Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”) includes statements of our expectations, intentions, plans and beliefs that constitute “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 and are intended to come within the safe harbor protection provided by those sections. These forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties. The nature of our operations and the environment in which we operate subject us to changing economic, competitive, regulatory and technological conditions, risks and uncertainties. The statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this Annual Report are forward-looking statements. Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this document may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "will," "intend," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "should," "plan," "estimate," "potential," or similar expressions. Factors which could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to: changes in the confectionery business environment, seasonality, consumer interest in our products, general economic conditions, the success of U-Swirl, Inc., receptiveness of our products internationally, consumer and retail trends, costs and availability of raw materials, competition, the success of our co-branding strategy, the success of international expansion efforts and the effect of government regulations. Government regulations which we and our franchisees either are or may be subject to and which could cause results to differ from forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: local, state and federal laws regarding health, sanitation, safety, building and fire codes, franchising, employment, manufacturing, packaging and distribution of food products and motor carriers. For a detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements contained herein, please see the “Risk Factors” contained in this Annual Report in Item 1A. These forward-looking statements apply only as of the date of this Annual Report. As such they should not be unduly relied upon for more current circumstances. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that might reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this Annual Report or those that might reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
PART I.
General
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and our subsidiaries (including our operating subsidiary with the same name, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc., a Colorado corporation) (collectively, the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is an international franchisor, confectionery manufacturer and retail operator. Founded in 1981, we are headquartered in Durango, Colorado and manufacture an extensive line of premium chocolate candies and other confectionery products. Our subsidiary, U-Swirl, Inc. (“U-Swirl”), franchises and operates soft-serve frozen yogurt stores. Our revenue and profitability are derived principally from our franchised/license system of retail stores that feature chocolate, frozen yogurt and other confectionary products. We also sell our candy in selected locations outside of our system of retail stores and license the use of our brand with certain consumer products. As of March 31, 2015, there were 4 Company-owned, 88 licensee-owned and 276 franchised Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory stores operating in 40 states, Canada, Japan, South Korea, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. As of March 31, 2015, U-Swirl operated 10 Company-owned stores and 237 franchised stores located in 37 states, Canada, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. In FY 2014, U-Swirl acquired the franchise rights of frozen yogurt stores branded as “Cherryberry,” “Yogli Mogli” and “Fuzzy Peach,” and U-Swirl operates self-serve frozen yogurt cafes under the names “U-Swirl,” “Yogurtini,” “CherryBerry,” “Josie’s Frozen Yogurt,” “Yogli Mogli Frozen Yogurt,” “Fuzzy Peach Frozen Yogurt,” and “Aspen Leaf Yogurt”. Effective March 1, 2015, we reorganized to create a holding company structure. Our operating subsidiary with the same name , Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc., a Colorado corporation (“RMCF”), which was previously the public company, became a wholly-owned subsidiary of a newly formed entity, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Newco”), and all of the outstanding shares of common stock of RMCF was exchanged on a one-for-one basis for shares of common stock of Newco. Our new holding company began trading on March 2, 2015 on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “RMCF”, which was the same symbol used by RMCF prior to the holding company reorganization.
In January 2013, through our wholly-owned subsidiaries, including Aspen Leaf Yogurt, LLC (“ALY”), we entered into two agreements to sell all of the assets of our ALY frozen yogurt stores, along with our interest in the self-serve frozen yogurt franchises and retail units branded as “Yogurtini” which we also acquired in January 2013, to U-Swirl, a publicly traded company (OTCQB: SWRL), in exchange for a 60% controlling equity interest in U-Swirl. Upon completion of these transactions, we ceased to directly operate any Company-owned Aspen Leaf Yogurt locations or sell and support frozen yogurt franchise locations, which is now being supported by U-Swirl. As of February 28, 2015, we held a 39% interest in U-Swirl. Additionally, we have the right to acquire approximately 26,271,000 shares of common stock of U-Swirl through the conversion of convertible debt owed by U-Swirl to our company. If the Company exercised this conversion right, we believe we would hold approximately 72% of U-Swirl’s common stock. The Company entered into the promissory note used to finance the acquisitions of U-Swirl and entered into a loan and security agreement with U-Swirl. The loan and security agreement between the Company and U-Swirl is subject to various financial and leverage covenants. U-Swirl was not compliant with the covenants at February 28, 2015. The loan covenants required U-Swirl to maintain consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $1,804,000 for the year ended February 28, 2015. At February 28, 2015 U-Swirl had reported $1,284,000 of adjusted EBITDA. In the event of default, we may charge interest on all amounts due under the loan agreement with U-Swirl at the default rate of 15% per annum, accelerate payment of all amounts due under the Loan Agreement, and foreclose on our security interest. At February 28, 2015 we believe that the conversion of the loan into preferred stock as settlement of the obligation would result in 70% more preferred shares issued when compared to the amount issuable if U-Swirl was compliant with the loan covenants.
Approximately 55% of the products sold at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory stores are prepared on the premises. We believe that in-store preparation of products creates a special store ambiance, and the aroma and sight of products being made attracts foot traffic and assures customers that products are fresh.
Our principal competitive strengths lie in our brand name recognition, our reputation for the quality, variety and taste of our products, the special ambiance of our stores, our knowledge and experience in applying criteria for selection of new store locations, our expertise in the manufacture of chocolate candy products and the merchandising and marketing of confectionary products, and the control and training infrastructures we have implemented to assure consistent customer service and execution of successful practices and techniques at our stores.
We believe our manufacturing expertise and reputation for quality has facilitated the sale of selected products through specialty markets. We are currently selling our products in a select number of specialty markets including wholesale, fundraising, corporate sales, mail order, private label and internet sales.
U-Swirl cafés and associated brands are designed to be attractive to customers by offering the following:
We believe that these characteristics provide U-Swirl with the ability to compete successfully in the retail frozen yogurt industry. While U-Swirl continues to pursue locations with the characteristics described above, we recognize that its acquisition strategy may lead U-Swirl to purchase competitors with diverse layouts.
The trade dress of the Aspen Leaf Yogurt, CherryBerry, Yogli Mogli, Josie’s Frozen Yogurt, Fuzzy Peach and Yogurtini locations are similar to that of U-Swirl, although their locations use different color schemes and are typically smaller than the U-Swirl cafés.
Our consolidated revenues are primarily derived from three principal sources: (i) sales to franchisees and other third parties of chocolates and other confectionery products manufactured by us (62%-64%-68%); (ii) sales at Company-owned stores of chocolates, other confectionery products and frozen yogurt (including products manufactured by us) (15%-17%-15%) and (iii) the collection of initial franchise fees and royalties from franchisees (23%-19%-17%). Approximately 97% of our revenues are derived from domestic sources, with 3% derived from international sources. The figures in parentheses above show the percentage of total revenues attributable to each source for the fiscal years (“FY”) 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
According to the National Confectioners Association, the total U.S. candy market approximated $33.6 billion of retail sales in 2013 with chocolate generating sales of approximately $20.6 billion and sales per capita of $106.19, an increase of 1.8% when compared to 2012. According to the Department of Commerce, per capita consumption of chocolate in 2010 was approximately 14 pounds per year nationally.
According to Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts in the U.S.: Markets and Opportunities in Retail and Foodservice, 6th Edition, published in January 2010 by Packaged Facts (the “Packaged Facts Report”), the frozen dessert industry is a large and growing industry. In 2009, the U.S. market for ice cream and related frozen desserts, including frozen yogurt and frozen novelties, grew two percent to $25 billion.
Business Strategy
Our objective is to build on our position as a leading international franchisor and manufacturer of high quality chocolate and other confectionery products. We continually seek opportunities to profitably expand our business. To accomplish this objective, we employ a business strategy that includes the following elements: