SEC Company Response from EVERLAST WORLDWIDE INC (CIK 0000934795) — Jun 24, 2005
EVERLAST WORLDWIDE INC (CIK 0000934795)
Date: June 24, 2005 · CIK: 0000934795 · Accession: 0000921895-05-000994
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
Referenced dates: June 1, 2005
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June 20, 2005
Securities and Exchange Commission
Judiciary Plaza
450 Fifth Street, N.W. DIRECT DIAL: 212.451.2220
Washington, D.C. 20549-0404 EMAIL: RFRIEDMAN@OLSHANLAW.COM
Attention: Brian V. McAllister
Re: EVERLAST WORLDWIDE, INC. COMMENT LETTER TO
FORM 10-K (SEC FILE NO. 0-25918)
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We acknowledge receipt of the letter of comment dated June 1, 2005
from the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "COMMISSION LETTER") with
regard to the annual report of Everlast Worldwide, Inc., a Delaware corporation
(the "COMPANY"), on Form -10K (the "Annual Report") and filed with the
securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2005. We have reviewed the
letter with the Company and the Company's auditors and the following are the
Company's responses to the Commission Letter. The section and page number
references below refer to Annual Report. The responses are numbered to coincide
with the numbering of the comments in the Commission Letter.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS, PAGE 15
l. SEC Release No. 33-8350 provides interpretive guidance designed to
elicit a more meaningful analysis of MD&A. In addition to your current
discussion, please include further analysis explaining the underlying reasons of
known material trends, events, demands, commitments and uncertainties. Please
elaborate on the following matters:
a) Quantify the estimated impact that eliminating the women's
apparel segment and replacing it with a license arrangement will
have on your results of operations and liquidity and capital
resources;
Response: The disclosure in Item 7 of the Annual Report shall be
amended to read as follows (Please note that the changes are in bold
and italicized):
June 20, 2005
Page 2
"On December 17, 2004, the Company entered into its largest
licensing agreement in its history, whereby it licensed its United
States women's apparel business to Jacques Moret, Inc. effective
January 1, 2005. The Company believes that its decision to license
its women's apparel business was in its best interests as a result
of the licensee's ability to source product cheaper, due to the
licensee's buying power, along with the licensee's expanded
distribution available from its presence in certain channels of
distribution. THE DISCONTINUANCE OF THE WOMEN'S APPAREL COMPONENT
AND ITS REPLACEMENT WITH THE LICENSE ARRANGEMENT, WOULD HAVE
IMPROVED THE COMPANY'S NET INCOME AVAILABLE TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS
BY APPROXIMATELY $750,000 IN 2004, HAD THE TRANSACTION BEEN
COMPLETED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, AFTER GIVING AFFECT TO
INCOME TAXES, AND DIVIDENDS ASSOCIATED WITH ITS SERIES A PREFERRED
STOCK. THE COMPANY BELIEVES THAT ITS RESULTS OF OPERATIONS WILL
BENEFIT IN 2005 AS WELL. IN ADDITION, THE COMPANY'S WORKING CAPITAL
REQUIREMENTS WOULD HAVE BEEN DECREASED IN 2004, AND IS EXPECTED TO
DECREASE IN 2005 AND THEREAFTER AS A RESULT OF CARRYING LOWER LEVELS
OF ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE AND INVENTORY. Accordingly, the Company has
reported its results of operations on a GAAP basis, which includes
the application of SFAS No. 144 "Accounting for the Disposal of
Long-Lived Assets" which requires it to report its results of
operations of its women's apparel business as a discontinued
component for all current and prior periods presented."
b) In your discussion of licensing revenues disclose the number of
new and pre-existing licensees, revenues attributable to new
license arrangements, changes in revenue for pre-existing
licenses and average revenue per license agreement in existence
for the past two fiscal periods;
Response: The disclosure in Item 7 of the Annual Report shall be
amended to read as follows (Please note that the changes are in bold
and italicized):
"Net licensing revenues were $9.1 million for the year ended 2004 as
compared to $6.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2003. THE
INCREASE OF $2.4 MILLION, OR 35.8%, IN LICENSING REVENUES IN 2004
OVER 2003 WAS LARGELY A RESULT OF NEW LICENSES ENTERED INTO ($1.5
MILLION) AS WELL AS INCREASES IN REVENUES GENERATED FROM EXISTING
LICENSES, PRIMARILY OVERAGES EARNED ($.9 MILLION). IN 2004 WE HAD 64
PRE-EXISTING LICENSES, TERMINATED 5 LICENSES AND ENTERED INTO 25 NEW
LICENSE ARRANGEMENTS. THE AVERAGE REVENUE FOR LICENSE AGREEMENTS IN
EXISTENCE FOR THE PAST TWO FISCAL PERIODS IS APPROXIMATELY $120,000.
THERE HAS BEEN NO CHANGE TO THE AGGREGATE REVENUE ATTRIBUTABLE TO
PRE-EXISTING LICENSES."
c) Explain why selling and shipping costs were a smaller percentage
of revenue for 2004 in comparison to 2003 in light of increasing
fuel costs and the elimination of the women's apparel business
as well as the fixed nature of your transportation costs.
Further, if you have a contractual obligation for your
transportation costs, please include it in your table of
contractual obligations to the extent material;
June 20, 2005
Page 3
Response: The disclosure in Item 7 of the Annual Report shall be
amended to read as follows (Please note that the changes are in bold
and italicized):
"Selling and shipping costs were approximately $8.8 million for each
of the years ended 2004 (20% of net revenues) and 2003 (22% of net
revenues). WHILE THE COMPANY INCURRED HIGHER FUEL COSTS (WE DO NOT
HAVE ANY CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS FOR ITS TRANSPORTATION COSTS), IT
ELIMINATED A HIGHER DOLLAR VALUE OF FIXED SELLING COSTS FROM THE
DISCONTINUANCE OF ITS WOMEN'S COMPONENT (PRINCIPALLY SALARIES AND
BENEFITS), IN PROPORTION TO THE RELATED NET REVENUE BASE, CAUSING
SELLING AND SHIPPING COSTS TO DECLINE AS A PERCENTAGE OF NET
REVENUES."
d) Provide a meaningful analysis that quantifies and explains your
strategy to meet your operating cash flow needs and contractual
obligations for the upcoming period rather than recite the
results of your cash flow statement;
Response: The following paragraph shall be added to page 19 at the
conclusion of the Liquidity and Capital Resources section of the
Annual Report:
"THE COMPANY'S CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS CONSIST MAINLY OF THE ITS
OBLIGATION TO REDEEM CERTAIN OF THE SERIES A REDEEMABLE
PARTICIPATING PREFERRED STOCK AND TO PAY ASSOCIATED DIVIDENDS, AS
DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY. AS DISCUSSED IN THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPHS, THE
COMPANY'S CONTRACTUAL NEEDS ARE SATISFIED. THE COMPANY ALSO DOES NOT
PLAN TO SPEND SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS FOR CAPITAL EXPENDITURES IN 2005."
e) Identify and describe unused internal and external sources of
liquidity and unused sources of liquid assets.
Response: The following paragraph shall be added at the end of the
2005 Liquidity Outlook section of the Annual Report:
"THE COMPANY'S ONLY OTHER EXTERNAL SOURCE OF LIQUIDITY WOULD BE A
SECOND LIEN ON ITS FACILITY IN MOBERLY MISSOURI, WHICH IT OWNS. THE
FACILITY WAS RECENTLY APPRAISED FOR $4 MILLION AND HAS AN EXISTING
MORTGAGE OF APPROXIMATELY $3 MILLION."
2. In your table of contractual obligations, please include interest
and deferred financing payments on long-term debt and notes payable, dividend
payments on Series A participating preferred stock and purchase obligations to
the extent firm as of the balance sheet date. Also, to the extent necessary,
include a footnote disclosure of pertinent information necessary to understand
assumptions used calculating tabular amounts. See Item 303 (a)(5)(ii)(A) of
Regulation S-K and Section IV of SEC Release 33-8350.
Response: The Company's table of contractual obligations did not
include deferred financing payments of $570,000 of which $380,000 is
due within one year and $190,000 is due in 2006. In addition, since
June 20, 2005
Page 4
the Company's Series A Preferred Stock contains a dividend, which is
based on a percentage of after tax profits, the Company cannot at
this time provide what contractual commitment it will have.
The table of contractual obligations shall be amended to read as
follows (Please note that the classification "debt instruments" has
been changed to read as "long term debt obligations):
"Obligations for all Preferred Stock Redemptions, debt instruments,
capital and operating leases and other contractual obligations are
as follows:
Payments Due by Period (In 000's)
-----------------------------------------------
Less than
Total 1 Year 1-3 Years 3-5 Years
-----------------------------------------------
Preferred Stock redemptions
and notes payable $29,000 $ 3,000 $21,000 $ 5,000
DEFERRED FINANCING ON NOTES PAYABLE 570 380 190
LONG TERM DEBT OBLIGATIONS and capital
lease obligations 2,893 249 2,644 --
Operating leases 1,616 422 1,194 --
---------------------------------------------
Total contractual cash obligations $34,079 $ 4,051 $25,028 $ 5,000
========= ======= ======= =======
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK, PAGE 21
3. Please advise or revise your disclosure to provide quantitative
information for interest rate, foreign currency and commodity price risks, if
applicable, in one of the three suggested disclosure alternatives in Item
305(a)(i)(A)(1), (2) and (3) of Regulation S-K. In your response please show us
what your revised disclosures will look like.
Response: The disclosure in Item 7A of the Annual Report shall be
amended to read as follows (Please note that the changes are in bold
and italicized):
"Interest: From time to time the Company invests its excess cash in
interest-bearing temporary investments of high-quality issuers. Due
to the short time the investments are outstanding and their general
liquidity, these instruments are classified as cash equivalents in
the Company's consolidated balance sheet and the Company believes
that these investments do not represent a material interest rate
risk to it. The Company's long-term debt obligations are the
mortgage loan on its Moberly facility and its equipment finance
obligations. The Company believes that these long-term debt
obligations do not represent a material interest rate risk to the
Company. The Company's notes payable to its Principal Preferred
Stockholder has been set at a fixed rate of interest. BASED ON THE
COMPANY'S AVERAGE OUTSTANDING DEBT INSTRUMENTS SUBJECT TO VARIABLE
INTEREST RATES UNDER ITS $20 MILLION LINE OF CREDIT, FOR THE YEAR
June 20, 2005
Page 5
ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2004 OF $16.6 MILLION, A 50 BASIS POINT CHANGE IN
THE BASE RATE WOULD RESULT IN AN APPROXIMATELY $83,000 CHANGE IN
INTEREST EXPENSE."
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES, PAGE 71
4. Item 307 of Regulation S-K requires that your certifying officers
disclose their conclusions regarding the effectiveness of your disclosure
controls and procedures, not their adequacy. Please revise accordingly.
Response: The disclosure on page 21 of the Annual Report shall be
amended to read as follows (Please note that the changes are in bold
and italicized):
"(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures.
Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have
reviewed our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the
period covered by this Report. Based upon this review, these
officers concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this
Report, our disclosure controls and procedures are EFFECTIVE IN
ENSURING that information required to be disclosed by the Company in
the reports it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded,
processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods
specified in applicable rules and forms."
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULE AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K, PAGE 22
5. Please include reconciliation for sales allowances and restructuring
liabilities or refer us to your existing disclosure. In your response please
show us what your revised financial statement schedule will look like. Reference
is made to Rule 12-9 of Regulation S-X.
Response: Please see the revised Schedule II attached as Exhibit 1,
which shall be included in the Annual Report amendment in lieu of
the prior Schedule II.
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED AUDITOR'S REPORT, PAGE 1-F
6. Please advise or revise the auditor's signature to reflect the
entire name of the PCAOB registered independent accounting firm, Berenson &
Company LLP. Also, revise the heading of your report to conform to Auditing
Standard No. 1, as adopted by the PCAOB.
Response: Please refer to your current records that indicate the
correct name is Berenson LLP, effective January 1, 2004. In
addition, the report of Berenson LLP should state Report of
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm and will be revised.
June 20, 2005
Page 6
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS, PAGE 2-F
7. Please provide the gross amounts of accounts receivable assigned to
factor and amounts due to factor as of December 31, 2004 and 2003 and discuss
the legal, contractual or other right to set off that exists and how you satisfy
all of the