratio and fixed charge coverage definitions and thresholds, the addition of minimum liquidity requirements with mandatory prepayments of the revolving loan if cash exceeds $25.0 million, new weekly and monthly reporting requirements, limits on the amount of capital expenditures, the addition of a lease incurrence test for opening additional showrooms, and additional negative covenants during a covenant amendment period that will extend into 2023 until certain conditions are met. In addition, the interest rate on outstanding borrowings under the 2020 Credit Agreement changed from LIBOR with a floor of 0.5% plus an applicable margin (historically at 3.0%) to an initial rate of SOFR with a floor of 0.5% plus 4.75%, for a total rate of 5.25% as long as the applicable liquidity threshold is met. If it is not met, then the interest rate goes to SOFR with a floor of 0.5% plus 9.00%. Once the consolidated leverage ratio is below 3.00 to 1.00, the interest rate will be based on SOFR with a floor of 0.5% plus a 3.00% to 3.75% depending on the consolidated leverage ratio. Pursuant to the amendment, the Company paid fees and expenses of $0.9 million and prepaid all principal payments due in 2022 of $2.5 million. 

Tax Receivable Agreement

We are required to make certain payments to InnoHold under the tax receivable agreement, which may have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and capital resources. We are currently unable to determine the total future amount of these payments due to the unpredictable nature of several factors, including the timing of future exchanges, the market price of shares of Class A Stock at the time of the exchanges, the extent to which such exchanges are taxable and the amount and timing of future taxable income sufficient to utilize tax attributes that give rise to the payments under the agreement. As of December 31, 2021, the tax receivable agreement liability reflected in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet is $168.1 million of which $5.8 million is presented as other current liabilities.

Other Contractual Obligations

In addition, we have other material contractual obligations, which primarily consist of operating lease obligations. See Note 6 of the consolidated financial statements for additional information.

Cash Flows for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the year ended December 31, 2020

The following summarizes our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 as reported in our consolidated statements of cash flows (in thousands):

Cash used in operating activities was $30.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $81.3 million of cash provided by operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in cash flows from operations primarily resulted from an $83.6 million decrease in cash provided by operating income items which was mainly driven by net revenues being unfavorably impacted by production and demand issues experienced in the second and third quarters of 2021, increased material, labor and shipping costs, higher marketing and sales expenses, increased legal and professional fees and planned increases in our workforce. The decrease in cash provided by operations was further impacted by a $28.5 million decrease in operating cash flows related to net changes in operating assets and liabilities for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to the prior year. This decrease consisted of decreased cash from changes in period-over-period fluctuations in inventories, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, offset in part by an increase in cash related to changes in the year-over-year fluctuations in accounts receivable and prepaid inventory and other assets.

Cash used in investing activities was $57.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $39.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. This increase primarily resulted from continuing to invest in our business by building out our new manufacturing facility in Georgia that became fully operational in 2021, enhancing our manufacturing and safety capabilities at our manufacturing facility in Utah, scaling our infrastructure to support the growth of our workforce, and continued opening of new Purple retail showrooms during 2021.

Cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2021 was $56.6 million, an increase of $9.3 million from cash provided by financing activities of $47.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2020. Financing activities in 2021 included $55.0 million in proceeds from the Company’s revolving line of credit, $4.1 million in proceeds from an InnoHold indemnification payment and $1.5 million of proceeds from warrant and stock option exercises. The cash received from these financing activities was offset in part by $2.3 million in principal payments on the term loan, member tax distributions of $1.2 million and a $0.6 million payment for the tax receivable agreement.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

For a description of recently adopted and issued accounting standards, including the respective dates of adoption and expected effects on our results of operations and financial condition, refer to Note 2 to our financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Interest Rate Risk

Our operating results are subject to risk from interest rate fluctuations on our $42.2 million term loan and our $55.0 million revolving line of credit. Our term loan and revolving line of credit both bear interest at variable rates, which exposes us to market risks relating to changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk is highly sensitive due to many factors, including U.S. monetary and tax policies, U.S. and international economic factors and other factors beyond our control. As of December 31, 2021, we had $97.2 million of variable rate debt outstanding under our term loan and revolving line of credit combined. Based on these debt levels, an increase of 100 basis points in the effective interest rate on our outstanding debt at December 31, 2021 would result in an increase in interest expense of approximately $1.0 million over the next 12 months. We do not use derivative financial instruments for speculative or trading purposes, but this does not preclude our adoption of specific hedging strategies in the future.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Reference is made to Pages F-1 through F-40 comprising a portion of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

None.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Interim Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), we evaluated the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act). Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance that the information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms.  Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our certifying officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Based upon this evaluation and the above criteria, our CEO and CFO concluded that due to the previously reported material weakness described below, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2021.

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on the criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on this evaluation, our management concluded that due to the previously reported material weakness described below, our internal controls over financial reporting were not effective as of December 31, 2021.

The effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021 has been audited by BDO USA, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which appears herein.

Previously Reported Material Weakness

As previously reported, we determined a material weakness existed relating to ineffective information technology general controls (“ITGCs”) in the areas of user access and segregation of duties related to certain information technology (“IT”) systems that support the Company’s financial reporting processes. We believe that these control deficiencies were a result of turnover of critical IT leadership; insufficient training of IT personnel; and inadequate risk-assessment processes to identify and assess user access in certain IT systems that could impact internal controls over financial reporting. As a result, we determined that we did not have effective controls to prevent or detect a material financial statement misstatement on a timely basis.

In response to this material weakness, management, with oversight of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, has identified and is in the process of implementing steps to remediate the material weakness. The Company has allocated resources to remediate user access related control and segregation of duties deficiencies. Our remediation efforts also include providing training to personnel associated with reviewing IT user access. In addition, we continue to engage consultants to advise us on making further improvements to our ITGCs. Although we intend to complete the remediation process as promptly as possible, we cannot at this time estimate how long it will take to remediate this material weakness. Until this material weakness is remediated, we plan to continue to perform additional analyses and other procedures to ensure that our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Other than the remediation efforts related to the design and implementation of sufficient controls and processes around ITGCs, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Shareholders and Board of Directors

Purple Innovation, Inc.

Lehi, Utah

Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited Purple Innovation, Inc.’s (the “Company’s”) internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the “COSO criteria”). In our opinion, the Company did not maintain, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on the COSO criteria.

We do not express an opinion or any other form of assurance on management’s statements referring to any corrective actions taken by the Company after the date of management’s assessment.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as “the financial statements”) and our report dated March 1, 2022 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Item 9A, Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit of internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audit also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. A material weakness regarding management’s failure to design and maintain effective information technology general controls (“ITGCs”) in the areas of user access and segregation of duties related to certain information technology (“IT”) systems that support the Company’s financial reporting processes has been identified and described in management’s assessment. This material weakness was considered in determining the nature, timing, and extent of audit tests applied in our audit of the 2021 financial statements, and this report does not affect our report dated March 1, 2022 on those financial statements.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ BDO USA, LLP

Salt Lake City, Utah

March 1, 2022

Item 9B. Other Information

Amendment to 2020 Credit Agreement

On February 28, 2022, the Company entered into a First Amendment to 2020 Credit Agreement (the “Amendment”).

The Amendment changes LIBOR to SOFR with a floor of 0.50%. Until a compliance certificate is delivered showing a consolidated leverage ratio of less than 3.00 to 1.00, the borrowing rates are set at term SOFR plus (a) 4.75% if the Company is greater than or equal to the then applicable liquidity threshold and (b) 9.00% if the Company’s liquidity is less than the then applicable liquidity threshold. Once a compliance certificate is delivered showing a consolidated leverage ratio of less than 3.00 to 1.00, pricing will range from SOFR plus a 3.00% to 3.75% margin based upon a consolidated leverage ratio, unless there have been no outstanding revolving loans for a specified period of time, in which case pricing will be based upon a consolidated net leverage ratio. The amount of the excess cash flow mandatory prepayment is now based upon a consolidated leverage ratio, unless there have been no outstanding revolving loans for a specified period of time, in which case it will be based on a consolidated net leverage ratio.

The Amendment also adds a covenant amendment period that starts on the Amendment effective date and lasts until the later of (a) delivery of the June 30, 2023 compliance certificate and (b) the 5th business day after a compliance certificate is delivered showing a consolidated leverage ratio of less than 2.00x for two consecutive quarters. Monthly, during the covenant amendment period and quarterly thereafter, the Company must provide to the lenders reports containing showroom sales performance and bi-weekly a rolling 13-week cash flow forecast. Incremental term loan commitments and incremental revolving loan commitments are not available during the covenant amendment period.

The Amendment adds a new mandatory prepayment requirement, providing that if any revolving loans are outstanding and the aggregate amount of cash and cash equivalents exceed $25.0 million, the Company must prepay the revolving loans in the amount of the lesser of (i) the outstanding revolving loans and (ii) the amount of cash and cash equivalents in excess of $25.0 million. The Amendment also adds a limitation on borrowings under the revolver, prohibiting additional borrowings under the revolver if after giving effect to any borrowing and any transactions to be consummated therewith, the aggregate amount of cash and cash equivalents exceeds $25.0 million. In addition, swing loans are now discretionary rather than mandatory even if all conditions have been satisfied.

The Amendment provides that the consolidated net leverage ratio and fixed charge coverage ratio financial covenants will not be tested for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2021 through the fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2022, and beginning with the fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2022 a consolidated leverage ratio financial covenant goes into effect at a level of 5.75 to 1.00, stepping down to 3.00 to 1.00 at December 31, 2022 and 2.50 to 1.00 thereafter. The Amendment also adds an additional financial covenant relating to minimum liquidity which is applicable during the covenant amendment period and a negative covenant restricting the Company from entering into new leases unless certain financial tests are satisfied. The covenant limiting certain capital expenditures is not being tested for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021, total capital expenditures are capped at $17.5 million for the fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2022 and growth capital expenditures are capped at $37.5 million for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022, $41.0 million for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, and $41.5 million for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024.

The Amendment also eliminates the availability of certain baskets under certain negative covenants during the covenant amendment period, including but not limited to consolidations, mergers, acquisitions, asset sales, statutory divisions, liens, indebtedness, investments, guaranty obligations, and restricted payments.

Pursuant to the Amendment, the Company paid fees and expenses of $0.9 million and prepaid all principal payments due in 2022 of $2.5 million. 

The foregoing summary of the Amendment does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the full text of the Amendment, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit 10.60 to this 10-K and is incorporated by reference herein.

Appointment of Permanent Chief Executive Officer

On March 1, 2022, the Board appointed Robert DeMartini as the Company’s permanent Chief Executive Officer, effective upon the execution of an amended and restated employment agreement. Mr. DeMartini has served as the Company’s Acting CEO since January 2022. There are no related party transactions between Mr. DeMartini and the Company as defined in Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. There are no family relationships between Mr. DeMartini and any other director, executive officer or person nominated or chosen to be a director or executive officer of the Company. Mr. DeMartini’s biographical information is included under Part I, Item 1, “Information About our Executive Officers” above.

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

Not applicable.

PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

The information required under the captions “Directors” and “Corporate Governance” is incorporated herein by reference to the Company’s definitive proxy statement pursuant to Regulation 14A, which proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the close of the Company’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. Information concerning our executive officers is included in Part I of this report under the caption “Information About Our Executive Officers.”

Item 11. Executive Compensation

The information required under this item is incorporated herein by reference to the Company’s definitive proxy statement pursuant to Regulation 14A, which proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the close of the Company’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

The information required under this item is incorporated herein by reference to the Company’s definitive proxy statement pursuant to Regulation 14A, which proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the close of the Company’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

The information required under this item is incorporated herein by reference to the Company’s definitive proxy statement pursuant to Regulation 14A, which proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the close of the Company’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services

The information required under this item is incorporated herein by reference to the Company’s definitive proxy statement pursuant to Regulation 14A, which proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after the close of the Company’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

The following financial statements are included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K:

All other financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial and not required, or the required information is presented in the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto in Item 15 of Part IV below.

We hereby file as part of this report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549 at prescribed rates or on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.

EXHIBIT INDEX

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary

Not applicable.

PURPLE INNOVATION, INC.