Filed Pursuant to Rule424(b)(3)​

 Registration No. 333-274563​

Digital Brands Group, Inc.

32,000 Shares of Common Stock
481,875 Shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of
Pre-funded Warrants
and accompanying 513,875 Shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of
Series A Warrants and 513,875 Shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of Series B Warrants
38,541 Shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of
Placement Agent Warrants

This prospectus relates to the offer and sale from time to time by the selling stockholders identified in this prospectus of up to an aggregate of 1,580,166 shares of our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, consisting of 32,000 shares of common stock, up to 481,875 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of pre-funded warrants (the “Pre-Funded Warrants”), up to 513,875 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of Series A Warrants (the “Series A Warrants”), up to 513,875 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of Series B Warrants (the “Series B Warrants) and 38,541 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of placement agent warrants (the “Placement Agent Warrants”). Each Pre-Funded Warrant represents the right to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $0.0001 per share. The Pre-Funded Warrants are exercisable immediately and may be exercised until all pre-funded warrants are exercised in full. Each Series A Warrant has an exercise price of $9.43 per share, is immediately exercisable upon issuance and will expire on March 5, 2029. Each Series B Warrant has an exercise price of $9.43 per share, is immediately exercisable upon issuance and will expire on December 5, 2024. The Placement Agent Warrants have an exercise price of $12.16, are immediately exercisable upon issuance and will expire five and half years from the date of issuance.

We are registering the resale of the shares of common stock as required by the Registration Rights Agreement that we entered into with the selling stockholders on August 31, 2023 (the “Registration Rights Agreement”).

Our registration of the shares of common stock covered by this prospectus does not mean that the selling stockholders will offer or sell any of the shares. The selling stockholders may offer and sell or otherwise dispose of the shares of common stock described in this prospectus from time to time through public or private transactions at prevailing market prices, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at privately negotiated prices. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page 104 for more information.

We are not selling any shares of common stock and will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale by the selling stockholders of the shares of common stock offered hereby. Upon the exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants, Series A Warrants, Series B Warrants and Placement Agent Warrants for all 1,548,166 shares of our common stock by payment of cash, however, we will receive aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $10 million.

The selling stockholders will pay all underwriting discounts and selling commissions, if any, in connection with the sale of the shares of common stock. We have agreed to pay certain expenses in connection with this registration statement and to indemnify the selling stockholders and certain related persons against certain liabilities. As of the date of this prospectus, no underwriter or other person has been engaged to facilitate the sale of shares of common stock in this prospectus.

Our shares of common stock and warrants are traded on the NasdaqCM under the symbols “DBGI” and “DBGIW,” respectively. On September 14, 2023, the closing sale prices of our common stock and public warrants were $11.29 per share and $12.60 per public warrant, respectively.

You should consider carefully the risks that we have described in “Risk Factors” beginning on page 8 before deciding whether to invest in our common stock.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is September 25, 2023.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

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You should read this prospectus carefully before you invest. It contains important information you should consider when making your investment decision. You should rely only on the information provided in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information.

The information in this document may only be accurate on the date of this document. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.

We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectuses prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the shares offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus is accurate only as of its date regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of common stock.

To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus, on the one hand, and the information contained in any document incorporated by reference filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) before the date of this prospectus, on the other hand, you should rely on the information in this prospectus. If any statement in a document incorporated by reference is inconsistent with a statement in another document incorporated by reference having a later date, the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement. This prospectus contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described below under “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Neither we nor the placement agent have done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons who come into possession of this prospectus and any free writing prospectus in jurisdictions outside the United States are required to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions as to this offering and the distribution of this prospectus and any free writing prospectus applicable to that jurisdiction.

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus contain market data and industry statistics and forecasts that are based on independent industry publications and other publicly available information. Although we believe that these sources are reliable, we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information and we have not independently verified this information. Although we are not aware of any misstatements regarding the market and industry data presented or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, these estimates involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” and any related free writing prospectus. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on this information.

 

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements, which reflect the views of our management with respect to future events and financial performance. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “targets,” and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements may be contained in the sections “Risk Factors,” and “Business,” among other places in this prospectus. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are based on the information available to management at this time and which speak only as of this date. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For a discussion of some of the factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements, please read carefully the information under “Risk Factors.”

The identification in this document of factors that may affect future performance and the accuracy of forward-looking statements is meant to be illustrative and by no means exhaustive. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. You may rely only on the information contained in this prospectus.

We have not authorized anyone to provide information different from that contained in this prospectus. Neither the delivery of this prospectus nor the sale of our common stock means that information contained in this prospectus is correct after the date of this prospectus. This prospectus is not an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy these securities in any circumstances under which the offer or solicitation is unlawful.

 

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below before making an investment decision. If any of the following risks are realized, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Financial Condition and Business

We have incurred significant net losses since our inception and cannot assure you that we will achieve or maintain profitable operations.

We have incurred significant net losses since inception. Our net loss was approximately $1.1 million, $38.0 million and $32.4 million for six months ended June 30, 2023 and the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. As of June 30, 2023, we had an accumulated deficit of $104.8 million. We may continue to incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays, and other unknown events, as well as the inflationary and potentially recessive economic environment. We anticipate that our operating expenses will increase substantially in the foreseeable future as we undertake the acquisition and integration of different brands, incur expenses associated with maintaining compliance as a public company, and increased marketing and sales efforts to increase our customer base. These increased expenditures may make it more difficult to achieve and maintain profitability. In addition, our efforts to grow our business may be more expensive than we expect, and we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to offset increased operating expenses. If we are required to reduce our expenses, our growth strategy could be materially affected. We will need to generate and sustain significant revenue levels in future periods in order to become profitable, and, even if we do, we may not be able to maintain or increase our level of profitability.

Accordingly, we cannot assure you that we will achieve sustainable operating profits as we continue to expand our product offerings and infrastructure, further develop our marketing efforts, and otherwise implement our growth initiatives. Any failure to achieve and maintain profitability would have a materially adverse effect on our ability to implement our business plan, our results and operations, and our financial condition.

If we do not obtain adequate capital funding or improve our financial performance, we may not be able to continue as a going concern.

We have incurred a net loss in each year since our inception and expect to incur losses in future periods as we continue to increase our expenses in order to grow our business. We have a working capital deficit of $16.0 million as of June 30, 2023. These factors raise substantial doubt about our Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we are unable to obtain adequate funding or if we are unable to grow our revenue substantially to achieve and sustain profitability, we may not be able to continue as a going concern. The report of our independent registered public accounting firm for the year ended December 31, 2022 included herein contains an explanatory paragraph indicating that there is substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern as a result of recurring losses from operations.

We have an immediate need to raise additional funds to support our operations. If we are unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, we will be required to significantly delay, scale back or restrict our operations or obtain funds by entering into agreements on unattractive terms, which would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, stock price and our relationships with third parties with whom we have business relationships, at least until additional funding is obtained. If we do not have sufficient funds to continue operations, we could be required to seek bankruptcy protection or other alternatives that would likely result in our stockholders losing some or all of their investment in us. In addition, our ability to achieve profitability or to respond to competitive pressures would be significantly limited.

The amount and timing of our future funding requirements depends on many factors, including

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The timing and cost of potential future acquisitions;

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Integration of the businesses that we have acquired or may acquire in the future;

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The hiring of additional management and other personnel as we continue to grow; and

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Any costs associated with any build-out and opening of showrooms, as needed, for certain of our brands.

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We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, we have in the past and may in the future be restricted or limited by our current outstanding indebtedness on our ability to enter into additional indebtedness and any future debt financing based upon covenants that restrict our operations, including limitations on our ability to incur liens or additional debt, pay dividends, redeem our stock, make certain investments and engage in certain merger, consolidation or asset sale transactions.

If we are not able to comply with the applicable continued listing requirements or standards of NasdaqCM, NasdaqCM could delist our common stock.

Our common stock is listed on the NasdaqCM. In order to maintain that listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other continued listing requirements and standards, including those regarding director independence and independent committee requirements, minimum stockholders’ equity, minimum share price, and certain corporate governance requirements. There can be no assurances that we will be able to comply with the applicable listing standards.

On May 31, 2022, we received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Staff (the “Staff”) of Nasdaq indicating that the bid price of our common stock had closed below $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive business days and, as a result, we are not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2), which sets forth the minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market (the “Minimum Bid Requirement”).

Nasdaq’s notice has no immediate effect on the listing of common stock on Nasdaq. Pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), we were afforded a 180-calendar day grace period, through November 28, 2022, to regain compliance with the bid price requirement. Compliance can be achieved by evidencing a closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share for a minimum of ten consecutive business days (but generally not more than 20 consecutive business days) during the 180-calendar day grace period.

If we did not regain compliance with the bid price requirement by November 28, 2022, we were eligible for an additional 180-calendar day compliance period so long as it satisfies the criteria for initial listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market and the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and we provide written notice to Nasdaq of its intention to cure the deficiency during the second compliance period by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary. In the event we were not eligible for the second grace period, the Nasdaq staff would provide written notice that our Common Stock is subject to delisting; however, we may request a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”), which request, if timely made, would stay any further suspension or delisting action by the Staff pending the conclusion of the hearing process and expiration of any extension that may be granted by the Panel.

On January 19, 2022, we received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq notifying us that our common stock Market Value of Listed Securities (“MVLS”) had been below the minimum $35,000,000 required for continued inclusion as set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2) (“MVLS Requirement”).

The letter also stated that we would be provided 180 calendar days, or until July 18, 2022, to regain compliance with the MVLS Requirement (“Compliance Period”). If we did not regain compliance within the Compliance Period, we would receive a written notification from Nasdaq that our securities are subject to delisting. At that time, we could appeal the delisting determination to a Hearings Panel.

On July 21, 2022, we received a letter from Nasdaq stating that the Company had not regained compliance with the MVLS Standard, since our common stock was below the $35 million minimum MVLS requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(2)(the “MLVS Rule”) and had not been at least $35 million for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days at any time during the 180-day grace period granted to us.

 

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Pursuant to the Letter, unless we requested a hearing to appeal this determination by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 28, 2022, our Common Stock would be delisted from The Nasdaq Capital Market, trading of our Common Stock would be suspended at the opening of business on August 1, 2022, and a Form 25-NSE will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which would have remove our securities from listing and registration on Nasdaq.

On July 27, 2022, the Company requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”) to appeal the Letter on July 21, 2022. The request for a hearing was granted and held on September 8, 2022.

On September 21, 2022, the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel (the “Hearings Panel”) granted the Company an extension until January 17, 2022, to demonstrate compliance with Listing Rule 5550(b)(1) to allow continued listing requirement of The Nasdaq Capital Market, conditioned upon achievement of certain milestones included in a plan of compliance which the Company previously submitted to the Hearings Panel. On November 29, 2022, Nasdaq formally notified the Company that it had regained compliance with the Bid Price Rule.

On November 3, 2022, the Company received notice from the Staff that the Company’s bid price had closed below $0.10 per share for the preceding ten consecutive trading days, in contravention of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(3)(A)(iii) and, as a result, the Panel would consider the deficiency as an additional basis for delisting.

Effective as of 5:00 pm EST on November 3, 2022, the Company implemented a reverse stock split at a ratio of 1-for-100 shares, which the Company believed would remedy both the $0.10 threshold price deficiency and the $1.00 bid price deficiency cited by the Staff. In order to evidence compliance with Nasdaq’s bid price criteria, the Company must evidence a closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share for a minimum of 10 (though generally not more than 20) consecutive business days. As of the close of business on November 11, 2022, the Company had evidenced a closing bid price in excess of $1.00 per share for six consecutive business days.

On January 17, 2023, the Company was notified by the Panel that the Company had evidenced compliance with all applicable requirements for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market, including the $2.5 million stockholders’ equity requirement set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b). The Company remained subject to a “Panel Monitor,” as that term is defined by Nasdaq Listing Rule 5815(d)(4)(A), through January 17, 2024.

On May 23, 2023, the Company received a letter (the “Letter”) the Staff of Nasdaq notifying the Company that the Staff has determined to delist the Company’s common stock from Nasdaq based on the Company’s failure to comply with the listing requirements of Nasdaq Rule 5550(b)(1) as a result of the Company’s stockholders’ deficit for the period ended June 30, 2023, as demonstrated in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 22, 2023, while the Company was under a Panel Monitor as had been previously disclosed. The Letter stated that the Company’s securities would be subject to delisting unless the Company timely requests a hearing before the Panel. Accordingly, the Company timely requested a hearing before a Panel. The hearing request automatically stayed any suspension or delisting action pending the hearing and the expiration of any additional extension period granted by the Panel following the hearing. At the hearing, the Company presented its plan for regaining and sustaining compliance with all applicable requirements for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market.

On July 27, 2023, the Company received a letter (the “Determination”) from the Staff notifying the Company that the Panel granted the Company’s request to continue listing on Nasdaq, subject to the Company’s demonstration of compliance: (i) with the bid price rule by evidencing a closing bid price of $1 or more per share for a minimum of ten consecutive trading sessions on or before September 6, 2023, and (ii) with the $2.5 million stockholders’ equity requirement, set forth in Listing Rule 5550(b)(1), on or before September 15, 2023.

Although the Company has taken efforts to improve its stockholders’ equity, including converting a portion of its outstanding liabilities into preferred stock of the Company and obtaining certain stockholders’ waiver of anti-dilution rights, there can be no assurance that we will be successful in our efforts to maintain the Nasdaq listing. In addition to the Company’s efforts to improve its stockholders’ equity, the Company effected a reverse stock split of the Company’s outstanding common stock at an exchange ratio of 1-for-25 on

 

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August 22, 2023 to achieve the requisite increase in the market price of our common stock to be in compliance with the minimum bid price of Nasdaq.

If our Common Stock and warrants cease to be listed for trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market, we would expect that our Common Stock and warrants would be traded on one of the three tiered marketplaces of the OTC Markets Group. If Nasdaq were to delist our common stock and warrants, it would be more difficult for our stockholders to dispose of our common stock or warrants and more difficult to obtain accurate price quotations on our common stock or warrants. Our ability to issue additional securities for financing or other purposes, or otherwise to arrange for any financing we may need in the future, may also be materially and adversely affected if our common stock or warrants are not listed on a national securities exchange. The OTC Markets (the “OTC Mkts”) are generally regarded as a less efficient trading market than the NASDAQ Capital or Global Markets or the New York Stock Exchange.

Although the OTC Mkts do not have any listing requirements, to be eligible for quotation on the OTC Mkts, issuers must remain current in their filings with the SEC or applicable regulatory authority. If we are not able to pay the expenses associated with our reporting obligations, we will not be able to apply for quotation on the OTC Board. Market makers are not permitted to begin quotation of a security whose issuer does not meet this filing requirement. If we are delisted to the OTC Mkts and no market is ever developed for our common stock or warrants, it will be difficult for you to sell any shares you purchase in this offering. In such a case, you may find that you are unable to achieve any benefit from your investment or liquidate your shares without considerable delay, if at all.

If we subsequently fail to maintain or regain compliance with the minimum listing requirements, our Common Stock will be subject to delisting immediately. Our ability to publicly or privately sell equity securities and the liquidity of our Common Stock could be adversely affected if our Common Stock is delisted.

Even though our reverse stock split was effected, some or all of the expected benefits discussed above may not be realized or maintained. The market price of our Common Stock will continue to be based, in part, on our performance and other factors unrelated to the number of shares outstanding. The Reverse Stock Split reduced the number of outstanding shares of our Common Stock without reducing the number of shares of available but unissued Common Stock, which will also have the effect of increasing the number of shares of Common Stock available for issuance. The issuance of additional shares of our Common Stock may have a dilutive effect on the ownership of existing stockholders. The current economic environment in which we operate, the debt we carry, along with otherwise volatile equity market conditions, could limit our ability to raise new equity capital in the future.

While Nasdaq rules do not impose a specific limit on the number of times a listed company may effect a reverse stock split to maintain or regain compliance with the Bid Price Rule, Nasdaq has stated that a series of reverse stock splits may undermine investor confidence in securities listed on Nasdaq. Accordingly, Nasdaq may determine that it is not in the public interest to maintain our listing, even if we regain compliance with the Bid Price Rule as a result of the Reverse Stock Split. In addition, Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A)(iv) states that any listed company that fails to meet the Bid Price Rule after effecting one or more reverse stock splits over the prior two-year period with a cumulative ratio of 250 shares or more to one, then the company is not eligible for a Minimum Bid Price Rule Compliance Period. As a result, since the Company had effected an one-for-one hundred (1-for-100) reverse stock split of its Common Stock on November 3, 2022, and the Reverse Stock Split at a ratio of 1-for-25, which was a ratio more than 1-for-2.5, effective August 22, 2023, if we subsequently fail to satisfy the Bid Price Rule, Nasdaq may begin the process of delisting our Common Stock without providing a Minimum Bid Price Rule Compliance Period.

Widespread outbreak of an illness or any other public health crisis, including the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic, could materially and adversely affect, and has materially and adversely affected, our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business has been, and will continue to be, impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic in countries where our suppliers, third-party service providers or consumers are located. These effects include recommendations or mandates from governmental authorities to close businesses, limit travel, avoid large gatherings or to self-quarantine, as well as temporary closures and decreased operations of the

 

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facilities of our suppliers, service providers and customers. The impacts on us have included, and in the future could include, but are not limited to:

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significant uncertainty and turmoil in global economic and financial market conditions causing, among other things: decreased consumer confidence and decreased consumer spending, now and in the mid and long-term. Specifically, COVID has impacted our business in several ways, including store closings, supply chain disruptions and delivery delays, meaningfully lower net revenue, furloughs and layoffs of 52 employees and increased costs to operate our warehouse to ensure a healthy and safe work environment. Approximately 220 boutique stores where we sold our products closed temporarily and permanently in 2020 and into 2021, representing a reduction in approximately 40% of such stores prior to COVID. Additionally, approximately 40 department stores that carried our products have closed as well, representing a reduction of approximately 35% of such stores prior to COVID. We do not anticipate the department stores will open those stores back up, and we do not anticipate a majority of the closed boutique stores will reopen. We also waited to hire a new Creative Director until the summer, once we knew that stores would open back up at some capacity. This delay in hiring a new designer also impacted the first half of 2021;

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inability to access financing in the credit and capital markets at reasonable rates (or at all) in the event we, or our suppliers find it desirable to do so, increased exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates relative to the U.S. Dollar, and volatility in the availability and prices for commodities and raw materials we use for our products and in our supply chain. Specifically, the pandemic shut down our supply chain for several months in 2020, and delayed deliveries throughout the year;

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inability to meet our consumers’ needs for inventory production and fulfillment due to disruptions in our supply chain and increased costs associated with mitigating the effects of the pandemic caused by, among other things: reduction or loss of workforce due to illness, quarantine or other restrictions or facility closures, scarcity of and/or increased prices for raw materials, scrutiny or embargoing of goods produced in infected areas, and increased freight and logistics costs, expenses and times; failure of third parties on which we rely, including our suppliers, customers, distributors, service providers and commercial banks, to meet their obligations to us or to timely meet those obligations, or significant disruptions in their ability to do so, which may be caused by their own financial or operational difficulties, including business failure or insolvency and collectability of existing receivables; and

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significant changes in the conditions in markets in which we do business, including quarantines, governmental or regulatory actions, closures or other restrictions that limit or close our operating and manufacturing facilities and restrict our employees’ ability to perform necessary business functions, including operations necessary for the design, development, production, distribution, sale, marketing and support of our products. Specifically, we had to furlough and layoff a significant amount of employees to adjust to our lower revenues.

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Any of these impacts could place limitations on our ability to execute on our business plan and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We continue to monitor the situation and may adjust our current policies and procedures as more information and guidance become available regarding the evolving situation. The impact of COVID-19 may also exacerbate other risks discussed in this “Risk Factors” section, any of which could have a material effect on us. This situation is changing rapidly and additional impacts may arise that we are not aware of currently.

If our efforts to locate desirable targets are unsuccessful or if we are unable to acquire desirable companies on commercially reasonable terms, we may not be able to grow the business and our revenues and operating results will be adversely affected.

One of our principal growth strategies has been and continues to be is to grow our business and increase our revenue through the acquisition of additional businesses within our industry. It may be difficult for us to identify desirable companies to acquire. We may face competition in our pursuit to acquire additional businesses, which could limit the number of available companies for sale and may lead to higher acquisition prices. When we identify desirable companies, their owners may not be willing to sell their companies at all or on terms that we have determined to be commercially reasonable. If our efforts to locate

 

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and acquire desirable companies on terms that are acceptable to us are not successful, our revenues and operating results may be adversely affected.

We may not be able to successfully integrate future acquisitions or generate sufficient revenues from future acquisitions, which could cause our business to suffer.

A significant part of our grown strategy is acquiring additional businesses. If we buy a company or a division of a company in the future, there can be no assurance that we will be able to profitably manage such business or successfully integrate such business without substantial costs, delays or other operational or financial problems. Acquisitions also may require us to spend a substantial portion of our available cash, incur debt or other liabilities, amortize expenses related to intangible assets, incur write-offs of goodwill or other assets or obligate us to issue a substantial number of shares of our capital stock, which would result in dilution for our existing stockholders. There can be no assurance that the businesses we acquire in the future will achieve anticipated revenues or earnings. Additionally:

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the key personnel of the acquired business may decide not to work for us;

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changes in management at an acquired business may impair its relationships with employees and customers;

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we may be unable to maintain uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies among acquired businesses;

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we may be unable to successfully implement infrastructure, logistics and systems integration;

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we may be held liable for legal claims (including environmental claims) arising out of activities of the acquired businesses prior to our acquisitions, some of which we may not have discovered during our due diligence, and we may not have indemnification claims available to us or we may not be able to realize on any indemnification claims with respect to those legal claims;

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we will assume risks associated with deficiencies in the internal controls of acquired businesses;

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we may not be able to realize the cost savings or other financial benefits we anticipated;

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we may be unable to successfully scale an acquired business; and

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our ongoing business may be disrupted or receive insufficient management attention.

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Some or all of these factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, we may not benefit from our acquisitions as we expect, or in the time frame we expect. In the apparel industry, differing brands are used to reach different market segments and capture new market share. However, not every brand deployment is successful. In addition, integrating an acquired business or technology is risky. We may incur significant costs acquiring, developing, and promoting new brands only to have limited market acceptance and limited resulting sales. If this occurs, our financial results may be negatively impacted and we may determine it is in the best interest of the Company to no longer support that brand. If a new brand does not generate sufficient revenues or if we are unable to efficiently manage our expanded operations, our results of operations will be adversely affected. Finally, acquisitions could be viewed negatively by analysts, investors or our customers.

In addition, we may not be successful in acquiring businesses and may expend time and expenses in connection with failed acquisitions. For example, the closing of the Acquisition with Sundry is subject to customary closing conditions and financing and there is no assurance that we will be able to complete the Acquisition. In addition to such time and expenses, public announcement of a failed acquisition could also negatively impact the trading price of our common stock.

We may be subject to claims arising from the operations of our various businesses for periods prior to the dates we acquired them.

We may be subject to claims or liabilities arising from the ownership or operation of acquired businesses for the periods prior to our acquisition of them, including environmental, warranty, workers’ compensation and other employee-related and other liabilities and claims not covered by insurance. These claims or liabilities could be significant. Our ability to seek indemnification from the former owners of our acquired

 

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businesses for these claims or liabilities may be limited by various factors, including the specific time, monetary or other limitations contained in the respective acquisition agreements and the financial ability of the former owners to satisfy our indemnification claims. In addition, insurance companies may be unwilling to cover claims that have arisen from acquired businesses or locations, or claims may exceed the coverage limits that our acquired businesses had in effect prior to the date of acquisition. If we are unable to successfully obtain insurance coverage of third-party claims or enforce our indemnification rights against the former owners, or if the former owners are unable to satisfy their obligations for any reason, including because of their current financial position, we could be held liable for the costs or obligations associated with such claims or liabilities, which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to acquire additional businesses may require issuances of our common stock and/or debt financing that we may be unable to obtain on acceptable terms.

The timing, size and success of our acquisition efforts and the associated capital commitments cannot be readily predicted. We intend to use our common stock, cash, debt and borrowings under our credit facility, if necessary, as consideration for future acquisitions of companies. The issuance of additional common stock in connection with future acquisitions may be dilutive to holders of shares of common stock issued in this offering. In addition, if our common stock does not maintain a sufficient market value or potential acquisition candidates are unwilling to accept common stock as part of the consideration for the sale of their businesses, we may be required to use more of our cash resources, including obtaining additional capital through debt financing. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain financing if and when it is needed or that it will be available on terms that we deem acceptable. As a result, we may be unable to pursue our acquisition strategy successfully, which may prevent us from achieving our growth objectives.

We have an amount of total liabilities which may be considered significant for a company of our size which could adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to react to changes in our business.

As of September 14, 2023, we had an aggregate principal amount of total liabilities outstanding of approximately $22.0 million, which includes approximately $7.9 owing further to outstanding debt obligations.

We believe this is an amount of total liabilities which may be considered significant for a company of our size and current revenue base. Our substantial total liabilities could have important consequences to us. For example, it could:

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make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations to the holders of our outstanding debt, resulting in possible defaults on and acceleration of such indebtedness;

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require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to make payments on our debt, which would reduce the availability of our cash flows from operations to fund working capital, capital expenditures or other general corporate purposes;

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increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions, including interest rate fluctuations;

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place us at a competitive disadvantage to our competitors with proportionately less debt for their size;

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limit our ability to refinance our existing debt or borrow additional funds in the future;

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limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changing conditions in our business; and

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limit our ability to react to competitive pressures or make it difficult for us to carry out capital spending that is necessary or important to our growth strategy.

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Any of the foregoing impacts of our substantial total liabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our debt or refinance our obligations and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under such indebtedness, which may not be successful.

Our ability to repay our total liabilities, including our ability to make scheduled payments on our debt or to refinance our obligations under our debt agreements, will depend on our financial and operating performance, which, in turn, will be subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to the financial and business risk factors we face as described in this section, many of which may be beyond our control. We may not be able to maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to repay our total liabilities, including the ability to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our debt.

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to repay our total liabilities, including the ability to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures or planned growth objectives, seek to obtain additional equity capital or restructure our debt. In the future, our cash flows and capital resources may not be sufficient for payments of interest on and principal of our debt, and such alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet scheduled debt service obligations. In addition, the recent worldwide credit crisis could make it more difficult for us to repay our total liabilities, including the ability to refinance our debt on favorable terms, or at all.

In the absence of such operating results and resources, we may be required to dispose of material assets to repay our total liabilities, including the ability to meet our debt service obligations. We may not be able to consummate those sales, or, if we do, we will not control the timing of the sales or whether the proceeds that we realize will be adequate to repay our total liabilities, including the ability to meet debt service obligations when due.

Our results of operations have been and could be in the future adversely affected as a result of asset impairments.

Our results of operations and financial condition have been and could be in the future adversely affected by impairments to goodwill, other intangible assets, receivables, long-lived assets or investments. For example, when we acquire a business, we record goodwill in an amount equal to the amount we paid for the business minus the fair value of the net tangible assets and other identifiable intangible assets of the acquired business. Goodwill and other intangible assets that have indefinite useful lives cannot be amortized, but instead must be tested at least annually for impairment.

As a result of our acquisitions of Sundry, Stateside, H&J and Bailey, our goodwill and intangible assets as of June 30, 2023 were $9.0 and $11.4 million, respectively. During the six months ended June 30, 2023 and the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we recorded impairment expense of $0, $15.5 million and $3.4 million pertaining to the goodwill and intangible assets of Bailey and H&J. Any future impairments, including impairments of goodwill, intangible assets, long-lived assets or investments, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations for the period in which the impairment is recognized.

If we fail to effectively manage our growth, our business, financial condition and operating results could be harmed.

We have grown and expect to continue to grow rapidly and to effectively manage our growth, we must continue to implement our operational plans and strategies, improve our business processes, improve and expand our infrastructure of people and information systems, and expand, train and manage our employee base. Since our inception and as a result of our acquisitions, we have rapidly increased our employee headcount across our organization to support the growth of our business. To support continued growth, we must effectively integrate, develop and motivate a large number of new employees while maintaining our corporate culture. We face significant competition for personnel. To attract top talent, we have had to offer, and expect to continue to offer, competitive compensation and benefits packages before we can validate the productivity of new employees. We may also need to increase our employee compensation levels to remain competitive in attracting and retaining talented employees. The risks associated with a rapidly growing workforce will be particularly acute as we choose to expand into new merchandise categories and internationally. Additionally, we may not be able to hire new employees quickly enough to meet our needs. If we fail to effectively manage our hiring needs or successfully integrate new hires, our efficiency, our ability

 

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to meet forecasts and our employee morale, productivity and retention could suffer, which may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

We are also required to manage numerous relationships with various vendors and other third parties. Further growth of our operations, vendor base, fulfillment center, information technology systems or internal controls and procedures may not be adequate to support our operations. If we are unable to manage the growth of our organization effectively, our business, financial condition and operating results may be adversely affected.

If we are unable to anticipate and respond to changing customer preferences and shifts in fashion and industry trends in a timely manner, our business, financial condition and operating results could be harmed.

Our success largely depends on our ability to consistently gauge tastes and trends and provide a diverse and balanced assortment of merchandise that satisfies customer demands in a timely manner. Our ability to accurately forecast demand for our products could be affected by many factors, including an increase or decrease in demand for our products or for products of our competitors, our failure to accurately forecast acceptance of new products, product introductions by competitors, unanticipated changes in general market conditions, and weakening of economic conditions or consumer confidence in future economic conditions. We typically enter into agreements to manufacture and purchase our merchandise in advance of the applicable selling season and our failure to anticipate, identify or react appropriately, or in a timely manner to changes in customer preferences, tastes and trends or economic conditions could lead to, among other things, missed opportunities, excess inventory or inventory shortages, markdowns and write-offs, all of which could negatively impact our profitability and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Failure to respond to changing customer preferences and fashion trends could also negatively impact the image of our brands with our customers and result in diminished brand loyalty.

Our business depends on our ability to maintain a strong portfolio of brands and engaged customers.. We may not be able to maintain and enhance our existing brand portfolio if we receive customer complaints, negative publicity or otherwise fail to live up to consumers’ expectations, which could materially adversely affect our business, operating results and growth prospects.

Our ability to acquire or offer new brands and maintain and enhance the appeal of our existing brands is critical to expanding our base of customers. A significant portion of our customers’ experience depends on third parties outside of our control, including vendors, suppliers and logistics providers such as FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service. If these third parties do not meet our or our customers’ expectations, including timely delivery of our products, or if they increase their rates, our business may suffer irreparable damage or our costs may increase. Also, if we fail to promote and maintain our brands, or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business, operating results and financial condition may be materially adversely affected. We anticipate that as our market becomes increasingly competitive, our ability to acquire or offer new brands and to maintain and enhance our existing brands may become increasingly difficult and expensive and will depend largely on our ability to provide high quality products to our customers and a reliable, trustworthy and profitable sales channel to our vendors, which we may not do successfully.

Customer complaints or negative publicity about our sites, products, product delivery times, customer data handling and security practices or customer support, especially on blogs, social media websites and our sites, could rapidly and severely diminish consumer use of our sites and consumer and supplier confidence in us and result in harm to our brands.

An economic downturn or economic uncertainty in the United States may adversely affect consumer discretionary spending and demand for our products.

Our operating results are affected by the relative condition of the United States economy as many of our products may be considered discretionary items for consumers. Our customers may reduce their spending and purchases due to job loss or fear of job loss, foreclosures, bankruptcies, higher consumer debt and interest rates, reduced access to credit, falling home prices, increased taxes, and/or lower consumer confidence. Consumer demand for our products may not reach our targets, or may decline, when there is an economic downturn or economic uncertainty. Current, recent past, and future conditions may also adversely affect our

 

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pricing and liquidation strategy; promotional activities, product liquidation, and decreased demand for consumer products could affect profitability and margins. Any of the foregoing factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Additionally, many of the effects and consequences of U.S. and global financial and economic conditions could potentially have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and capital resources, including the ability to raise additional capital, if needed, or could otherwise negatively affect our business and financial results. For example, global economic conditions may also adversely affect our suppliers’ access to capital and liquidity with which to maintain their inventory, production levels, and product quality and to operate their businesses, all of which could adversely affect our supply chain. Market instability could make it more difficult for us and our suppliers to accurately forecast future product demand trends, which could cause us to carry too much or too little merchandise in various product categories.

We operate in highly competitive markets and the size and resources of some of our competitors may allow them to compete more effectively than we can, resulting in a loss of our market share and a decrease in our net revenue.

The markets in which we compete are highly competitive. Competition may result in pricing pressures, reduced profit margins or lost market share, or a failure to grow or maintain our market share, any of which could substantially harm our business and results of operations. We compete directly against wholesalers and direct retailers of apparel, including large, diversified apparel companies with substantial market share and strong worldwide brand recognition. Many of our competitors, including Vince, James Perse, Rag & Bone, Madewell, AG, FRAME, All Saints, Zegna and Ralph Lauren, have significant competitive advantages, including longer operating histories, larger and broader customer bases, more established relationships with a broader set of suppliers, greater brand recognition and greater financial, research and development, marketing, distribution, and other resources than we do.

As a result, these competitors may be better equipped than we are to influence consumer preferences or otherwise increase their market share by:

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quickly adapting to changes in customer requirements or consumer preferences;

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discounting excess inventory that has been written down or written off;

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devoting resources to the marketing and sale of their products, including significant advertising campaigns, media placement, partnerships and product endorsement; and

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engaging in lengthy and costly intellectual property and other disputes.

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Our inability to compete successfully against our competitors and maintain our gross margin could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Use of social media and influencers may materially and adversely affect our reputation or subject us to fines or other penalties.

We use third-party social media platforms as, among other things, marketing tools. We also maintain relationships with many social media influencers and engage in sponsorship initiatives. As existing e-commerce and social media platforms continue to rapidly evolve and new platforms develop, we must continue to maintain a presence on these platforms and establish presences on new or emerging popular social media platforms. If we are unable to cost-effectively use social media platforms as marketing tools or if the social media platforms we use change their policies or algorithms, we may not be able to fully optimize such platforms, and our ability to maintain and acquire customers and our financial condition may suffer.

Furthermore, as laws and regulations and public opinion rapidly evolve to govern the use of these platforms and devices, the failure by us, our employees, our network of social media influencers, our sponsors or third parties acting at our direction to abide by applicable laws and regulations in the use of these platforms and devices or otherwise could subject us to regulatory investigations, class action lawsuits, liability, fines or other penalties and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

 

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In addition, an increase in the use of social media for product promotion and marketing may cause an increase in the burden on us to monitor compliance of such materials, and increase the risk that such materials could contain problematic product or marketing claims in violation of applicable regulations. For example, in some cases, the FTC has sought enforcement action where an endorsement has failed to clearly and conspicuously disclose a financial relationship or material connection between an influencer and an advertiser.

We do not prescribe what our influencers post, and if we were held responsible for the content of their posts or their actions, we could be fined or forced to alter our practices, which could have an adverse impact on our business.

Negative commentary regarding us, our products or influencers and other third parties who are affiliated with us may also be posted on social media platforms and may be adverse to our reputation or business. Influencers with whom we maintain relationships could engage in behavior or use their platforms to communicate directly with our customers in a manner that reflects poorly on our brand and may be attributed to us or otherwise adversely affect us. It is not possible to prevent such behavior, and the precautions we take to detect this activity may not be effective in all cases. Our target consumers often value readily available information and often act on such information without further investigation and without regard to its accuracy. The harm may be immediate, without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction.

If we fail to retain existing customers, or fail to maintain average order value levels, we may not be able to maintain our revenue base and margins, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.

A significant portion of our net sales are generated from sales to existing customers. If existing customers no longer find our offerings appealing, or if we are unable to timely update our offerings to meet current trends and customer demands, our existing customers may make fewer or smaller purchases in the future. A decrease in the number of our customers who make repeat purchases or a decrease in their spending on the merchandise we offer could negatively impact our operating results. Further, we believe that our future success will depend in part on our ability to increase sales to our existing customers over time, and if we are unable to do so, our business may suffer. If we fail to generate repeat purchases or maintain high levels of customer engagement and average order value, our growth prospects, operating results and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

We purchase inventory in anticipation of sales, and if we are unable to manage our inventory effectively, our operating results could be adversely affected.

Our business requires us to manage a large volume of inventory effectively. We regularly add new apparel, accessories and beauty styles to our sites, and we depend on our forecasts of demand for and popularity of various products to make purchase decisions and to manage our inventory of stock-keeping units, or SKUs. Demand for products, however, can change significantly between the time inventory is ordered and the date of sale. Demand may be affected by seasonality, new product launches, rapid changes in product cycles and pricing, product defects, promotions, changes in consumer spending patterns, changes in consumer tastes with respect to our products and other factors, and our consumers may not purchase products in the quantities that we expect.

It may be difficult to accurately forecast demand and determine appropriate levels of product. We generally do not have the right to return unsold products to our suppliers. If we fail to manage our inventory effectively or negotiate favorable credit terms with third-party suppliers, we may be subject to a heightened risk of inventory obsolescence, a decline in inventory values, and significant inventory write-downs or write-offs. In addition, if we are required to lower sale prices in order to reduce inventory level or to pay higher prices to our suppliers, our profit margins might be negatively affected. Any failure to manage owned brand expansion or accurately forecast demand for owned brands could adversely affect growth, margins and inventory levels. In addition, our ability to meet customer demand has been and may be in the future negatively impacted by disruptions in the supply chain from a number of factors, including, for example, the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak in China. The COVID-19 coronavirus has and is expected to continue to impact our supply chain and may delay or prevent the manufacturing or transport of product. Any of the above may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

 

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Merchandise returns could harm our business.

We allow our customers to return products, subject to our return policy. If the rate of merchandise returns increases significantly or if merchandise return economics become less efficient, our business, financial condition and operating results could be harmed. Further, we modify our policies relating to returns from time to time, which may result in customer dissatisfaction or an increase in the number of product returns. From time to time our products are damaged in transit, which can increase return rates and harm our brands.

We rely on third-party suppliers and manufacturers to provide raw materials for and to produce our products, and we have limited control over these suppliers and manufacturers and may not be able to obtain quality products on a timely basis or in sufficient quantity.

We rely on third-party suppliers primarily located outside of the United States to provide raw materials for our products. In addition, we do not own or operate any manufacturing facilities and rely solely on unaffiliated manufacturers primarily located outside the United States to manufacture our products. Increases in the costs of labor and other costs of doing business in these countries could significantly increase our costs to produce our products and could have a negative impact on our operations, net revenue, and earnings. In addition, certain of our manufacturers are subject to government regulations related to wage rates, and therefore the labor costs to produce our products may fluctuate. Factors that could negatively affect our business include a potential significant revaluation of the currencies used in these countries, which may result in an increase in the cost of producing products, labor shortages and stoppages and increases in labor costs, and difficulties in moving products manufactured out of the countries in which they are manufactured and through the ports in North America, whether due to port congestion, labor disputes, product regulations and/or inspections or other factors, and natural disasters or health pandemics. A labor strike or other transportation disruption affecting these ports could significantly disrupt our business. In addition, the imposition of trade sanctions or other regulations against products imported by us from, or the loss of “normal trade relations” status with any country in which our products are manufactured, could significantly increase our cost of products and harm our business. We may also experience increased costs in raw goods, transportation and labor. Additionally, we are also subject to global supply chain disruptions, which may include longer lead times for raw fabrics, inbound shipping and longer production times Supply chain issues have specifically impacted the following for our brands:

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Increased costs in raw materials from fabric prices, which have increased 10% to 100% depending on the fabric, the time of year, and the origin of the fabric, as well as where the fabric is being shipped;

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Increased cost per kilo to ship via sea or air, which has increased from 25% to 300% depending on the time of year and from the country we are shipping from;

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Increased transit time via sea or air, which have increased by two weeks to two months; and

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Increased labor costs for producing the finished goods, which have increased 5% to 25% depending on the country and the labor skill required to produce the goods.

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The operations of our suppliers can be subject to additional risks beyond our control, including shipping delays, labor disputes, trade restrictions, tariffs and embargos, or any other change in local conditions. We may experience a significant disruption in the supply of fabrics or raw materials from current sources or, in the event of a disruption, we may be unable to locate alternative materials suppliers of comparable quality at an acceptable price, or at all. We do not have any long-term supply contracts in place with any of our suppliers and we compete with other companies, including many of our competitors, for fabrics, raw materials, production and import quota capacity. We have occasionally received, and may in the future receive, shipments of products that fail to comply with our specifications or that fail to conform to our quality control standards. We have also received, and may in the future receive, products that are otherwise unacceptable to us or our customers. Under these circumstances, we may incur substantial expense to remedy the problems and may be required to obtain replacement products. If we fail to remedy any such problem in a timely manner, we risk the loss of net revenue resulting from the inability to sell those products and related increased administrative and shipping costs. Additionally, if the unacceptability of our products is not discovered until after such products are purchased by our customers, our customers could lose

 

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confidence in our products or we could face a product recall. In such an event our brand reputation may be negatively impacted which could negatively impact our results of operations.

These and other factors beyond our control could result in our third-party suppliers and manufacturers being unable to fill our orders in a timely manner. If we experience significant increased demand, or we lose or need to replace an existing third- party supplier and manufacturer as a result of adverse economic conditions or other reasons, we may not be able to secure additional manufacturing capacity when required or on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all, or manufacturers may not be able to allocate sufficient capacity to us in order to meet our requirements. In addition, even if we are able to find new third-party suppliers or manufacturers, we may encounter delays in production and added costs as a result of the time it takes to train our manufacturers on our methods, products and quality control standards. Moreover, it is possible that we will experience defects, errors, or other problems with their work that will materially affect our operations and we may have little or no recourse to recover damages for these losses. Any delays, interruption or increased costs in the supply of fabric or manufacture of our products could have an adverse effect on our ability to meet retail customer and consumer demand for our products and result in lower net revenues and net income both in the short and long term.

In addition to the foregoing, one of our subsidiary’s depends on two primary suppliers located in China and Turkey for the substantial portion of raw materials used in its products and the manufacture of these products, which makes it vulnerable to a disruption in the supply of its products. As a result, termination of these supply arrangements, an adverse change in the financial condition of these suppliers or an adverse change in their ability to manufacture and/or deliver desired products on a timely basis each could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our sales and gross margins may decline as a result of increasing product costs and decreasing selling prices.

The fabrics used in our products include synthetic fabrics whose raw materials include petroleum-based products, as well as natural fibers such as cotton. Significant price fluctuations or shortages in petroleum or other raw materials can materially adversely affect our cost of net revenues.

In addition, the United States and the countries in which our products are produced or sold internationally have imposed and may impose additional quotas, duties, tariffs, or other restrictions or regulations, or may adversely adjust prevailing quota, duty or tariff levels. Countries impose, modify and remove tariffs and other trade restrictions in response to a diverse array of factors, including global and national economic and political conditions, which make it impossible for us to predict future developments regarding tariffs and other trade restrictions. Trade restrictions, including tariffs, quotas, embargoes, safeguards, and customs restrictions, could increase the cost or reduce the supply of products available to us or may require us to modify our supply chain organization or other current business practices, any of which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our operations are currently dependent on a single warehouse and distribution center, and the loss of, or disruption in, the warehouse and distribution center and other factors affecting the distribution of merchandise could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.

Our warehouse and fulfillment/distribution functions are currently primarily handled from a single facility in Vernon, California. Our current fulfillment/distribution operations are dependent on the continued use of this facility. Any significant interruption in the operation of the warehouse and fulfillment/ distribution center due to COVID-19 restrictions, natural disasters, accidents, system issues or failures, or other unforeseen causes that materially impair our ability to access or use our facility, could delay or impair the ability to distribute merchandise and fulfill online orders, which could cause sales to decline.

We also depend upon third-party carriers for shipment of a significant amount of merchandise directly to our customers. An interruption in service by these third-party carriers for any reason could cause temporary disruptions in business, a loss of sales and profits, and other material adverse effects.

Our sales and gross margins may decline as a result of increasing freight costs.

Freight costs are impacted by changes in fuel prices through surcharges, among other factors. Fuel prices and surcharges affect freight costs both on inbound freight from suppliers to the distribution center

 

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as well as outbound freight from the distribution center to stores/shops, supplier returns and third-party liquidators, and shipments of product to customers. The cost of transporting our products for distribution and sale is also subject to fluctuation due in large part to the price of oil. Because most of our products are manufactured abroad, our products must be transported by third parties over large geographical distances and an increase in the price of oil can significantly increase costs. Manufacturing delays or unexpected transportation delays can also cause us to rely more heavily on airfreight to achieve timely delivery to our customers, which significantly increases freight costs. Increases in fuel prices, surcharges, and other potential factors may increase freight costs. Any of these fluctuations may increase our cost of products and have an adverse effect on our margins, results of operations and financial condition.

Increases in labor costs, including wages, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Labor is a significant portion of our cost structure and is subject to many external factors, including unemployment levels, prevailing wage rates, minimum wage laws, potential collective bargaining arrangements, health insurance costs and other insurance costs and changes in employment and labor legislation or other workplace regulation. From time to time, legislative proposals are made to increase the federal minimum wage in the United States, as well as the minimum wage in California and a number of other states and municipalities, and to reform entitlement programs, such as health insurance and paid leave programs. As minimum wage rates increase or related laws and regulations change, we may need to increase not only the wage rates of our minimum wage employees, but also the wages paid to our other hourly or salaried employees. Any increase in the cost of our labor could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations or if we fail to pay such higher wages we could suffer increased employee turnover. Increases in labor costs could force us to increase prices, which could adversely impact our sales. If competitive pressures or other factors prevent us from offsetting increased labor costs by increases in prices, our profitability may decline and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Security breaches and other disruptions could compromise our information and expose us to liability, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer.

In the ordinary course of our business, we collect and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, our proprietary business information, and financial and other personally identifiable information of our customers and employees. The secure processing, maintenance, and transmission of this information is critical to our operations and business strategy. Despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due to employee error, malfeasance, or other disruptions. Any such breach could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost, or stolen. Advanced attacks are multi-staged, unfold over time, and utilize a range of attack vectors with military-grade cyber weapons and proven techniques, such as spear phishing and social engineering, leaving organizations and users at high risk of being compromised. The vast majority of data breaches, whether conducted by a cyber attacker from inside or outside of the organization, involve the misappropriation of digital identities and user credentials.

These credentials are used to gain legitimate access to sensitive systems and high-value personal and corporate data. Many large, well-known organizations have been subject to cyber-attacks that exploited the identity vector, demonstrating that even organizations with significant resources and security expertise have challenges securing their identities. Any such access, disclosure, or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information, regulatory penalties, a disruption of our operations, damage to our reputation, or a loss of confidence in our business, any of which could adversely affect our business, revenues, and competitive position.

Our future success depends on our key executive officers and our ability to attract, retain, and motivate qualified personnel.

Our future success largely depends upon the continued services of our executive officers and management team, especially our Chief Executive Officer and President, Mr. John “Hil” Davis. If one or more of our executive officers are unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be

 

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able to replace them readily, if at all. Additionally, we may incur additional expenses to recruit and retain new executive officers. If any of our executive officers joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose some or all of our customers. Finally, we do not maintain “key person” life insurance on any of our executive officers. Because of these factors, the loss of the services of any of these key persons could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations, and thereby an investment in our stock.

In addition, our continuing ability to attract and retain highly qualified personnel, especially employees with experience in the fashion and fitness industries, will also be critical to our success because we will need to hire and retain additional personnel as our business grows. There can be no assurance that we will be able to attract or retain highly qualified personnel. We face significant competition for skilled personnel in our industries. This competition may make it more difficult and expensive to attract, hire, and retain qualified managers and employees. Because of these factors, we may not be able to effectively manage or grow our business, which could adversely affect our financial condition or business. As a result, the value of your investment could be significantly reduced or completely lost.

If we cannot successfully protect our intellectual property, our business could suffer.

We rely on a combination of intellectual property rights, contractual protections and other practices to protect our brand, proprietary information, technologies and processes. We primarily rely on copyright and trade secret laws to protect our proprietary technologies and processes, including the algorithms we use throughout our business. Others may independently develop the same or similar technologies and processes, or may improperly acquire and use information about our technologies and processes, which may allow them to provide a service similar to ours, which could harm our competitive position. Our principal trademark assets include the registered trademarks “DSTLD”, “Bailey 44”, “ACE STUDIOS”, “STATESIDE” and “SUNDRY” and our logos and taglines. Our trademarks are valuable assets that support our brand and consumers’ perception of our services and merchandise. We also hold the rights to the “www.digitalbrandsgroup.com”, www.dstld.com and “www.bailey44.com”. Internet domain name and various related domain names, which are subject to Internet regulatory bodies and trademark and other related laws of each applicable jurisdiction. If we are unable to protect our trademarks or domain names, our brand recognition and reputation would suffer, we would incur significant expense establishing new brands and our operating results would be adversely impacted. Further, to the extent we pursue patent protection for our innovations, patents we may apply for may not issue, and patents that do issue or that we acquire may not provide us with any competitive advantages or may be challenged by third parties. There can be no assurance that any patents we obtain will adequately protect our inventions or survive a legal challenge, as the legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of patent and other intellectual property rights are uncertain. We may be required to spend significant resources to monitor and protect our intellectual property rights, and the efforts we take to protect our proprietary rights may not be sufficient.

If the technology-based systems that give our customers the ability to shop with us online do not function effectively, our operating results could be materially adversely affected.

A substantial number of our customers currently shop with us through our e-commerce website and mobile application. Increasingly, customers are using tablets and smart phones to shop online with us and with our competitors and to do comparison shopping. Any failure on our part to provide an attractive, effective, reliable, user-friendly e-commerce platform that offers a wide assortment of merchandise with rapid delivery options and that continually meet the changing expectations of online shoppers could place us at a competitive disadvantage, result in the loss of sales, harm our reputation with customers, and could have a material adverse impact on our business and results of operations.

Organizations face growing regulatory and compliance requirements.

New and evolving regulations and compliance standards for cyber security, data protection, privacy, and internal IT controls are often created in response to the tide of cyber-attacks and will increasingly impact organizations. Existing regulatory standards require that organizations implement internal controls for user access to applications and data. In addition, data breaches are driving a new wave of regulation with stricter enforcement and higher penalties. Regulatory and policy-driven obligations require expensive and

 

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time-consuming compliance measures. The fear of non-compliance, failed audits, and material findings has pushed organizations to spend more to ensure they are in compliance, often resulting in costly, one-off implementations to mitigate potential fines or reputational damage. Any substantial costs associated with failing to meet regulatory requirements, combined with the risk of fallout from security breaches, could have a material adverse effect on our business and brand.

Our failure to comply with trade and other regulations could lead to investigations or actions by government regulators and negative publicity.

The labeling, distribution, importation, marketing and sale of our products are subject to extensive regulation by various federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Product Safety Commission and state attorneys general in the U.S., as well as by various other federal, state, provincial, local and international regulatory authorities in the locations in which our products are distributed or sold. If we fail to comply with those regulations, we could become subject to significant penalties or claims or be required to recall products, which could negatively impact our results of operations and disrupt our ability to conduct our business, as well as damage our brand image with consumers. In addition, the adoption of new regulations or changes in the interpretation of existing regulations may result in significant unanticipated compliance costs or discontinuation of product sales and may impair the marketing of our products, resulting in significant loss of net revenues.

Any international operations are also subject to compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, and other anti-bribery laws applicable to our operations. Although we have policies and procedures to address compliance with the FCPA and similar laws, there can be no assurance that all of our employees, agents and other partners will not take actions in violations of our policies. Any such violation could subject us to sanctions or other penalties that could negatively affect our reputation, business and operating results.

Our business is affected by seasonality.

Our business is affected by the general seasonal trends common to the retail apparel industry. This seasonality may adversely affect our business and cause our results of operations to fluctuate, and, as a result, we believe that comparisons of our operating results between different quarters within a single fiscal year are not necessarily meaningful and that results of operations in any period should not be considered indicative of the results to be expected for any future period.

Risks Relating to An Investment in Our Securities

The price of our common stock has in the past and may in the future fluctuate substantially.

The market price of our common stock has in the past and could in the future be extremely volatile.

From May 2021 to September 14, 2023, the high and low prices of our common stock as quoted on the NasdaqCM (which gives effect to a 1-100 reverse stock split effected by the Company in November 2022 and the 1-25 reverse stock split effected by the Company in August 2023) was $14,925 and $7.34, respectively. The future market price of our common stock may be significantly affected by factors, such as:

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market conditions affecting the apparel industries;

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quarterly variations in our results of operations;

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•

changes in government regulations;

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the announcement of acquisitions by us or our competitors;

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changes in general economic and political conditions;

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•

volatility in the financial markets;

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•

results of our operations and the operations of others in our industry;

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•

changes in interest rates;

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•

threatened or actual litigation and government investigations;

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•

the addition or departure of key personnel;

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•

actions taken by our stockholders, including the sale or disposition of their shares of our common stock; and

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•

differences between our actual financial and operating results and those expected by investors and analysts and changes in analysts’ recommendations or projections.

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These and other factors may lower the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. As a result, our common stock may trade at prices significantly below the public offering price.

Furthermore, in recent years the stock market has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has had a significant impact on the market price of securities issued by many companies. The changes frequently appear to occur without regard to the operating performance of the affected companies. Hence, the price of our common stock could fluctuate based upon factors that have little or nothing to do with us, and these fluctuations could materially reduce the price of our common stock and materially affect the value of your investment.

In the past, securities class action litigation often has been instituted against companies following periods of volatility in the market price of their securities. This type of litigation, if directed at us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources.

If we are unable to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

We are not currently required to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and are therefore not required to make an assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for that purpose. We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. These material weaknesses relate to the fact that we do not maintain a comprehensive policies and procedures manual designed to establish internal controls over financial reporting to reduce the risk of publishing materially misstated financial statements, as well as define responsibilities and segregate incompatible duties to reduce the risk of unauthorized transactions.

We are in the process of taking steps intended to remedy these material weaknesses, and we will not be able to fully address these material weaknesses until these steps have been completed. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Controls and Procedures” for information regarding our remediation efforts.

As a public company, we are required to maintain internal control over financial reporting and to report any material weaknesses in such internal controls. A material weakness is defined in the standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) as a deficiency, or an acquisition of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. In addition, we were required to furnish a report by management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404, at the time of our second annual report on Form 10-K, which was for our year ending December 31, 2022. We intend to begin the process of designing, implementing and testing the internal control over financial reporting required to comply with this obligation upon the completion of this offering, which process is time consuming, costly and complex. If we fail to increase and maintain the number and expertise of our staff for our accounting and finance functions and to improve and maintain internal control over financial reporting adequate to meet the demands that will be placed upon us as a public company, including the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes- Oxley Act, we may be unable to report our financial results accurately and prevent fraud. In addition, we cannot be certain that any such steps we undertake will successfully remediate the material weaknesses or that other material weaknesses and control deficiencies will not be discovered in the future. If our remediation efforts are not successful or

 

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other material weaknesses or control deficiencies occur in the future, we may be unable to report our financial results accurately or on a timely basis, which could cause our reported financial results to be materially misstated and result in the loss of investor confidence or delisting and cause our stock price to decline. As a result of such failures, we could also become subject to investigations by NasdaqCM, the SEC, or other regulatory authorities, and become subject to litigation from investors and stockholders, any of which could harm our reputation and financial condition, and divert financial and management resources. Even if we are able to report our consolidated financial statements accurately and timely, if we do not make all the necessary improvements to address the material weaknesses, continued disclosure of our material weaknesses will be required in future filings with the SEC, which could reduce investor confidence in our reported results and our cause our stock price to decline.

We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and as a result of the reduced disclosure and governance requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies, our common stock may be less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.

We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act, and we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. Those exemptions include, but are not limited to, a requirement to present only two years of audited financial statements, an exemption from the auditor attestation requirement of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure about executive compensation arrangements in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and no requirement to seek non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements. We have elected to adopt these reduced disclosure requirements. We may take advantage of these provisions until we are no longer an emerging growth company.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.0 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior December 31st, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive as a result of our taking advantage of these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result of our choices, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non- emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. If we are a smaller reporting company at the time we cease to be an emerging growth company, we may continue to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are available to smaller

 

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reporting companies. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and, similar to emerging growth companies, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation. Furthermore, as long as we are neither a “large accelerated filer” nor an “accelerated filer,” as a smaller reporting company, we would not be required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.

Future sales of our common stock, or the perception in the public markets that these sales may occur, may depress our stock price.

The market price of our common stock could decline significantly as a result of sales of a large number of shares of our common stock in the market after this offering. These sales, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock or make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate.

Provisions in our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws and under Delaware law could discourage a takeover that stockholders may consider favorable.

Our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger or acquisition that a stockholder may consider favorable because they, among other things:

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establish a supermajority voting requirement of at least 662∕3% of the outstanding voting stock in order to amend certain provisions in our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which makes it more difficult for stockholders to eliminate anti-takeover provisions;

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eliminate stockholder-initiated action by written consent in lieu of a meeting, which hampers the ability of stockholders to take action during the interim periods between annual meetings of stockholders; and

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•

require the written request of stockholders holding an aggregate of 25% of shares of our common stock in order for stockholders to call a special meeting, which together with the elimination of stockholder action by written consent described above, makes it very difficult for stockholders to take action during the interim periods between annual meetings of stockholders.

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As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to the Delaware anti-takeover provisions contained in Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Under Delaware law, a corporation may not engage in a business acquisition with any holder of 15% or more of its capital stock unless the holder has held the stock for three years or, among other things, the board of directors has approved the transaction. Our board of directors could rely on this provision to prevent or delay an acquisition of us.

Our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for certain stockholder litigation matters, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or stockholders.

Our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction, any state court located within the State of Delaware or, if and only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) shall be the sole and exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law:

•

any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf;

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•

any action asserting a breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders;

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•

any action asserting a claim against us or our directors, officers or other employees arising under the Delaware General Corporation Law, our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our bylaws;

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•

any action or proceeding to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our bylaws;

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any action or proceeding as to which the Delaware General Corporation Law confers jurisdiction to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; or

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any action asserting a claim against us or our directors, officers or other employees that is governed by the “internal affairs doctrine” as that term is defined in Section 115 of the Delaware General Corporation Law.

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Our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation further provides that unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the U.S. federal district courts have exclusive jurisdiction of the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. The enforceability of similar exclusive federal forum provisions in other companies’ organizational documents has been challenged in legal proceedings, and while the Delaware Supreme Court has ruled that this type of exclusive federal forum provision is facially valid under Delaware law, there is uncertainty as to whether other courts would enforce such provisions and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

This exclusive forum provision does not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.

Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to this exclusive forum provision of our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation. 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 any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. Alternatively, if a court were to find this choice of forum provision in our sixth amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions. Additional costs associated with resolving an action in other jurisdictions could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We do not expect to pay any dividends in the foreseeable future.

We intend to retain our future earnings, if any, in order to reinvest in the development and growth of our business and, therefore, do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, the limits imposed by the terms of our credit facility and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant. Accordingly, investors in our common stock may need to sell their shares to realize a return on their investment in our common stock, and investors may not be able to sell their shares at or above the prices paid for them.

If securities analysts do not publish favorable reports about us or if we, or our industry, are the subject of unfavorable commentary, the price of our common stock could decline.

The trading price for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports about us that are published by analysts in the financial industry. Analysts could issue negative commentary about us or our industry, or they could downgrade our common stock. We may also not receive sufficient research coverage or visibility in the market. Any of these factors could result in the decline the trading price of our common stock, causing investors in our common stock to lose all or a portion of their investment.

Even if our reverse stock split effected on August 22, 2023 achieves the requisite increase in the market price of our common stock, we cannot assure you that we will be approved for listing on the NasdaqCM or able to comply with other continued listing standards of the NasdaqCM.

The NasdaqCM requires that the trading price of its listed stocks remain above one dollar in order for the stock to remain listed. If a listed stock trades below one dollar for more than 30 consecutive trading

 

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days, then it is subject to delisting from Nasdaq. The Company effected a reverse stock split of the Company’s outstanding common stock at an exchange ratio of 1-for-25 to achieve the requisite increase in the market price of our common stock to be in compliance with the minimum bid price of Nasdaq.

Even if the reverse stock split achieves the requisite increase in the market price of our common stock to be in compliance with the minimum bid price of Nasdaq, there can be no assurance that the market price of our common stock following the reverse stock split will remain at the level required for continuing compliance with that requirement. It is not uncommon for the market price of a company’s common stock to decline in the period following a reverse stock split. If the market price of our common stock declines following the effectuation of the reverse stock split, the percentage decline may be greater than would occur in the absence of a reverse stock split. In any event, other factors unrelated to the number of shares of our common stock outstanding, such as negative financial or operational results, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and jeopardize our ability to meet or maintain Nasdaq’s minimum bid price requirement.

A reverse stock split may decrease the liquidity of the shares of our common stock.

The liquidity of the shares of our common stock may be affected adversely by a reverse stock split given the reduced number of shares that will be outstanding following the reverse stock split, especially if the market price of our common stock does not increase as a result of the reverse stock split. In addition, a reverse stock split may increase the number of shareholders who own odd lots (less than 100 shares) of our common stock, creating the potential for such shareholders to experience an increase in the cost of selling their shares and greater difficulty effecting such sales.

Following a reverse stock split, the resulting market price of our common stock may not attract new investors, including institutional investors, and may not satisfy the investing requirements of those investors. Consequently, the trading liquidity of our common stock may not improve.

Although we believe that a higher market price of our common stock may help generate greater or broader investor interest, there can be no assurance that a reverse stock split will result in a share price that will attract new investors, including institutional investors. In addition, there can be no assurance that the market price of our common stock will satisfy the investing requirements of those investors. As a result, the trading liquidity of our common stock may not necessarily improve.

Our common stock (and our warrants) may be subject to the “penny stock” rules in the future. It may be more difficult to resell securities classified as “penny stock.”

Our common stock and warrants may be subject to “penny stock” rules (generally defined as non-exchange traded stock with a per-share price below $5.00) in the future. While our common stock and warrants are currently not considered “penny stock” since they are listed on the NasdaqCM, if we are unable to maintain that listing and our common stock and warrants are no longer listed on the NasdaqCM, unless we maintain a per-share price above $5.00, our common stock and warrants will become “penny stock.” These rules impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers that recommend the purchase or sale of penny stocks to persons other than those who qualify as “established customers” or “accredited investors.” For example, broker-dealers must determine the appropriateness for non-qualifying persons of investments in penny stocks. Broker-dealers must also provide, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, a standardized risk disclosure document that provides information about penny stocks and the risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, disclose the compensation of the broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction, furnish monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account, provide a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser, and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction.

Legal remedies available to an investor in “penny stocks” may include the following:

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If a “penny stock” is sold to the investor in violation of the requirements listed above, or other federal or states securities laws, the investor may be able to cancel the purchase and receive a refund of the investment.

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•

If a “penny stock” is sold to the investor in a fraudulent manner, the investor may be able to sue the persons and firms that committed the fraud for damages.

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If a “penny stock” is sold to the investor in violation of the requirements listed above, or other federal or states securities laws, the investor may be able to cancel the purchase and receive a refund of the investment.

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If a “penny stock” is sold to the investor in a fraudulent manner, the investor may be able to sue the persons and firms that committed the fraud for damages.

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If a “penny stock” is sold to the investor in violation of the requirements listed above, or other federal or states securities laws, the investor may be able to cancel the purchase and receive a refund of the investment.

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If a “penny stock” is sold to the investor in a fraudulent manner, the investor may be able to sue the persons and firms that committed the fraud for damages.

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If a “penny stock” is sold to the investor in violation of the requirements listed above, or other federal or states securities laws, the investor may be able to cancel the purchase and receive a refund of the investment.

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If a “penny stock” is sold to the investor in a fraudulent manner, the investor may be able to sue the persons and firms that committed the fraud for damages.

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These requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity, if any, in the secondary market for a security that becomes subject to the penny stock rules. The additional burdens imposed upon broker-dealers by such requirements may discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our securities, which could severely limit the market price and liquidity of our securities. These requirements may restrict the ability of broker-dealers to sell our common stock or our warrants and may affect your ability to resell our common stock and our warrants.

Many brokerage firms will discourage or refrain from recommending investments in penny stocks. Most institutional investors will not invest in penny stocks. In addition, many individual investors will not invest in penny stocks due, among other reasons, to the increased financial risk generally associated with these investments.

For these reasons, penny stocks may have a limited market and, consequently, limited liquidity. We can give no assurance at what time, if ever, our common stock or our warrants will not be classified as a “penny stock” in the future.

We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future and thus you must rely on stock appreciation for any return on your investment.

We do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We may not have sufficient funds to legally pay dividends. Even if funds are legally available to pay dividends, we may nevertheless decide in our sole discretion not to pay dividends. The declaration, payment and amount of any future dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors, and will depend upon, among other things, the results of our operations, cash flows and financial condition, operating and capital requirements, and other factors our board of directors may consider relevant. There is no assurance that we will pay any dividends in the future, and, if dividends are paid, there is no assurance with respect to the amount of any such dividend. As a result, you must rely on stock appreciation and a liquid trading market for any return on your investment. If an active and liquid trading market does not develop, you may be unable to sell your shares of common stock at or above the price in this offering at the time you would like to sell.

Our certificate of incorporation grants our board of directors the authority to issue a new series of preferred stock without further approval by our shareholders, which could adversely affect the rights of the holders of our common shares.

Our board of directors has the power to fix and determine the relative rights and preferences of preferred stock. Our board of directors also has the power to issue preferred stock without further

 

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shareholder approval, subject to applicable listing regulations. As a result, our board of directors could authorize the issuance of new series of preferred stock that would grant to holders thereof certain rights in preference to the rights of our common stockholders to:

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our assets upon liquidation;

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receive dividend payments ahead of holders of common shares;

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the redemption of the shares, together with a premium, prior to the redemption of our common shares;

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vote to approve matters as a separate class or have more votes per share relative to shares of common stock.

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In addition, our board of directors could authorize the issuance of new series of preferred stock that is convertible into our common shares, or may also authorize the sale of additional shares of authorized common stock, which could decrease the relative voting power of our common shares or result in dilution to our existing shareholders.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

All securities sold pursuant to this prospectus will be offered and sold by the selling stockholders. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of common stock offered by the selling stockholders. However, upon the exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants, Series A Warrants, Series B Warrants, and Placement Agent Warrants by payment of cash, we would receive aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $10 million. Any proceeds from the exercise of the Pre-Funded Warrants, Series A Warrants, Series B Warrants, and Placement Agent Warrants will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. We cannot predict when or if the Pre-Funded Warrants, Series A Warrants, Series B Warrants, and Placement Agent Warrants will be exercised, and it is possible that the Pre-Funded Warrants, Series A Warrants, Series B Warrants, and Placement Agent Warrants may expire and never be exercised or may be exercised pursuant to a cashless exercise. We will bear the out-of-pocket costs, expenses and fees incurred in connection with the registration of shares of our common stock to be sold by the selling stockholders, including registration, listing and qualifications fees, printers and accounting fees, and fees and disbursements of counsel, or collectively, the Registration Expenses. Other than Registration Expenses, the selling stockholders will bear underwriting discounts, commissions, placement agent fees or other similar expenses payable with respect to sales of shares.

 

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We currently expect to retain future earnings, if any, to finance the growth and development of our business. Any future determination to declare cash dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to applicable laws, and will depend on a number of factors, including our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, general business conditions, and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

 

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MARKET PRICE OF AND DIVIDENDS ON COMMON STOCK
AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

Market Information

Our common stock and warrants are quoted on the NasdaqCM under the symbols DBGI and DBGIW, respectively. Until May 2021, there was no public market for our common stock or warrants.

The following table sets forth the high and low sales prices as reported on the NasdaqCM. The quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commission, and may not represent actual transactions. The quotations have given effect to a 1-100 reverse stock split effected by us in November 2022 and the 1-25 reverse stock split effected by us in August 2023.

The last reported sales price of our common stock on the NasdaqCM on September 14, 2023 was $11.29.

Holders

As of September 14, 2023, the total number of accounts of holders of our common stock is approximately 5,728.

 

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UNAUDITED PRO FORMA COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

H& J Settlement Agreement and Disposition of H&J

We have been involved in a dispute with the former owners of H&J regarding our obligation to “true up” their ownership interest in our Company further to that membership interest purchase agreement dated May 10, 2021 whereby we acquired all of the outstanding membership interests of H&J (as amended, the “H&J Purchase Agreement”). Further to the H&J Purchase Agreement, we agreed that if, at May 18, 2022, the one year anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering, the product of the number of shares of our common stock issued at the closing of such acquisition multiplied by the average closing price per share of our shares of common stock as quoted on the NasdaqCM for the thirty (30) day trading period immediately preceding such date plus the gross proceeds, if any, of shares of our stock issued to such sellers and sold by them during the one year period from the closing date of the offering does not exceed the sum of $9.1 million, less the value of any shares of common stock cancelled further to any indemnification claims or post-closing adjustments under the H&J Purchase Agreement, then we shall issue to the subject sellers an additional aggregate number of shares of common stock equal to any such valuation shortfall at a per share price equal to the then closing price per share of our common stock as quoted on the NasdaqCM. We did not honor our obligation to issue such shares and the former owner of H&J have claimed that they were damaged as a result.

On June 21, 2023, the Company and the former owners of H&J executed a Settlement Agreement and Release (the “Settlement Agreement”) whereby contemporaneously with the parties’ execution of the Settlement Agreement (i) the Company made aggregate cash payment of $229,000 to D. Jones Tailored Collection, Ltd. (“D. Jones”), (ii) the Company issued 78,103 shares of common stock to D. Jones at a per share purchase price of $17.925 which represented the lower of (i) the closing price per share of the Common Stock as reported on Nasdaq on June 20, 2023, and (ii) the average closing price per share of Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq for the five trading days preceding June 21, 2023, and (iii) the Company assigned and transferred one hundred percent (100%) of the Company’s membership interest in H&J to D. Jones. This transaction is known as the “H&J Settlement”.

Norwest Waiver

On June 21, 2023, the Company, on the one hand, and Norwest Venture Partners XI, LP and Norwest Venture Partners XII, LP (together, the “Norwest Investors”), on the other hand, executed Waiver and Amendment (the “Norwest Amendment”) whereby the Norwest Investors agreed to waive and terminate certain true up rights of the Norwest Investors under the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated February 12, 2020, among the Company, Bailey 44, LLC, Norwest Venture Partners XI, LP, and Norwest Venture Partners XII, LP and Denim.LA Acquisition Corp. This transaction is known as the “Norwest Waiver”.

The Norwest Waiver resulted in the cancellation of a contingent liability of approximately $10.5 million in the fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2023.

Sundry Conversion

On June 21, 2023, the Company and the former owners of Sundry (collectively, the “Sundry Investors”) executed a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Sundry SPA”) whereby the Company issued 5,761 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series C Preferred Stock”) to the Sundry Investors at purchase price of $1,000 per share. The Series C Preferred Stock is convertible into a number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock equal to $1,000 divided by an initial conversion price of $17.925 which represents the lower of (i) the closing price per share of the Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq on June 20, 2023, and (ii) the average closing price per share of Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq for the five trading days preceding June 21, 2023. The shares of Series C Preferred Stock were issued in consideration for the cancellation of $5,759,178.00 which represented amounts owing further to certain promissory notes issued by the Company to the Sundry Investors dated December 30, 2022. This transaction is known as the “Sundry Conversion”.

 

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The unaudited pro forma combined balance sheets of the Company as of June 30, 2023 reflect the reported amounts as the disposition of H&J, the Norwest Waiver and the Sundry Conversion occurred on June 21, 2023 have been prepared to reflect the effects of the disposition of H&J, the Norwest Waiver, and Sundry Conversion as if they occurred on June 30, 2023. The unaudited pro forma combined statements of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2023 combine the historical results and operations of the Company giving effect to the transactions as if they occurred on January 1, 2023. The unaudited pro forma combined statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 combine the historical results and operations of DBG and Sundry giving effect to the transactions as if they occurred on January 1, 2022.

The unaudited pro forma combined financial information should be read in conjunction with the audited and unaudited historical financial statements of each of DBG and Sundry and the notes thereto. Additional information about the basis of presentation of this information is provided in Note 2 below.

The unaudited pro forma combined financial information was prepared in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X. The unaudited pro forma adjustments reflecting the transaction have been prepared in accordance with business combination accounting guidance as provided in Accounting Standards Codification Topic 805, Business Combinations and reflect the preliminary allocation of the purchase price to the acquired assets and liabilities based upon the preliminary estimate of fair values, using the assumptions set forth in the notes to the unaudited pro forma combined financial information.

The unaudited pro forma combined financial information is provided for informational purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of the operating results or financial position that would have occurred if the transaction had been completed as of the dates set forth above, nor is it indicative of the future results or financial position of the combined company. In connection with the pro forma financial information, DBG calculated the accounting for the disposition using its best estimates. Accordingly, the pro forma disposition value adjustments are preliminary and subject to further adjustments as additional information becomes available and as additional analyses are performed. The unaudited pro forma combined financial information also does not give effect to the potential impact of current financial conditions, any anticipated synergies, operating efficiencies or cost savings that may result from the transaction or any integration costs. However, the pro forma adjustments shown in these unaudited pro forma combined condensed financial statements reflect estimates and assumptions that we believe to be reasonable.

Furthermore, the unaudited pro forma combined statements of operations do not include certain nonrecurring charges and the related tax effects which result directly from the transaction as described in the notes to the unaudited pro forma combined financial information.

These unaudited pro forma combined condensed financial statements have been derived from our historical financial statements, which are included in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 and our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.

 

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UNAUDITED PRO FORMA COMBINED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022

 

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UNAUDITED PRO FORMA COMBINED BALANCE SHEET AS OF JUNE 30, 2023

 

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NOTES TO THE UNAUDITED PRO FORMA FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

1.

Description of Transactions

​

On June 21, 2023, the Company and the former owners of H&J executed a Settlement Agreement and Release (the “Settlement Agreement”) whereby contemporaneously with the parties’ execution of the Settlement Agreement (i) the Company made aggregate cash payment of $229,000 to D. Jones Tailored Collection, Ltd. (“D. Jones”), (ii) the Company issued 78,103 shares of common stock to D. Jones at a per share purchase price of $17.925 which represented the lower of (i) the closing price per share of the Common Stock as reported on Nasdaq on June 20, 2023, and (ii) the average closing price per share of Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq for the five trading days preceding June 21, 2023, and (iii) the Company assigned and transferred one hundred percent (100%) of the Company’s membership interest in H&J to D. Jones.

On June 21, 2023, the Company, on the one hand, and Norwest Venture Partners XI, LP and Norwest Venture Partners XII, LP (together, the “Norwest Investors”), on the other hand, executed Waiver and Amendment (the “Norwest Amendment”) whereby the Norwest Investors agreed to waive and terminate the post-closing adjustment and anti-dilution rights of the Norwest Investors under the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated February 12, 2020, among the Company, Bailey 44, LLC, Norwest Venture Partners XI, LP, and Norwest Venture Partners XII, LP and Denim.LA Acquisition Corp.

On June 21, 2023, the Company and the former owners of Sundry (collectively, the “Sundry Investors”) executed a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Sundry SPA”) whereby the Company issued 5,761 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series C Preferred Stock”) to the Sundry Investors at purchase price of $1,000 per share. The Series C Preferred Stock is convertible into a number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock equal to $1,000 divided by an initial conversion price of $17.925 which represents the lower of (i) the closing price per share of the Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq on June 20, 2023, and (ii) the average closing price per share of Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq for the five trading days preceding June 21, 2023. The shares of Series C Preferred Stock were issued in consideration for the cancellation of $5,759,178 which represented amounts owing further to certain promissory notes issued by the Company to the Sundry Investors dated December 30, 2022.

2.

Basis of Presentation

​

The historical financial information has been adjusted to give pro forma effect to events that are directly attributable to the transaction, (ii) factually supportable, and (iii) with respect to the unaudited pro forma balance sheets and unaudited pro forma statements of operations, expected to have a continuing impact on the results.

The transactions were accounted for as a business disposition where DBG is the accounting seller that disposed of 100% of its membership interest in H&J. Upon the disposition, the assets and liabilities of H&J are not included in the results of the Company.

3.

Pro Forma Adjustments

​

(1)   The pro forma statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 includes the results of Sundry, which was acquired by DBG on December 30, 2022.

(a)   To recognize the effect of the Norwest Waiver and Sundry Conversion, including the conversion of an aggregate of $5.5 million in debt, and $0.1 million in accrued interest, into preferred stock. Furthermore, to eliminate the $10.7 million contingent consideration liability per the Bailey acquisition which was extinguished in connection with the Norwest Waiver.

(b)   To eliminate the historical revenue and expenses of H&J.

 

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the historical financial statements of the relevant entities and the pro forma financial statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion and analysis contains forward- looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under “Risk Factors” and “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Unless otherwise indicated by the context, references to “DBG” refer to Digital Brands Group, Inc. solely, and references to the “Company,” “our,” “we,” “us” and similar terms refer to Digital Brands Group, Inc., together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries Bailey 44, LLC (“Bailey”), MOSBEST, LLC (“Stateside”) and Sunnyside, LLC (“Sundry”).

On August 21, 2023, we filed a Certificate of Amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, to effect a one-for-twenty-five (1-for-25) reverse stock split effective August 22, 2023. All share and per share information in this prospectus has been adjusted to reflect this reverse stock split.

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

Our Company

Digital Brands Group is a curated collection of lifestyle brands, including Bailey, DSTLD, Stateside, Sundry and ACE Studios, that offers a variety of apparel products through direct-to-consumer and wholesale distribution. Our complementary brand portfolio provides us with the unique opportunity to cross merchandise our brands. We aim for our customers to wear our brands head to toe and to capture what we call “closet share” by gaining insight into their preferences to create targeted and personalized content specific to their cohort. Operating our brands under one portfolio provides us with the ability to better utilize our technological, human capital and operational capabilities across all brands. As a result, we have been able to realize operational efficiencies and continue to identify additional cost saving opportunities to scale our brands and overall portfolio.

Our portfolio consists of four significant brands that leverage our three channels: our websites, wholesale and our own stores.

•

Bailey 44 (“Baily”) combines beautiful, luxe fabrics and on-trend designs to create sophisticated ready-to-wear capsules for women on-the-go. Designing for real life, this brand focuses on feeling and comfort rather than how it looks on a runway. Bailey is primarily a wholesale brand, which we intend to transition to a digital, direct-to-consumer brand.

​

•

DSTLD offers stylish high-quality garments without the luxury retail markup valuing customer experience over labels. DSTLD is primarily a digital direct-to-consumer brand, to which we recently added select wholesale retailers to generate brand awareness.

​

•

Stateside is an elevated, America first brand with all knitting, dyeing, cutting and sewing sourced and manufactured locally in Los Angeles. The collection is influenced by the evolution of the classic t-shirt offering a simple yet elegant look. Stateside is primarily a wholesale brand that we intend to transition to a digital, direct-to-consumer brand.

​

•

Sundry offers distinct collections of women’s clothing, including dresses, shirts, sweaters, skirts, shorts, athleisure bottoms and other accessory products. Sundry’s products are coastal casual and consist of soft, relaxed and colorful designs that feature a distinct French chic, resembling the spirits of the French Mediterranean and the energy of Venice Beach in Southern California. Sundry is primarily a wholesale brand that we intend to transition to a digital, direct-to-consumer brand.

​

We believe that successful apparel brands sell in all revenue channels. However, each channel offers different margin structures and requires different customer acquisition and retention strategies. We were founded as a digital-first retailer that has strategically expanded into select wholesale and direct retail channels. We strive to strategically create omnichannel strategies for each of our brands that blend physical

 

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and online channels to engage consumers in the channel of their choosing. Our products are sold direct-to- consumers principally through our websites and our own showrooms, but also through our wholesale channel, primarily in specialty stores and select department stores. With the continued expansion of our wholesale distribution, we believe developing an omnichannel solution further strengthens our ability to efficiently acquire and retain customers while also driving high customer lifetime value.

We believe that by leveraging a physical footprint to acquire customers and increase brand awareness, we can use digital marketing to focus on retention and a very tight, disciplined high value new customer acquisition strategy, especially targeting potential customers lower in the sales funnel. Building a direct relationship with the customer as the customer transacts directly with us allows us to better understand our customer’s preferences and shopping habits. Our experience as a company originally founded as a digitally native-first retailer gives us the ability to strategically review and analyze the customer’s data, including contact information, browsing and shopping cart data, purchase history and style preferences. This in turn has the effect of lowering our inventory risk and cash needs since we can order and replenish product based on the data from our online sales history, replenish specific inventory by size, color and SKU based on real times sales data, and control our mark-down and promotional strategies versus being told what mark downs and promotions we have to offer by the department stores and boutique retailers.

We define “closet share” as the percentage (“share”) of a customer’s clothing units that (“of closet”) she or he owns in her or his closet and the amount of those units that go to the brands that are selling these units. For example, if a customer buys 20 units of clothing a year and the brands that we own represent 10 of those units purchased, then our closet share is 50% of that customer’s closet, or 10 of our branded units divided by 20 units they purchased in entirety. Closet share is a similar concept to the widely used term wallet share, it is just specific to the customer’s closet. The higher our closet share, the higher our revenue as higher closet share suggests the customer is purchasing more of our brands than our competitors.

We have strategically expanded into an omnichannel brand offering these styles and content not only on-line but at selected wholesale and retail storefronts. We believe this approach allows us opportunities to successfully drive Lifetime Value (“LTV”) while increasing new customer growth. We define Lifetime Value or LTV as an estimate of the average revenue that a customer will generate throughout their lifespan as our customer. This value/revenue of a customer helps us determine many economic decisions, such as marketing budgets per marketing channel, retention versus acquisition decisions, unit level economics, profitability and revenue forecasting.

We acquired Bailey in February 2020, H&J in May 2021, Stateside in August 2021 and Sundry in December 2022. We agreed on the consideration that we paid in each acquisition in the course of arm’s length negotiations with the holders of the membership interests in each of Bailey, H&J, Stateside and Sundry. In determining and negotiating this consideration, we relied on the experience and judgment of our management and our evaluation of the potential synergies that could be achieved in combining the operations of Bailey, H&J, Stateside and Sundry. We did not obtain independent valuations, appraisals or fairness opinions to support the consideration that we paid/agreed to pay.

Recent Developments

H&J Settlement Agreement and Disposition of H&J

We have been involved in a dispute with the former owners of H&J regarding our obligation to “true up” their ownership interest in our Company further to that membership interest purchase agreement dated May 10, 2021 whereby we acquired all of the outstanding membership interests of H&J (as amended, the “H&J Purchase Agreement”). Further to the H&J Purchase Agreement, we agreed that if, at May 18, 2022, the one year anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering, the product of the number of shares of our common stock issued at the closing of such acquisition multiplied by the average closing price per share of our shares of common stock as quoted on the NasdaqCM for the thirty (30) day trading period immediately preceding such date plus the gross proceeds, if any, of shares of our stock issued to such sellers and sold by them during the one year period from the closing date of the offering does not exceed the sum of $9.1 million, less the value of any shares of common stock cancelled further to any indemnification claims or post-closing adjustments under the H&J Purchase Agreement, then we shall issue to the subject sellers an additional aggregate number of shares of common stock equal to any such valuation shortfall at a

 

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per share price equal to the then closing price per share of our common stock as quoted on the NasdaqCM. We did not honor our obligation to issue such shares and the former owner of H&J have claimed that they were damaged as a result.

On June 21, 2023, the Company and the former owners of H&J executed a Settlement Agreement and Release (the “Settlement Agreement”) whereby contemporaneously with the parties’ execution of the Settlement Agreement (i) the Company made aggregate cash payment of $229,000 to D. Jones Tailored Collection, Ltd. (“D. Jones”), (ii) the Company issued 78,103 shares of common stock to D. Jones at a per share purchase price of $17.925 which represented the lower of (a) the closing price per share of the Common Stock as reported on Nasdaq on June 20, 2023, and (b) the average closing price per share of Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq for the five trading days preceding June 21, 2023, and (iii) the Company assigned and transferred one hundred percent (100%) of the Company’s membership interest in H&J to D. Jones. This transaction is known as the “H&J Settlement”.

The Settlement Agreement contains a resale registration rights provision, pursuant to which the Company shall prepare and file with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 (or any successor to Form S-1) covering the resale of all the shares issued pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and all the shares owned by D. Jones and its principals by no later than the earlier of the following dates: (i) within 90 calendar days following the effective date of this offering and (ii) October 31, 2023. The Company shall use its commercial best efforts to have the S-1 Resale Registration Statement declared effective as soon as possible and D. Jones and its principals have agreed to sell no more than $500,000 worth of shares in any calendar month after the registration statement is declared effective. The H&J Settlement was accounted for a business disposition in accordance with ASC 810-40-40-3A. As of June 21, 2023, the Company no longer consolidated the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of H&J.

Norwest Waiver

On June 21, 2023, the Company, on the one hand, and Norwest Venture Partners XI, LP and Norwest Venture Partners XII, LP (together, the “Norwest Investors”), on the other hand, executed Waiver and Amendment (the “Norwest Amendment”) whereby the Norwest Investors agreed to waive and terminate certain true up rights of the Norwest Investors under the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated February 12, 2020, among the Company, Bailey 44, LLC, Norwest Venture Partners XI, LP, and Norwest Venture Partners XII, LP and Denim.LA Acquisition Corp. This transaction is known as the “Norwest Waiver”. The Norwest Waiver resulted in the cancellation of a contingent liability of approximately $10.5 million in the fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2023.

Sundry Conversion

On June 21, 2023, the Company and the former owners of Sundry (collectively, the “Sundry Investors”) executed a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Sundry SPA”) whereby the Company issued 5,761shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series C Preferred Stock”) to the Sundry Investors at purchase price of $1,000 per share. The Series C Preferred Stock is convertible into a number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock equal to $1,000 divided by an initial conversion price of $17.925 which represents the lower of (i) the closing price per share of the Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq on June 20, 2023, and (ii) the average closing price per share of Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq for the five trading days preceding June 21, 2023. The shares of Series C Preferred Stock were issued in consideration for the cancellation of $5,759,178.00 which represented amounts owing further to certain promissory notes issued by the Company to the Sundry Investors dated December 30, 2022. This transaction is known as the “Sundry Conversion”.

Pursuant to the Sundry SPA, the Company provided resale registration rights to the Sundry Investors. The Sundry SPA provides that the Company shall no later than the earlier of the following dates: (i) the date which is 90 calendar days following the effective date of this offering and (ii) October 31, 2023 use its commercially best efforts to prepare and file with the Securities Exchange Commission a Registration Statement covering the resale of 100% of the Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the Series C Preferred Stock for an offering to be made on a continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415. The Company shall keep such S-1 Resale Registration Statement effective until the earlier to occur of (x) the date on which all Registrable Securities have been sold pursuant to such S-1 Resale Registration Statement and (y) the date as

 

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of which all Investors may sell all of the Registrable Securities without restriction pursuant to Rule 144 (including, without limitation, volume restrictions). Each of the Sundry Investors agreed that in no event will such investor, on an individual basis, convert in the aggregate in any calendar month, more than the greater of (i) $300,000 of the Series C Preferred Stock (measured by the shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the Series C Preferred Stock multiplied by the conversion price) or (ii) shares of Series C Preferred Stock comprising more than 3% of the aggregate trading volume of the Company’s Common Stock as reported by Nasdaq.

Material Trends, Events and Uncertainties

COVID-19

After the impact of COVID-19, we have implemented cost controls to reduce discretionary spending to help mitigate the loss of sales and to conserve cash while continuing to support employees. We are also assessing our forward inventory purchase commitments to ensure proper matching of supply and demand, which will result in an overall reduction in future commitments. As we continue to actively monitor the situation, we may take further actions that affect our operations.

Supply Chain Disruptions

We are subject to global supply chain disruptions, which may include longer lead times for raw fabrics, inbound shipping and longer production times. Supply chain issues have specifically impacted the following for our brands:

•

Increased costs in raw materials from fabric prices, which have increased 10% to 100% depending on the fabric, the time of year, and the origin of the fabric, as well as where the fabric is being shipped;

​

•

Increased cost per kilo to ship via sea or air, which has increased from 25% to 300% depending on the time of year and from the country we are shipping from;

​

•

Increased transit time via sea or air, which have increased by two weeks to two months; and

​

•

Increased labor costs for producing the finished goods, which have increased 5% to 25% depending on the country and the labor skill required to produce the goods.

​

Seasonality

Our quarterly operating results vary due to the seasonality of our individual brands, and are historically stronger in the second half of the calendar year.

Substantial Indebtedness

As of September 14, 2023,, we had an aggregate principal amount of total liabilities outstanding of approximately $22.0 million, which includes approximately $7.9 owing further to outstanding debt obligations.

We believe this is an amount of total liabilities which may be considered significant for a company of our size and current revenue base. Our substantial total liabilities could have important consequences to us. For example, it could:

•

make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations to the holders of our outstanding debt, resulting in possible defaults on and acceleration of such indebtedness;

​

•

require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to make payments on our debt, which would reduce the availability of our cash flows from operations to fund working capital, capital expenditures or other general corporate purposes;

​

•

increase our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions, including interest rate fluctuations;

​

•

place us at a competitive disadvantage to our competitors with proportionately less debt for their size;

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•

limit our ability to refinance our existing debt or borrow additional funds in the future;

​

•

limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changing conditions in our business; and

​

•

limit our ability to react to competitive pressures or make it difficult for us to carry out capital spending that is necessary or important to our growth strategy.

​

Any of the foregoing impacts of our substantial total liabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to repay our total liabilities, including our ability to make scheduled payments on our debt or to refinance our obligations under our debt agreements, will depend on our financial and operating performance, which, in turn, will be subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to the financial and business risk factors we face as described in this section, many of which may be beyond our control. We may not be able to maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to repay our total liabilities, including the ability to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our debt.

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to repay our total liabilities, including the ability to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures or planned growth objectives, seek to obtain additional equity capital or restructure our debt. In the future, our cash flows and capital resources may not be sufficient for payments of interest on and principal of our debt, and such alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet scheduled debt service obligations. In addition, the recent worldwide credit crisis could make it more difficult for us to repay our total liabilities, including the ability to refinance our debt on favorable terms, or at all.

In the absence of such operating results and resources, we may be required to dispose of material assets to repay our total liabilities, including the ability to meet our debt service obligations. We may not be able to consummate those sales, or, if we do, we will not control the timing of the sales or whether the proceeds that we realize will be adequate to repay our total liabilities, including the ability to meet debt service obligations when due.

Possible Delisting from Nasdaq

On May 23, 2023, the Company received a letter (the “Letter”) from the Listing Qualifications Staff (the “Staff”) of Nasdaq notifying the Company that the Staff has determined to delist the Company’s common stock from Nasdaq based on the Company’s failure to comply with the listing requirements of Nasdaq Rule 5550(b)(1) as a result of the Company’s stockholders’ deficit for the period ended June 30, 2023, as demonstrated in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 22, 2023, while the Company was under “Panel Monitor” as had been previously disclosed in the Company’s SEC filings. The Letter stated that the Company’s securities would be subject to delisting unless the Company timely requests a hearing before the Panel. The Company timely submitted a hearing request and, at the hearing, the Company presented its plan for regaining and sustaining compliance with all applicable requirements for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market. On July 27, 2023, the Company received a letter (the “Determination”) from the Staff notifying the Company that the Panel granted the Company’s request to continue listing on Nasdaq, subject to the Company’s demonstration of compliance: (i) with the bid price rule by evidencing a closing bid price of $1 or more per share for a minimum of ten consecutive trading sessions on or before September 6, 2023, and (ii) with the $2.5 million stockholders’ equity requirement, set forth in Listing Rule 5550(b)(1), on or before September 15, 2023. The Company has met the aforementioned stockholders’ equity requirement as of June 30, 2023. We effectuated a reverse stock split of the Company’s outstanding common stock at an exchange ratio of 1-for-25 effective August 22, 2023 to achieve the requisite increase in the market price of our common stock to be in compliance with the minimum bid price of Nasdaq.

However, there is no guarantee we will be able to meet the continued listing standards of the NasdaqCM in the future and if Nasdaq were to delist the Company’s common stock and warrants, it would be more difficult for the Company’s stockholders, to dispose of the Company’s securities and more difficult to obtain accurate price quotations on the Company’s common stock or warrants. The Company’s ability to issue additional securities for financing or other purposes, or otherwise to arrange for any financing it may need

 

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in the future, would be materially and adversely affected if the Company’s common stock or warrants are not listed on a national securities exchange. Our ability to successfully implement our business plans and ultimately generate value for our stockholders is dependent on our ability to maximize capital raising opportunities. If we were unsuccessful in raising additional capital, we would be required to curtail our plans to expand our manufacturing and sales capabilities and instead reduce operating expenses, dispose of assets, as well as seek extended terms on our obligations, the effect of which would materially and adversely impact future operating results. See “Risk Factors — If we are not able to comply with the applicable continued listing requirements or standards of NasdaqCM, NasdaqCM could delist our common stock.” for more details.

Performance Factors

We believe that our future performance will depend on many factors, including the following:

Ability to Increase Our Customer Base in both Online and Traditional Wholesale Distribution Channels

We are currently growing our customer base through both paid and organic online channels, as well as by expanding our presence in a variety of physical retail distribution channels. Online customer acquisitions typically occur at our direct websites for each brand. Our online customer acquisition strategies include paid and unpaid social media, search, display and traditional media. Our products for Bailey, DSTLD and Stateside are also sold through a growing number of physical retail channels, including specialty stores, department stores and online multi-brand platforms.

Ability to Acquire Customers at a Reasonable Cost

We believe an ability to consistently acquire customers at a reasonable cost relative to customer retention rates, contribution margins and projected life-time value will be a key factor affecting future performance. To accomplish this goal, we intend to balance advertising spend between online and offline channels, as well as cross marketing and cross merchandising our portfolio brands and their respective products. We believe the ability to cross merchandise products and cross market brands, will decrease our customer acquisition costs while increasing the customer’s lifetime value and contribution margin. We will also balance marketing spend with advertising focused on creating emotional brand recognition, which we believe will represent a lower percentage of our spend.

Ability to Drive Repeat Purchases and Customer Retention

We accrue substantial economic value and margin expansion from customer cohort retention and repeat purchases of our products on an annual basis. Our revenue growth rate and operating margin expansion will be affected by our customer cohort retention rates and the cohorts annual spend for both existing and newly acquired customers.

Ability to Expand Our Product Lines

Our goal is to expand our product lines over time to increase our growth opportunity. Our customer’s annual spend and brand relevance will be driven by the cadence and success of new product launches.

Ability to Expand Gross Margins

Our overall profitability will be impacted by our ability to expand gross margins through effective sourcing and leveraging buying power of finished goods and shipping costs, as well as pricing power over time.

Ability to Expand Operating Margins

Our ability to expand operating margins will be impacted by our ability to leverage (1) fixed general and administrative costs, (2) variable sales and marketing costs, (3) elimination of redundant costs as we acquire and integrate brands, (4) cross marketing and cross merchandising brands in our portfolio, and (5) drive customer retention and customer lifetime value. Our ability to expand operating margins will result

 

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from increasing revenue growth above our operating expense growth, as well as increasing gross margins. For example, we anticipate that our operating expenses will increase substantially in the foreseeable future as we undertake the acquisition and integration of different brands, incur expenses associated with maintaining compliance as a public company, and increased marketing and sales efforts to increase our customer base. While we anticipate that the operating expenses in absolute dollars will increase, we do not anticipate that the operating expenses as a percentage of revenue will increase. We anticipate that the operating expenses as a percentage of revenue will decrease as we eliminate duplicative costs across brands including a reduction in similar labor roles, contracts for technologies and operating systems and creating lower costs from higher purchasing power from shipping expenses to purchase orders of products. This reduction of expenses and lower cost per unit due to purchasing power should create meaningful savings in both dollars and as a percentage of revenue.

As an example, we were able to eliminate several million in expenses within six months of acquiring Bailey. Examples of these savings include eliminating several Bailey teams, which our teams took over.

We merged over half of the technology contracts and operating systems contracts from two brands into one brand contract at significant savings. We also eliminated our office space and rent and moved everyone into the Bailey office space. Finally, we eliminated DSTLD’s third-party logistics company and started using Bailey’s internal logistics. This resulted in an increase in our operating expenses in absolute dollars as there were now two brands versus one brand. However, the operating expenses as a percentage of pre-COVID revenue declined meaningfully and as we increase revenue for each brand, we expect to experience higher margins.

Ability to Create Free Cash Flow

Our goal is to achieve near term free cash flow through cash flow positive acquisitions, elimination of redundant expenses in acquired companies, increasing customer annual spend and lowering customer acquisition costs through cross merchandising across our brand portfolio.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

Our accounting and reporting policies conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Business Acquisitions

We record our acquisitions under the acquisition method of accounting, under which most of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed are initially recorded at their respective fair values and any excess purchase price is reflected as goodwill. We utilize management estimates and, in some instances, independent third-party valuation firms to assist in determining the fair values of assets acquired, liabilities assumed and contingent consideration, if any. Such estimates and valuations require us to make significant assumptions, including projections of future events and operating performance.

The fair value of customer relationships, backlog and trade names/trademarks acquired in our acquisitions are determined using various valuation methods, based on a number of significant assumptions.

We determine which assets have finite lives and then determine the estimated useful life of finite assets. The expected useful life of customer relationships is established as three years, which is the period over which these assets are expected to reasonably contribute to future cash flows. We expect to amortize such customer relationships using the straight-line method.

 

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The estimated fair values are subject to change during the measurement period, which is limited to one year subsequent to the acquisition date.

Revenue Recognition

Revenues are recognized when performance obligations are satisfied through the transfer of promised goods to our customers. Control transfers upon shipment of product and when the title has been passed to the customers. This includes the transfer of legal title, physical possession, the risks and rewards of ownership, and customer acceptance. We provide the customer the right of return on the product and revenue is adjusted based on an estimate of the expected returns based on historical rates. We consider the sale of products as a single performance obligation. Sales tax collected from customers and remitted to taxing authorities is excluded from revenue and is included in accrued expenses. Revenue is deferred for orders received for which associated shipments have not occurred.

Accounts Receivable

We carry our accounts receivable at invoiced amounts less allowances for customer credits, doubtful accounts, and other deductions. We do not accrue interest on its trade receivables. Management evaluates the ability to collect accounts receivable based on a combination of factors. Receivables are determined to be past due based on individual credit terms. A reserve for doubtful accounts is maintained based on the length of time receivables are past due, historical collections, or the status of a customer’s financial position. Receivables are written off in the year deemed uncollectible after efforts to collect the receivables have proven unsuccessful.

We periodically review accounts receivable, estimate an allowance for bad debts, and simultaneously record the appropriate expense in the statement of operations. Such estimates are based on general economic conditions, the financial conditions of customers, and the amount and age of past due accounts. Past due accounts are written off against that allowance only after all collection attempts have been exhausted and the prospects for recovery are remote.

Goodwill Impairment

We are required to assess our goodwill for impairment at least annually for each reporting unit that carries goodwill. We may elect to first do a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is in excess of its carrying value. If the qualitative assessment concludes that it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying value, a quantitative assessment is performed. If the fair value is determined to be less than its carrying value, we record goodwill impairment equal to the amount by which the reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill.

Intangible Assets Impairment

We evaluate the carrying amount of intangible assets and other long-lived assets for impairment whenever indicators of impairment exist. We test these assets for recoverability by comparing the net carrying amount of the asset or asset group to the undiscounted net cash flows to be generated from the use and eventual disposition of that asset or asset group. If the assets are recoverable, an impairment loss does not exist, and no loss is recorded. If the carrying amounts of the assets are not recoverable, an impairment loss is recognized for any deficiency of the asset or asset group’s fair value compared to their carrying amount. Although we base cash flow forecasts on assumptions that are consistent with plans and estimates we use to manage our business, there is significant judgment in determining the cash flows attributable to these assets, including markets and market share, sales volumes and mix, and working capital changes.

Financial Statement Components

Bailey

Net Revenue

Bailey sells its products directly to customers. Bailey also sells its products indirectly through wholesale channels that include third-party online channels and physical channels such as specialty retailers and department stores.

 

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Cost of Net Revenue

Bailey’s cost of net revenue includes the direct cost of purchased and manufactured merchandise; inventory shrinkage; inventory adjustments due to obsolescence including excess and slow-moving inventory and lower of cost and net realizable reserves; duties; and inbound freight. Cost of net revenue also includes direct labor to production activities such as pattern makers, cutters and sewers. Cost of net revenue includes an allocation of overheard costs such as rent, utilities and commercial insurance pertaining to direct inventory activities.

Operating Expenses

Bailey’s operating expenses include all operating costs not included in cost of net revenues and sales and marketing. These costs consist of general and administrative, fulfillment and shipping expense to the customer.

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of all payroll and payroll-related expenses, professional fees, insurance, software costs, occupancy expenses related to Bailey’s operations at its headquarters, including utilities, depreciation and amortization, and other costs related to the administration of its business.

Bailey’s fulfillment and shipping expenses include the cost to operate its warehouse including occupancy and labor costs to pick and pack customer orders and any return orders; packaging; and shipping costs to the customer from the warehouse and any returns from the customer to the warehouse.

Sales & Marketing

Bailey’s sales and marketing expense primarily includes digital advertising; photo shoots for wholesale and direct-to-consumer communications, including email, social media and digital advertisements; and commission expenses associated with sales representatives.

Interest Expense

Bailey’s interest expense consists primarily of interest related to its outstanding debt to our senior lender.

DBG

Net Revenue

We sell our products to our customers directly through our website. In those cases, sales, net represents total sales less returns, promotions and discounts.

Cost of Net Revenue

Cost of net revenue include direct cost of purchased merchandise; inventory shrinkage; inventory adjustments due to obsolescence, including excess and slow-moving inventory and lower of cost and net realizable reserves.

Operating Expenses

Our operating expenses include all operating costs not included in cost of net revenues. These costs consist of general and administrative, sales and marketing, and fulfillment and shipping expense to the customer.

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of all payroll and payroll-related expenses, professional fees, insurance, software costs, and expenses related to our operations at our headquarters, including utilities, depreciation and amortization, and other costs related to the administration of our business.

 

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We expect to continue to incur additional expenses as a result of operating as a public company, including costs to comply with the rules and regulations applicable to companies listed on a national securities exchange, costs related to compliance and reporting obligations pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC and higher expenses for insurance, investor relations and professional services. We expect these costs will increase our operating costs.

Fulfillment and shipping expenses include the cost to operate our warehouse — or prior to the Bailey acquisition, costs paid to our third-party logistics provider — including occupancy and labor costs to pick and pack customer orders and any return orders; packaging; and shipping costs to the customer from the warehouse and any returns from the customer to the warehouse.

In addition, going forward, the amortization of the identifiable intangibles acquired in the acquisitions will be included in operating expenses.

Interest Expense

Interest expense consists primarily of interest related to our debt outstanding to our senior lender, convertible debt, and other interest bearing liabilities.

Stateside

Net Revenue

Stateside sells its products directly to customers. Stateside also sells its products indirectly through wholesale channels that include third-party online channels and physical channels such as specialty retailers and department stores.

Cost of Net Revenue

Stateside’s cost of net revenue includes the direct cost of purchased and manufactured merchandise; inventory shrinkage; inventory adjustments due to obsolescence including excess and slow-moving inventory and lower of cost and net realizable reserves; duties; and inbound freight. Cost of net revenue also includes direct labor to production activities such as pattern makers, cutters and sewers. Cost of net revenue includes an allocation of overheard costs such as rent, utilities and commercial insurance pertaining to direct inventory activities.

Operating Expenses

Stateside’s operating expenses include all operating costs not included in cost of net revenues and sales and marketing. These costs consist of general and administrative, fulfillment and shipping expense to the customer. General and administrative expenses consist primarily of all payroll and payroll-related expenses, professional fees, insurance, software costs, occupancy expenses related to Stateside’s stores and to Stateside’s operations at its headquarters, including utilities, depreciation and amortization, and other costs related to the administration of its business.

Stateside’s fulfillment and shipping expenses include the cost to operate its warehouse including occupancy and labor costs to pick and pack customer orders and any return orders; packaging; and shipping costs to the customer from the warehouse and any returns from the customer to the warehouse.

Sales & Marketing

Stateside’s sales and marketing expense primarily includes digital advertising; photo shoots for wholesale and direct-to-consumer communications, including email, social media and digital advertisements; and commission expenses associated with sales representatives.

Sundry

Net Revenue

Sundry sells its products directly to customers. Sundry also sells its products indirectly through wholesale channels that include third-party online channels and physical channels such as specialty retailers and department stores.

 

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Cost of Net Revenue

Sundry’s cost of net revenue includes the direct cost of purchased and manufactured merchandise; inventory shrinkage; inventory adjustments due to obsolescence including excess and slow-moving inventory and lower of cost and net realizable reserves; duties; and inbound freight. Cost of net revenue also includes direct labor to production activities such as pattern makers, cutters and sewers. Cost of net revenue includes an allocation of overheard costs such as rent, utilities and commercial insurance pertaining to direct inventory activities.

Operating Expenses

Sundry’s operating expenses include all operating costs not included in cost of net revenues and sales and marketing. These costs consist of general and administrative, fulfillment and shipping expense to the customer. General and administrative expenses consist primarily of all payroll and payroll-related expenses, professional fees, insurance, software costs, occupancy expenses related to Sundry’s stores and to Sundry’s operations at its headquarters, including utilities, depreciation and amortization, and other costs related to the administration of its business.

Sundry’s fulfillment and shipping expenses include the cost to operate its warehouse including occupancy and labor costs to pick and pack customer orders and any return orders; packaging; and shipping costs to the customer from the warehouse and any returns from the customer to the warehouse.

Sales and Marketing

Sundry’s sales and marketing expense primarily includes digital advertising; photo shoots for wholesale and direct-to-consumer communications, including email, social media and digital advertisements; and commission expenses associated with sales representatives.

Six Months Ended June 30, 2023 compared to Six Months Ended June 30, 2022

Results of Operations

The following table presents our results of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022:

Net Revenues

Revenues increased by $3.6 million to $8.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $5.3 million in the corresponding fiscal period in 2022. The increase was primarily due to full results in 2023 pertaining to the acquisition of Sundry in December 2022.

 

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Gross Profit

Our gross profit increased by $2.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 to $4.3 million from a gross profit of $1.7 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2022. The increase in gross margin was primarily attributable to increased revenue in the six months ended June 30, 2023 and the gross profit achieved by Sundry since the acquisition, as well as increasing margins across all entities.

Our gross margin was 48.8% for the six months ended June 30, 2023 compared to 32.7% for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increase in gross margin was due to a shift in sales mix towards e-commerce, led by the Sundry business, which is able to achieve higher margins than wholesale, as well as heavy discounting in the first quarter of 2022.

Operating Expenses

Our operating expenses decreased by $17.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 to $0.2 compared to $17.8 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2022. The decrease in operating expenses was primarily due to the change in fair value of contingent consideration of $17.8 million. General and administrative expenses increased by $0.3 million primarily due to Sundry’s operations. Sales and marketing expenses decreased by $0.2 million due to decreased spending on advertising and other cost-cutting marketing efforts. Through the second quarter of 2023, we were able to obtain and efficiencies in fully absorbing all of our brands.

Other Income (Expenses)

Other expenses was $3.6 million and $1.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. In 2023, the Company had less interest expense due to less outstanding notes. In 2022, other expense was offset by a gain due to the change in fair value of derivative liability in 2022.

Net Loss from Continuing Operations

Our net loss from continuing operations decreased by $17.7 million to income of $0.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 compared to a loss of $17.2 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2022, primarily due to the change in fair value of contingent consideration, higher gross profit and lower operating expenses, partially offset by other expenses.

Cash Flow Activities

The following table presents selected captions from our condensed statement of cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022:

Cash Flows Used In Operating Activities

Our cash used by operating activities decreased by $3.6 million to cash used of $3.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 as compared to cash used of $6.6 million for the corresponding fiscal

 

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period in 2022. The increase in net cash used in operating activities was primarily driven by changes in our operating assets and liabilities, partially offset by a lower net loss in 2023.

Cash Flows Provided By Investing Activities

Our cash provide by investing activities was $87,378 in 2023 due to return of deposits. Our cash used in investing activities was $27,855 in 2023 due to purchases of property and equipment.

Cash Flows Provided by Financing Activities

Cash provided by financing activities was $2.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. Cash inflows included $5.0 million in issuance of common stock in public offering, $6.6 million in proceeds from loans and promissory notes and $0.2 million in advances from the factor.

Cash provided by financing activities was $6.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. Cash inflows in the six months ended June 30, 2022 were primarily related to $3.1 million in repayment of convertible and promissory notes partially offset by factor repayments of $0.1 million.

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

As of June 30, 2023, we have a $7.5 million in outstanding principal on debt, primarily our promissory notes due to the Bailey44 Sellers, the March 2023 Notes, PPP and merchant advances. Aside from our remaining non-current SBA obligations, all outstanding loans have maturity dates through 2024.

Year ended December 31, 2022 compared to year ended December 31, 2021

Results of Operations

The following table presents our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 which excludes H&J due to its retroactive discontinued operations classification:

Net Revenues

Revenue increased by $4.5 million to $10.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $5.8 million in the corresponding fiscal period in 2021. The increase was primarily due to full results in 2022 pertaining to the acquisition of Stateside in August 2021.

Gross Profit

Our gross profit increased by $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 to $3.5 million from $1.9 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2021. The increase in gross margin was primarily

 

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attributable to increased revenue in 2022 and the gross profit achieved by Stateside since the acquisition, as well as discounting and liquidation measures by both DBG and Bailey to sell aged inventory in 2021.

Our gross margin was 34.3% for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to 33.6% for year ended December 31, 2021.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses decreased by $2.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 to $14.1 million compared to $16.1 million in 2021. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was primarily due to non-cash charges incurred in 2021 upon the Company’s initial public offering (the “IPO”), including stock-based compensation expense of $4.8 million. This was partially offset by increased general and administrative expenses in 2022 due to full scale operations of all subsidiaries, as well as increased headcount and corporate costs.

General and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue was 136% in 2022 as compared to 280% in 2021.

Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing expenses increased by $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 to $4.0 million compared to $3.3 million in 2021. The increase in sales and marketing expenses was primarily due to full-year advertising and marketing efforts by each subsidiary.

Sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue was 39% in 2022 as compared to 57% in 2021.

Other Operating Expenses

Other operating expenses includes distribution expenses, impairment and change in fair value of contingent consideration. Other operating expenses was $6.7 million in 2022 as compared to $12.7 million in 2021. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in the change in fair value of contingent consideration of $8.2 million.

Other Income (Expense)

Other expenses increased by $3.8 million to $5.9 million in the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to $2.1 million in the corresponding fiscal period in 2021. The increase in other expenses in 2022 was primarily due to amortization of debt discount and related interest expense on the Company’s various convertible notes and change in fair value of derivative liability, partially offset by PPP forgiveness.

Net Loss from Continuing Operations

Our net loss from continuing operations decreased by $5.6 million to a loss of $27.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to a loss of $31.3 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2021 primarily due a higher gross profit in 2022.

 

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Cash Flow Activities

The following table presents selected captions from our condensed statement of cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Cash Flows Used In Operating Activities

Our cash used in operating activities decreased by $3.4 million to $10.8 million to cash used for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to cash used of $14.2 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2021. The decrease in net cash used in operating activities was primarily driven by an increase in non-cash adjustments of $5.0 million and more cash provided by changes in our operating assets and liabilities in 2022, partially offset by an increase in our net loss in 2022.

Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities

Our cash used in investing activities was $7.3 million in the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to cash used of $6.0 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2021. Cash used in 2022 was primarily related to the cash consideration in the Sundry acquisition. Cash used in 2021 was primarily related to the cash consideration in the H&J and Stateside acquisitions.

Cash Flows Provided by Financing Activities

Cash provided by financing activities was $18.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to cash provided of $20.2 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2021. Cash inflows in 2022 were primarily related to $16.4 million in equity proceeds after offering costs, $10.2 million from convertible notes and loans, partially offset by note repayments of $7.4 million. Cash inflows in 2021 were primarily related to $8.6 million in net proceeds from the IPO after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses, as well as $1.4 million in net proceeds from the underwriter’s exercise of their over-allotment option in the IPO.

Contractual Obligations and Commitments

In March 2017, we entered into a senior credit agreement with an outside lender for up to $4,000,000, dependent upon the achievement of certain milestones. The initial close amount was a minimum of $1,345,000. The loan bears interest at 12.5% per annum, compounded monthly, including fees. A 5% closing fee is due upon each closing, legal and accounting fees of up to $40,000, and management fees of $4,167 — $5,000 per month. In September 2022, the entire outstanding principal was converted into preferred stock.

As of December 31, 2022 we have $4.0 million in outstanding principal pertaining to our convertible notes which mature in February 2023. As of December 31, 2022, we have an additional 10.4 million in outstanding principal on other loans, primarily our promissory notes due to the Bailey44 and Sundry Sellers. Aside from our remaining non-current SBA obligations, as of December 31, 2022, all outstanding loans have maturity dates through 2023.

 

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Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements and Future Commitments

We have no off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to investors.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Each of DBG, Bailey, H&J, Stateside and Sundry has historically funded operations with internally generated cash flow and borrowings and capital raises. Changes in working capital, most notably accounts receivable, are driven primarily by levels of business activity. Historically each of DBG, Bailey, H&J, Stateside and Sundry has maintained credit line facilities to support such working capital needs and makes repayments on that facility with excess cash flow from operations.

As of June 30, 2023, we had cash of $0.3 million, but we had a working capital deficit of $16.0 million. The Company requires significant capital to meet its obligations as they become due. These factors raise substantial doubt about our Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Throughout the next twelve months, the Company plans to fund its capital funding needs through a combination of Cash flow from operations and possible public or private equity offerings, debt financings or other similar sources. There can be no assurance as to the availability or terms upon which such financing and capital might be available in the future. If the Company is unable to secure additional funding, it may be forced to curtail its business plans.

Pro Forma (giving effect to the acquisition of Sundry in January 2023 and the disposition of H&J in June 2023)

Results of Operations

Six Months Ended June 30, 2023 compared to Six Months Ended June 30, 2022

The following table presents our pro forma results of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022:

Net Revenues

Pro forma revenues decreased by $5.9 million to $8.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $14.7 million in the corresponding fiscal period in 2022. The decrease was primarily due to lower wholesale operations for Sundry, which was acquired in December 2022.

Gross Profit

Our pro forma gross profit decreased by $1.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 to $4.3 million from a gross profit of $6.2 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2022. The decrease in gross margin was primarily attributable to decreased revenue in 2023, partially offset by higher margins achieved by each of the Company’s subsidiaries in 2022.

 

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Our pro forma gross margin was 48.8% for six months ended June 30, 2023 compared to 42.3% for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increase in gross margin was due to our ability to achieve cost efficiencies amongst all brands after the Sundry acquisition in December 2022, as well as heavy discounting in the first quarter of 2022.

Operating Expenses

Our pro forma operating expenses decreased by $4.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 to $10.9 million compared to $14.9 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2022. The decrease in operating expenses was primarily due to lower general and administrative expenses in 2023 due to various cost cutting measures and efficiencies in fully absorbing all of our brands.

Other Income (Expenses)

Other pro forma income (expenses) was $3.4 and $1.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. Other expense includes interest expense, consisting of interest on outstanding loans and amortization of debt discount, loss on extinguishment of debt in 2023 and change in fair value of derivative liability in 2022.

Net Loss

Our pro forma net loss from continuing operations increased by $0.2 million to a loss of $10.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 compared to a loss of $9.8 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2022 primarily due to lower gross profit partially offset by less operating expenses.

Cash Flow Activities

The following table presents selected captions from our pro forma statement of cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022:

Cash Flows Used In Operating Activities

Our pro forma cash used by operating activities increased by $3.3 million to cash used of $3.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 as compared to cash used of $6.3 million for the corresponding fiscal period in 2022. The increase in net cash used in operating activities was primarily driven by non-cash charges in 2023.

Cash Flows Provided By Investing Activities

Our pro forma cash provided by investing activities was $41,331 in 2023 due to return of deposits. Our cash used in investing activities was $18,982 in 2022.

Cash Flows Provided by Financing Activities

Pro forma cash provided by financing activities was $2.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. Cash inflows included $5.0 million in issuance of common stock in public offering, $6.6 million in

 

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proceeds from loans and promissory notes and $0.2 million in advances from the factor. Pro forma cash provided by financing activities was $7.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Each of DBG, Bailey, Stateside and Sundry has historically funded operations with internally generated cash flow and borrowings and capital raises. Changes in working capital, most notably accounts receivable, are driven primarily by levels of business activity. Historically each of DBG, Bailey, Stateside and Sundry has maintained credit line facilities to support such working capital needs and makes repayments on that facility with excess cash flow from operations.

As of June 30, 2023, we had pro forma cash of $0.3 million, but we had a working capital deficit of $16.0 million. The Company requires significant capital to meet its obligations as they become due. These factors raise substantial doubt about our Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Throughout the next twelve months, the Company plans to continue to fund its capital funding needs through a combination of public or private equity offerings, debt financings or other sources. There can be no assurance as to the availability or terms upon which such financing and capital might be available in the future. If the Company is unable to secure additional funding, it may be forced to curtail its business plans.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS

Digital Brands Group is a curated collection of lifestyle brands, including Bailey, DSTLD, Stateside, Sundry and ACE Studios, that offers a variety of apparel products through direct-to-consumer and wholesale distribution. Our complementary brand portfolio provides us with the unique opportunity to cross merchandise our brands. We aim for our customers to wear our brands head to toe and to capture what we call “closet share” by gaining insight into their preferences to create targeted and personalized content specific to their cohort. Operating our brands under one portfolio provides us with the ability to better utilize our technological, human capital and operational capabilities across all brands.

As a result, we have been able to realize operational efficiencies and continue to identify additional cost saving opportunities to scale our brands and overall portfolio.

Our portfolio currently consists of five significant brands that leverage our three channels: our websites, wholesale and showrooms.

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Bailey combines beautiful, luxe fabrics and on-trend designs to create sophisticated, ready-to-wear capsules for women on-the-go. Designing for real life, this brand focuses on feeling and comfort rather than how it looks on a runway. Bailey is primarily a wholesale brand, which we intend to transition to a digital, direct-to-consumer brand.

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DSTLD offers stylish, high-quality garments without the luxury retail markup, valuing customer experience over labels. DSTLD is primarily a digital direct-to-consumer brand, to which we recently added select wholesale retailers to generate brand awareness.

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Stateside is an elevated, “America first” brand with all knitting, dyeing, cutting and sewing sourced and manufactured locally in Los Angeles. The collection is influenced by the evolution of the classic t-shirt, offering a simple yet elegant look. Stateside is primarily a wholesale brand that we intend to transition to a digital, direct-to-consumer brand.

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Sundry offers distinct collections of women’s clothing, including dresses, shirts, sweaters, skirts, shorts, athleisure bottoms and other accessory products. Sundry’s products are coastal casual and consist of soft, relaxed and colorful designs that feature a distinct French chic, resembling the spirits of the French Mediterranean and the energy of Venice Beach in Southern California. Sundry is primarily a wholesale brand that we intend to transition to a digital, direct-to-consumer brand.

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We believe that successful apparel brands sell in all revenue channels. However, each channel offers different margin structures and requires different customer acquisition and retention strategies. We were founded as a digital-first retailer that has strategically expanded into select wholesale and direct retail channels. We strive to strategically create omnichannel strategies for each of our brands that blend physical and online channels to engage consumers in the channel of their choosing. Our products are sold direct-to- consumers principally through our websites and our own showrooms, but also through our wholesale channel, primarily in specialty stores and select department stores. With the continued expansion of our wholesale distribution, we believe developing an omnichannel solution further strengthens our ability to efficiently acquire and retain customers while also driving high customer lifetime value.

We believe that by leveraging a physical footprint to acquire customers and increase brand awareness, we can use digital marketing to focus on retention and a very tight, disciplined, high value new customer acquisition strategy, especially targeting potential customers lower in the sales funnel. Building a direct relationship with the customer as the customer transacts directly with us allows us to better understand our customer’s preferences and shopping habits. Our experience as a company originally founded as a digitally native-first retailer gives us the ability to strategically review and analyze the customer’s data, including contact information, browsing and shopping cart data, purchase history and style preferences. This in turn has the effect of lowering our inventory risk and cash needs since we can order and replenish product based on the data from our online sales history, replenish specific inventory by size, color and SKU based on real times sales data, and control our mark-down and promotional strategies versus being told what mark downs and promotions we have to offer by the department stores and boutique retailers.

 

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Principal Products and Services

DSTLD — Brand Summary

DSTLD focuses on minimalist design, superior quality, and only the essential wardrobe pieces for men and women. We deliver casual luxury rooted in denim; garments that are made with exhaustive attention to detail from the finest materials for a closet of timeless, functional staples. Our brand name “DSTLD” is derived from the word ‘distilled,’ meaning to extract only the essentials. As such, DSTLD boasts a line of key wardrobe pieces in a fundamental color palette of black, white, grey, and denim.

Our denim pants prices generally range from $128 to $148. Our tee shirts, tops and cashmere sweaters will range from $30 to $278. Our casual pants will range from $148 to $178.

ACE Studios — Brand Summary

ACE Studios will design and offer luxury men’s suiting with superior performance, superb fits, and excellent quality at an exceptional value. We intend to offer men’s classic tailored apparel with premium and luxury fabrics and manufacturing. We work with the same high-quality mills and factories as the leading luxury brands. We believe most customers have different shapes and sizes, so we plan to offer multiple fits for our products. We sidestep the middleman and sell our products ourselves, allowing us to offer top-tier quality without the standard retail markup.

Our suits are expected to range from $295 to $495. Our dress shirts will range from $55 to $65. Our casual pants will range from $85 to $109.

We anticipate rolling out the ACE Studios brand in the third quarter of 2024 as a digitally native first brand.

Bailey — Brand Summary

In February 2020, we acquired Bailey. Bailey delivers distinct high-quality, well-fitting, on-trend contemporary apparel, using at an entry contemporary price point. Bailey combines beautiful, luxe fabrics and on-trend designs to offer clean, sophisticated ready-to-wear separates that easily transition from day to night and for date night. Bailey offers fashionable staples with timeless design features, making them wearable for any occasion — the majority of products are tops, sweaters and dresses.

Bailey’s full seasonal collections of dresses, tops, jumpsuits, bottoms, sets, jackets and rompers retail at price points between $88 – $398. We believe that we can create more compelling price points as we leverage our direct-to-consumer expertise. As we increase the direct-to-consumer revenue mix, we believe we will have opportunities to increase our margins, which will mostly be passed along to the customer with lower price points.

With our acquisition of Bailey 44, LLC, we view the following as tangible near-term growth opportunities:

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Increase emphasis on email and SMS communications allowing for personalized direct customer engagement, retention and repurchases.

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Increase market share in existing and new wholesale, including specialty boutiques due to the well-known and respected designer we hired in June 2020.

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Increase digital spend, social media presence, and brand and influencer collaborations.

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Selective opportunity to roll out proven retail concept in well defined, strategic locations.

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International expansion and licensing opportunities in select categories.

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Stateside — Brand Summary

We acquired Stateside in August 2021. Stateside is a collection of elevated American basics influenced by the evolution of the classic T-Shirt. All garments are designed and produced in Los Angeles from the finest fabrics. All knitting, dyeing, cutting and sewing is sourced and manufactured locally in Los Angeles.

 

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Stateside is known for delivering high quality women’s clothing, including luxury T-shirts, tops and bottoms, etc. Stateside is primarily a wholesale brand with very limited online revenue. Its T-shirt prices range from $68 to $94, their other tops range from $98 to $130, and their bottoms range from $80 to $144.

With our acquisition of Stateside, we view the following as tangible near-term growth opportunities:

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Increase online revenues significantly as we have spent very little resources on developing its online sales opportunity from the website optimization to photography to email marketing to online advertising to digital customer acquisition and retention.

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Increase gross margins by ordering larger quantities as we pay meaningful upcharges for minimum order quantities.

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Launch seasonal new product categories such as women’s knits and wovens in the top category and women’s wovens in the bottom category. We believe knits and wovens tops are one of the larger product categories in womenswear, with higher price points and dollar profit.

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Sunnyside — Brand Summary

We acquired Sundry in December 2021. Sundry offers distinct collections of women’s clothing, including dresses, shirts, sweaters, skirts, shorts, athleisure bottoms and other accessory products. Sundry’s products are coastal casual and consist of soft, relaxed and colorful designs that feature a distinct French chic, resembling the spirits of the French Mediterranean and the energy of Venice Beach in Southern California.

The products are designed and mostly produced in Los Angeles from the finest fabrics. The majority of the knitting, dyeing, cutting and sewing is sourced and manufactured locally in Los Angeles, with some sweaters made overseas.

Sundry is known for delivering high quality novelty and resort style T-shirts, tops and bottoms. Sundry is mostly a wholesale brand with meaningful online revenue. Its T-shirt prices range from $68 to $98, its other tops range from $98 to $198, and its bottoms range from $80 to $228.

With our acquisition of Sundry, we view the following as tangible near-term growth opportunities:

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Increase online revenues significantly as we cross market their customer base with the customer bases from our other brands, especially on the Bailey Shop.

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Increase gross margin dollars by updating the product line and driving increased volume through the wholesale and online channels.

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Launch a new product category for 2024 in women’s athleisure. We believe athleisure is one of the largest product categories in womenswear, with high repeat spend and closet share.

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Sales and Distribution

DSTLD products have historically been sold solely direct-to-consumer, via our website. We started offering DSTLD products through a wholesale channel in October 2020. We intend to leverage the Bailey sales force to sell DSTLD products into their select independent boutiques and select department stores. We believe that we can increase brand awareness, new customer acquisition and revenue by leveraging the Bailey independent boutiques. We intend to start selling old season stock through selected off-price retailers, with additional sales expected to be generated through specifically-cut product for select off-price retailers.

Bailey products are distributed through wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels. The wholesale channel includes premium department stores, select independent boutiques and third-party online stores.

Stateside and Sundry products are distributed through wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels includes premium department stores and national chains, select independent boutiques and third-party online stores.

We do not have material terms or arrangements with our third-party distributors. As is customary in the wholesale side of the retail apparel industry, we work with the wholesale buyers for every product collection and season to develop a purchase order based on quantities, pricing, profit margin and any future

 

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mark-down agreements. Historically, these factors are driven by the wholesale buyer’s belief of how well they think the product will sell at their stores. For example, if the collection is considered very strong by the wholesale buyer, we usually achieve higher quantities, higher margins and lower future markdown guarantees. Conversely, when the wholesale buyer considers the collection to be weak, we experience lower quantities, lower margins and higher mark-down guarantees.

Our direct-to-consumer channels include our own website. Old season stock is sold through selected off- price retailers, with additional sales generated through specifically-cut product for select off-price retailers.

All of our DSTLD, Bailey and Stateside and Sundry sellable product is stored at our corporate warehouse and distribution center in Los Angeles, CA, which also houses our corporate office. In addition to storing product, we also receive and process new product deliveries, process and ship outbound orders, and process and ship customer returns in this same facility.

We offer free shipping and returns above to all our customers in the United States. We also offer customers the option to upgrade to 2-Day or Overnight Shipping for an additional cost.

Design and Development

Our products are designed at the headquarters of each brand, which are in Los Angeles, CA. Each brand’s design efforts are supported by well-established product development and production teams. The continued collaboration between design and merchandising ensures we respond to consumer preferences and market trends with new innovative product offerings while maintaining our core fashion foundation.

In-house design and production teams in Los Angeles perform development of the sample line, allowing for speed to market, flexibility and quality of fit.

We analyze trends, markets, and social media feedback along and utilize historical data and industry tools to identify essential styles and proper replenishment timing and quantities.

We hired a new head designer for DSTLD Men’s in December 2019 and contracted with a third-party designer for DSTLD Women’s in June 2020. We also contracted with a third-party designer for Bailey in June 2020. We have an in-house designer for each of Stateside and Sundry.

We rely on a limited number of suppliers to provide our finished products, so we can aggregate pricing power. As we continue to increase our volumes, we will source additional factories to spread out our risks.

While we have developed long-standing relationships with a number of our suppliers and manufacturing sources and take great care to ensure that they share our commitment to quality and ethics, we do not have any long-term term contracts with these parties for the production and supply of our fabrics and products. We require that all of our manufacturers adhere to a vendor code of ethics regarding social and environmental sustainability practices. Our product quality and sustainability team partners with leading inspection and verification firms to closely monitor each supplier’s compliance with applicable laws and our vendor code of ethics.

Currently, our Bailey, DSTLD and Stateside and Sundry products are shipped from our suppliers to our distribution center in Los Angeles, CA which currently handles all our warehousing, fulfillment, outbound shipping and returns processing. Our Sundry products will be shipped from our suppliers to our distribution center in Los Angeles, CA which will handle all our warehousing, fulfillment, outbound shipping and returns processing. During 2023, we will review maintaining our own distribution centers versus using a third-party solution.

Product Suppliers: Sourcing and Manufacturing

We work with a variety of apparel manufacturers in North America, Asia and Europe. We only work with full package suppliers, which supply fabric, trims, along with cut/sew/wash services, only invoicing us for the final full cost of each garment. This allows us the ability to maximize cash flows and optimize operations. We do not have long-term written contracts with manufacturers, though we have long-standing relationships with a diverse base of vendors.

 

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We do not own or operate any manufacturing facilities and rely solely on third-party contract manufacturers operating primarily in Europe, United States, and the Asia Pacific region for the production of our products depending on the brand. All of our contract manufacturers are evaluated for quality systems, social compliance and financial strength by our internal teams prior to being selected and on an ongoing basis. Where appropriate, we strive to qualify multiple manufacturers for particular product types and fabrications.

All of our garments are produced according to each brand’s specifications, and we require that all manufacturers adhere to strict regulatory compliance and standards of conduct. The vendors’ factories are monitored by each brand’s production team to ensure quality control, and they are monitored by independent third-party inspectors we employ for compliance with local manufacturing standards and regulations on an annual basis. We also monitor our vendors’ manufacturing facilities regularly, providing technical assistance and performing in-line and final audits to ensure the highest possible quality.

We source our products from a variety of domestic and international manufacturers. When deciding which factory to source a specific product from, we consider the following factors:

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Cost of garment

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Retail price for end consumer

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Production time

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Minimum order quantity

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Shipping/delivery time

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Payment terms

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By taking all of these factors into consideration, we can focus on making sure we have access to in- demand and high quality products available for sale to our customer at the competitive price points and sustainable margins for our business.

Marketing

We believe marketing is a critical element in creating brand awareness and an emotional connection, as well as driving new customer acquisition and retention. Each brand has their own in-house marketing department, which creates and produces marketing initiatives specific to each marketing channel and based on the specific purpose, such as acquisition, retention or brand building. We also have an in-house marketing team at the DBG portfolio level, which reviews these brand initiatives, develops and helps initiate cross merchandising strategies, manages the data analytics and negotiates contracts using all our brands to lower the cost.

Our goal at the brand and the portfolio level is to increase brand awareness and reach, customer engagement, increase new customer conversion and repurchase rates and average order size. We utilize a multi- pronged marketing strategy to connect with our customers and drive traffic to our online platform, comprised of the following:

Customer Acquisition Marketing

Paid Social Media Marketing:   This is our primary customer acquisition channel, and it is composed almost entirely of paid Facebook and Instagram marketing. We believe our core customers rely on the opinions of their peers, often expressed through social media, social media platforms are viral marketing platforms that allow our brands to communicate directly with our customers while also allowing customers to interact with us and provide feedback on our products and service. We make regular posts highlighting new products, brand stories, and other topics and images we deem “on brand”. By being a verified brand, our followers can shop products directly from our posts. We are also able to link to products in the stories feature.

Affiliate Marketing:   With select online publications and influencers, we’ve sought to establish CPA or revenue sharing agreements. We believe these agreements are effective in incentivizing influencers or media to push our product and allowing us to only pay partners based on performance.

 

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Email Marketing:   We utilize email marketing to build awareness and drive repeat purchases. We believe this can be the most personalized customer communication channel for our brands, and therefore should continue to be one of our highest performing channels. We use an email service provider that enables us to send out a variety of promotional, transactional, and retargeting emails, with the main goal of driving increased site traffic and purchases. We maintain a database through which we track and utilize key metrics such as customer acquisition cost, lifetime value per customer, cost per impression and cost per click.

Retargeting:   We engage the services of certain retargeting engines that allow us to dynamically target our visitors on third-party websites via banner/content ads.

Content Marketing:   We use content marketing platforms that allow us to serve up native ads in the form of articles promoting our brand story and specific products.

Search Engine Optimization:   This is the process of maximizing the number of visitors to our website by increasing our rankings in the search results on internet search engines. This is done by optimizing our onsite content, by making sure our pages, titles, tags, links, and blog content is structured to increase our search results on certain keywords, and our offsite content, which is the number of external websites linking to our website, usually through press articles and other advertising channels.

Print Advertising:   We also intend to utilize print advertisements in magazines or billboards in major metropolitan areas to drive increased site traffic and brand awareness.

Video / Blog Content:   We plan to offer videos and blog posts as a way to engage and educate the customer on our brands, how to wear different looks and styles, and create confidence and trust between our brands and customers. Videos and blog posts will include interviews with our designers, a behind-the- scenes look at how products are made, features of other artists or creatives, and photo shoots.

Retail Stores:   We have successfully tested retail “pop ups” in the past. These “pop ups” have resulted in higher average order value, significantly lower customer returns (even when the retail customer orders online at a later date), and higher repurchase rate and annual spend. We view these retail locations as a marketing strategy, similar to allocating funds towards digital/online marketing. We expect our pop ups to generate a small to break even profit, which is offset by any potential marketing costs to acquire those customers in another marketing channel.

As we grow the entire DBG portfolio, we will test “pop up” locations for specific brands, and also develop a multi-line pop up that incorporates our other brands into the “pop-up”. We believe this strategy should be cost effective given the number of store closures from COVID-19. We will determine whether a “pop up” or wholesale specialty boutique is the better option for each market and brand.

Instagram and Influencer Marketing

Instagram and influencer marketing is one of our largest initiatives. On a weekly basis, we reach out to and receive requests from tastemakers in fashion, lifestyle, and photography. We have developed a certain set of criteria for working with influencers (for example, engagement level, aesthetic, audience demographic) that have enabled us to garner impactful impressions. Our focus is not on the size of an account, but on creating organic relationships with influencers who are excited to tell our story. While most of our collaborations are compensated solely through product gifts, we also offer an affiliate commission of up to 20% through the influencer platform reward Style, which is the parent company of LiketoKnow.it, the first influencer platform to make Instagram shoppable (users receive an email directly to their inbox with complete outfit details when they “Like” a photo with LiketoKnow.it technology).

Public Relations

To generate ongoing organic and word-of-mouth awareness, we intend to work with print and online media outlets to announce new products and develop timely news stories. We are in contact with leading fashion, business, and tech writers in order to capitalize on celebrity fashion features, e-commerce trend pieces, or general brand awareness articles. We may utilize outside agencies from time to time. We plan to visit

 

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the major fashion, tech, and news outlets in New York City on a quarterly basis to keep them up to date on our latest launches and any relevant company developments. We also plan to host local Los Angeles press at our office space.

Celebrity gifting

We approach celebrity gifting in a strategic, discerning manner. We have longstanding, personal relationships with the industry’s top stylists; we do not send clothing blindly or unsolicited. We have successfully placed clothing (and as a result, fashion press) on a number of well-known A-list celebrities.

Loyalty Program

We plan to develop and launch a company-wide loyalty program, which would include all our brands. Our customer loyalty program will be designed to engage and reward our customers in a direct and targeted manner, and to cross merchandise our portfolio brands to our customers. Customers will earn reward points that can be used to purchase products. We will also use loyalty point multipliers to create customer purchases, which is a strategy that beauty retailers have effectively used.

Competition

Our business depends on our ability to create consumer demand for our brands and products. We believe we are well-positioned to compete in the apparel, leather products and accessories segments by developing high quality, well designed products at competitive prices that are often below our competitor’s pricing. We focus on designing products that we hope exceed consumer expectations, which should result in retention and repurchases. We will invest in cross merchandising brands to customers through customized customer communications and personalized styles and looks utilizing products across all our portfolio brands, which we believe creates a competitive advantage for our brands versus single brands. As noted above, each of our brands has different competitors depending on product, quality and price point.

Government Regulation

Our business is subject to a number of domestic and foreign laws and regulations that affect companies conducting business on the Internet, many of which are still evolving and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business. These laws and regulations include federal and state consumer protection laws and regulations, which address, among other things, the privacy and security of consumer information, sending of commercial email, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.

Under applicable federal and state laws and regulations addressing privacy and data security, we must provide notice to consumers of our policies with respect to the collection and use of personal information, and our sharing of personal information with third parties, and notice of any changes to our data handling practices. In some instances, we may be obligated to give customers the right to prevent sharing of their personal information with third parties. Under applicable federal and state laws, we also are required to adhere to a number of requirements when sending commercial email to consumers, including identifying advertising and promotional emails as such, ensuring that subject lines are not deceptive, giving consumers an opportunity to opt-out of further communications and clearly disclosing our name and physical address in each commercial email. Regulation of privacy and data security matters is an evolving area, with new laws and regulations enacted frequently. For example, California recently enacted legislation that, among other things, will require new disclosures to California consumers, and afford such consumers new abilities to opt out of certain sales of personal information.. In addition, under applicable federal and state unfair competition laws, including the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and U.S. Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, regulations, we must, and our network of influencers may be required to, accurately identify product offerings, not make misleading claims on our websites or in advertising, and use qualifying disclosures where and when appropriate. The growth and demand for eCommerce could result in more stringent domestic and foreign consumer protection laws that impose additional compliance burdens on companies that transact substantial business on the Internet.

Our international business is subject to additional laws and regulations, including restrictions on imports from, exports to, and services provided to persons located in certain countries and territories, as

 

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well as foreign laws and regulations addressing topics such as advertising and marketing practices, customs duties and taxes, privacy, data protection, information security and consumer rights, any of which might apply by virtue of our operations in foreign countries and territories or our contacts with consumers in such foreign countries and territories. Many foreign jurisdictions have laws, regulations, or other requirements relating to privacy, data protection, and consumer protection, and countries and territories are adopting new legislation or other obligations with increasing frequency.

In many jurisdictions, there is great uncertainty whether or how existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, sales and other taxes, libel and personal privacy apply to the Internet and eCommerce. New legislation or regulation, the application of laws and regulations from jurisdictions whose laws do not currently apply to our business or the application of existing laws and regulations to the Internet and eCommerce could result in significant additional obligations on our business or may necessitate changes to our business practices. These obligations or required changes could have an adverse effect on our cash flows and results of operations. Further, any actual or alleged failure to comply with any of these laws or regulations by us, our vendors or our network of influencers could hurt our reputation, brand and business, force us to incur significant expenses in defending against proceedings or investigations, distract our management, increase our costs of doing business, result in a loss of customers and suppliers and may result in the imposition of monetary penalties.

Facilities

We currently lease approximately 49,198 square feet of office and showroom spaces in the state of California with leases that expire through 2023. We believe that our existing facilities will be sufficient for our needs for the foreseeable future.

The following table sets forth information with respect to our facilities:

Employees

As of September 14, 2023, we had 58 employees, all of whom were full-time employees. We believe our relationship with our employees is good. None of our employees are currently covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We have had no labor-related work stoppages and we believe our relationship with our employees is strong.

Litigation

We are currently involved in, and may in the future be involved in, legal proceedings, claims, and government investigations in the ordinary course of business. These include proceedings, claims, and investigations relating to, among other things, regulatory matters, commercial matters, intellectual property, competition, tax, employment, pricing, discrimination, consumer rights, personal injury, and property rights. These matters also include the following:

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On March 21, 2023, a vendor filed a lawsuit against Digital Brands Group related to trade payables totaling approximately $43,501. Such amounts include interest due, and are included in accounts payable, net of payments made to date, in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The Company does not believe it is probable that losses in excess of such trade payables will be incurred.

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On February 7, 2023, a vendor filed a lawsuit against Digital Brands Group related to trade payables totaling approximately $182,400. Such amounts include interest due, and are included in accounts payable, net of payments made to date, in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The Company does not believe it is probable that losses in excess of such trade payables will be incurred.

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On November 9, 2022, a vendor filed a lawsuit against Digital Brand’s Group related to prior services rendered. The claims (including fines, fees, and legal expenses) total an aggregate of $50,190. The matter was settled in January 2023 and was paid off in April 2023.

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In August 2020 and March 2021, two lawsuits were filed against Bailey by third-party’s related to prior services rendered. The claims (including fines, fees, and legal expenses) total an aggregate of $96,900. Both matters were settled in February 2022 and are on payment plans which will be paid off in July and September of 2023.

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On December 21, 2020, a Company investor filed a lawsuit against Digital Brands Group for reimbursement of their investment totaling $100,000. Claimed amounts are included in short-term convertible notes payable in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the Company does not believe it is probable that losses in excess of such short-term note payable will be incurred. The Company is actively working to resolve this matter.

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On September 24, 2020 a Bailey’s product vendor filed a lawsuit against Bailey for non-payment of trade payables totaling approximately $481,000 and additional damages of approximately $296,000. Claimed amounts for trade payables are included in accounts payable in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, net of payments made. In December 2021, the Company reached a settlement; however, the settlement terms were not met and the Company received a judgement of $496,000. The amount due has been paid, the lawsuit dismissed and there is no claim or amount due.

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A vendor filed a lawsuit against Bailey related to a retail store lease in the amount of $1.5 million. The Company is disputing the claim for damages and the matter is ongoing.

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We have been involved in a dispute with the former owners of H&J regarding our obligation to “true up” their ownership interest in our Company further to that membership interest purchase agreement dated May 18, 2021 whereby we acquired all of the outstanding membership interests of H&J (the “H&J Purchase Agreement”). Further to the H&J Purchase Agreement, we agreed that if, at May 18, 2022, the one year anniversary of the closing date of our initial public offering, the product of the number of shares of our common stock issued at the closing of such acquisition multiplied by the average closing price per share of our shares of common stock as quoted on the NasdaqCM for the thirty (30) day trading period immediately preceding such date plus the gross proceeds, if any, of shares of our stock issued to such sellers and sold by them during the one year period from the closing date of the offering does not exceed the sum of $9.1 million, less the value of any shares of common stock cancelled further to any indemnification claims or post-closing adjustments under the H&J Purchase Agreement, then we shall issue to the subject sellers an additional aggregate number of shares of common stock equal to any such valuation shortfall at a per share price equal to the then closing price per share of our common stock as quoted on the NasdaqCM. We did not honor our obligation to issue such shares and the former owner of H&J have claimed that they were damaged as a result. As part of a proposed settlement with such holders, we have tentatively agreed to the following: (i) to transfer all membership interests of H&J back to the original owners, (ii) to pay such owners the sum of $229,000, (iii) issue the former owners of H&J an aggregate of $1,400,000 worth of our common stock to be issued on May 16, 2023 based on the lower of (a) the stock closing price per share on May 15, 2023, and (b) the average common stock closing price based on the average of the 5 trading days preceding May 16, 2023, with the closing price on May 9, 2023. On June 21, 2023, we and John Hilburn Davis IV (collectively, the “DBG Parties”), on the one hand, and Drew Jones (“Jones”), D. Jones Tailored Collection, Ltd. (“D. Jones”), and Harper & Jones, LLC (“H&J” and collectively with Jones, D. Jones, the “Jones Parties” and together with DBG Parties, the “Parties”) executed a Settlement Agreement and Release (the “Settlement Agreement”) whereby contemporaneously with the Parties’ execution of the Settlement Agreement (i) the Company made aggregate cash payment of $229,000 to D. Jones, (ii) the Company issued 78,103 shares of the Company’s Common Stock to D. Jones, at a per share purchase price of $17.925, and (iii) the Company assigned and transferred one hundred percent (100%) of the Company’s membership interest in H&J to D. Jones. The Settlement Agreement contains a mutual release whereby each of the DBG Parties and Jones Parties agreed to release and absolutely and forever discharge the other parties and their respective successors, heirs, licensees, and assigns of and from any and all claims, damages, legal fees, costs, expenses, debts, actions and causes of action of every kind and nature

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whatsoever, whether now known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, asserted or unasserted, which either they now have, or at any time heretofore ever had, except for violations of the Settlement Agreement.

All claims above, to the extent management believes it will be liable, have been included in accounts payable and accrued expenses and other liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2023.

Depending on the nature of the proceeding, claim, or investigation, we may be subject to monetary damage awards, fines, penalties, or injunctive orders. Furthermore, the outcome of these matters could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. The outcomes of legal proceedings, claims, and government investigations are inherently unpredictable and subject to significant judgment to determine the likelihood and amount of loss related to such matters. While it is not possible to determine the outcomes, we believe based on our current knowledge that the resolution of all such pending matters will not, either individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows, or financial condition.

 

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