Abercrombie & Fitch Co

While we must keep up to date with technology trends in the retail environment in order to manage our successful omnichannel shopping experience, it is possible these initiatives may not provide the anticipated benefits or desired rates of return. For example, we could be at a competitive disadvantage if we are unable to effectively collect data and leverage data analytics to retrieve timely, customer insights to appropriately respond to customer demands and improve customer engagement across channels or if innovative digital products and features we develop are not utilized or received by customers as anticipated.

In addition, digital operations are subject to numerous risks, including reliance on third-party computer hardware/software and service providers, data breaches, the variability of the rate of merchandise returns, violations of evolving government interpretations of laws and regulations, including those relating to online privacy, credit card fraud, telecommunication failures, electronic break-ins and similar compromises, and disruption of services. Changes in foreign governmental regulations and interpretations may also negatively impact our omnichannel operations, including our ability to accept orders and deliver product to our customers. Failure to successfully respond to these risks may adversely affect sales as well as damage the reputation of our brands.

If our information technology systems are disrupted or fail to operate effectively, or if we are unable to successfully implement new technology, including significant system upgrades, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We rely heavily on our own information technology systems and on third-party systems in both our customer-facing and corporate operations to operate our websites and mobile apps; process transactions; respond to customer inquiries; manage inventory; purchase, sell, and ship merchandise; maintain our loyalty programs; manage our workforce; and support other customer-facing and business objectives. Given the significant number of transactions completed annually, the effective and secure operation of our computer hardware, telecommunications, and software systems is critical. Despite efforts to prevent such occurrences, our systems may be vulnerable from time to time to damage or interruption resulting from computer viruses, power interruptions or outages, system failures, third-party intrusions, inadvertent or intentional breaches by our associates, third-party service providers or business partners, or threat actors, and other technical malfunctions. The increasing sophistication, availability, and use of AI by threat actors further elevates these risks. If our systems are damaged, fail to function properly, or become outdated relative to those of our competitors, we may be required to make significant investments to repair or replace such systems and could experience operational delays or disruptions.