NOTE 12—EQUITY COMPENSATION PLANS

The Company has stock-based compensation plans, under which it grants stock options and restricted stock units to key employees and members of its Board of Directors. The Company generally recognizes compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the vesting period.

STOCK OPTIONS

The following table summarizes options activity under the Company’s plans for the thirty-nine weeks ended November 2, 2013:

	Number of Shares
Outstanding — beginning balance	1,678,593
Granted	308,963
Exercised	(123,159	)
Forfeited	(70,195	)
Expired	(63,420	)
Outstanding — ending balance	1,730,782

In the first nine months of fiscal 2013, the Company granted approximately 309,000 stock options with a weighted average grant date fair value of $5.11 per unit. These options have a seven-year term and vest over a three-year period with a third vesting on each of the first three anniversaries of their grant date. The compensation expense recorded for the options granted during the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended November 2, 2013 was immaterial.

In the first nine months of fiscal 2012, the Company granted approximately 288,000 stock options with a weighted average grant date fair value of $4.65 per unit. These options have a seven-year term and vest over a three-year period with a third vesting on each of the first three anniversaries of their grant date. The compensation expense recorded for the options granted during the thirteen weeks and thirty-nine weeks ended October 27, 2012 was immaterial.

The fair value of each option granted is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Expected volatility is based on historical volatilities for a time period similar to that of the expected term blended with market based implied volatility at the time of the grant. The risk-free rate is based on the U.S. treasury yield curve for issues with a remaining term equal to the expected term.

The following are the weighted-average assumptions:

	November 2, 2013
Dividend yield	0.0	%
Expected volatility	52.5	%
Risk-free interest rate range:
High	0.73	%
Low	0.67	%
Ranges of expected lives in years	4-5

RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS

Performance Based Awards

In the first nine months of fiscal 2013, the Company granted approximately 109,000 restricted stock units that will vest if the employees remain continuously employed through the third anniversary date of the grant and the Company achieves a return on invested capital target for fiscal 2015. The number of underlying shares that may be issued upon vesting will range from 0% to 150%, depending upon the Company achieving the financial targets in fiscal 2015. The fair value for these awards was $11.85 per unit at the date of the grant. The compensation expense recorded for these restricted stock units was immaterial during the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended November 2, 2013.

In the third quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company granted approximately 106,000 restricted stock units that will vest if the employees remain continuously employed through the third anniversary date of the grant and the Company achieves a return on invested capital target for fiscal year 2014. The number of underlying shares that may be issued upon vesting will range from 0% to 150%, depending upon the Company achieving the financial targets in fiscal year 2014. The fair value for these awards was $9.98 per unit at the date of the grant. The compensation expense recorded for these restricted stock units was immaterial during the thirteen weeks and thirty-nine weeks ended October 27, 2012.

In the third quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company concluded that it is not likely to achieve the financial targets for the performance based awards granted in fiscal 2010 and 2011 and accordingly, recorded a $0.9 million benefit to reverse the to-date compensation expense recognized for these awards.

Market Based Awards

In the first nine months of fiscal 2013, the Company granted approximately 55,000 restricted stock units that will vest if the employees remain continuously employed through the third anniversary date of the grant and will become exercisable if the Company satisfies a total shareholder return target for the three-year period ending with fiscal 2015. The number of underlying shares that may become exercisable will range from 0% to 175% depending upon whether the market condition is achieved. The Company used a Monte Carlo simulation to estimate a $13.41 per unit grant date fair value. The compensation expense recorded for these restricted stock units during the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended November 2, 2013 was immaterial.

In the third quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company granted approximately 53,000 restricted stock units that will vest if the employees remain continuously employed through the third anniversary date of the grant and will become exercisable if the Company satisfies a total shareholder return target for the three-year period ending with fiscal 2014. The number of underlying shares that may become exercisable will range from 0% to 175% depending upon whether the market condition is achieved. The Company used a Monte Carlo simulation to estimate a $7.96 per unit grant date fair value. The compensation expense recorded for these restricted stock units during the thirteen weeks and thirty-nine weeks ended October 27, 2012, was immaterial.

Other Awards

The Company granted restricted stock units for officers’ deferred bonus matches under the Company’s non-qualified deferred compensation plan during the first nine months of fiscal 2013, which vest over a three-year period. The compensation expense recorded for these awards during the thirteen and thirty-nine weeks ended November 2, 2013 was immaterial. The Company did not grant any restricted stock units for officers’ deferred bonus matches under the Company’s non-qualified deferred compensation plan during the first nine months of fiscal 2012.

In the first nine months of fiscal 2013, the Company granted approximately 54,000 restricted stock units to its non-employee directors of the board, which vest over a one year period with a quarter vesting on each of the first four quarters following their grant date. The fair value was $12.05 per unit and the compensation expense recorded for these restricted stock units during the thirteen weeks and thirty-nine weeks ended November 2, 2013 was immaterial.

In the third quarter of fiscal 2012, the Company granted approximately 33,000 restricted stock units to its non-employee directors of the board, which vest over a one year period with a quarter vesting on each of the first four quarters following their grant date. The fair value was $9.98 per unit and the compensation expense recorded for these restricted stock units during the thirteen weeks and thirty-nine weeks ended October 27, 2012 was immaterial.

The following table summarizes the nonvested units’ activity under the Company’s plan for the thirty-nine weeks ended November 2, 2013, assuming maximum vesting of underlying shares for the performance and market based awards described above:

	Number of Units
Beginning balance	796,600
Granted	337,593
Forfeited	(240,834	)
Vested	(51,863	)
Ending balance	841,496