STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

The Company grants stock-based awards under its 2006 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2006 Plan”). The 2006 Plan replaced the Company’s 2003 Stock Option Plan (the “2003 Plan”) and certain other prior stock option plans. The 2003 Plan and these other plans terminated upon the 2006 Plan’s initial stockholder approval in June 2006, other than with respect to outstanding options, which continued to be governed by the applicable prior plan. Only awards under the 2003 Plan continue to be outstanding insofar as these prior plans are concerned. Shares issued as a result of stock-based compensation transactions generally have been funded with the issuance of new shares of the Company’s common stock.

The Company may grant the following types of incentive awards under the 2006 Plan (i) non-qualified stock options (“NQs”); (ii) incentive stock options (“ISOs”); (iii) stock appreciation rights; (iv) restricted stock; (v) restricted stock units (“RSUs”); (vi) performance shares and performance share units (“PSUs”); and (vii) other stock-based awards. Each award granted under the 2006 Plan is subject to an award agreement that incorporates, as applicable, the exercise price, the term of the award, the periods of restriction, the number of shares to which the award pertains, applicable performance period(s) and performance measure(s), and such other terms and conditions as the plan committee determines.

Through August 2, 2015, the Company has granted under the 2006 Plan (i) service-based NQs, RSUs and restricted stock; (ii) contingently issuable PSUs; and (iii) RSUs that are intended to satisfy the performance-based condition for deductibility under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code. According to the terms of the 2006 Plan, for purposes of determining the number of shares available for grant, with the exception of the Warnaco employee replacement awards discussed below, each share underlying a stock option award reduces the number available by one share and each share underlying a restricted stock award, RSU or PSU reduces the number available by two shares. Each share underlying a Warnaco employee replacement stock option, restricted stock, RSU or PSU reduces the number available by one share. The per share exercise price of options granted under the 2006 Plan cannot be less than the closing price of the common stock on the date of grant (the business day prior to the date of grant for awards granted prior to September 21, 2006).

The Company currently has service-based NQs outstanding under the 2003 Plan. Such stock options were granted with an exercise price equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the business day immediately preceding the date of grant.

Under the terms of the merger agreement in connection with the Warnaco acquisition, each outstanding award of stock options, restricted stock and restricted stock units made by Warnaco was assumed by the Company in 2013 and converted into an award of the same type, and subject to the same terms and conditions, but payable in shares of Company common stock. The replacement stock options are generally exercisable in three equal annual installments commencing one year after the date of original grant and the replacement RSUs and restricted stock awards generally vest three years after the date of original grant, principally on a cliff basis. The Company accounted for the replacement awards as a modification of the existing awards. As such, a new fair value was assigned to the awards, a portion of which is included as part of the merger consideration. The merger consideration of $39.8 million was determined by multiplying the estimated fair value of the Warnaco awards outstanding at the effective time of the Warnaco acquisition, net of the estimated value of awards to be forfeited, by the proportionate amount of the vesting period that had lapsed as of the acquisition date. The remaining fair value, net of estimated forfeitures, is being expensed over the awards’ remaining vesting periods.

Net income for the twenty-six weeks ended August 2, 2015 and August 3, 2014 included $20.4 million and $24.4 million, respectively, of pre-tax expense related to stock-based compensation, with recognized income tax benefits of $5.0 million and $6.2 million, respectively.

Stock options currently outstanding, with the exception of the Warnaco employee replacement awards discussed above, are generally cumulatively exercisable in four equal annual installments commencing one year after the date of grant. The vesting of such options outstanding is also generally accelerated upon retirement (as defined in the applicable plan). Such options are generally granted with a 10-year term.

The Company estimates the fair value of stock options granted at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes-Merton model. The estimated fair value of the options, net of estimated forfeitures, is expensed over the options’ vesting periods.

The following summarizes the assumptions used to estimate the fair value of service-based stock options granted during the twenty-six weeks ended August 2, 2015 and August 3, 2014:



	Twenty-Six Weeks Ended
	8/2/15			8/3/14
Weighted average risk-free interest rate	1.54		%	2.15		%
Weighted average expected option term (in years)	6.25			6.25
Weighted average Company volatility	36.32		%	44.12		%
Expected annual dividends per share	$	0.15		$	0.15
Weighted average grant date fair value per option	$	40.23		$	56.21

The risk-free interest rate is based on United States Treasury yields in effect at the date of grant for periods corresponding to the expected option term. The expected option term represents the weighted average period of time that options granted are expected to be outstanding, based on vesting schedules and the contractual term of the options. Company volatility is based on the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock over a period of time corresponding to the expected option term. Expected dividends are based on the Company’s common stock cash dividend rate at the date of grant.

The Company has continued to utilize the simplified method to estimate the expected term for its “plain vanilla” stock options granted due to a lack of relevant historical data resulting, in part, from changes in the pool of employees receiving option grants, mainly due to acquisitions. The Company will continue to evaluate the appropriateness of utilizing such method.

Service-based stock option activity for the twenty-six weeks ended August 2, 2015 was as follows:



(In thousands, except per option data)	Options	Weighted Average Exercise Price Per Option
Outstanding at February 1, 2015	1,472	$	64.14
Granted	172	107.13
Exercised	109	49.84
Cancelled	14	107.57
Outstanding at August 2, 2015	1,521	$	69.64
Exercisable at August 2, 2015	1,136	$	55.51

RSUs granted to employees, with the exception of the Warnaco employee replacement awards, generally vest in three annual installments of 25%, 25% and 50% commencing two years after the date of grant. Service-based RSUs granted to non-employee directors vest in full one year after the date of grant. The underlying RSU award agreements (excluding agreements for non-employee director awards made during or after 2010) generally provide for accelerated vesting upon the award recipient’s retirement (as defined in the 2006 Plan). The fair value of service-based RSUs, with the exception of the Warnaco employee replacement awards, is equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant and is expensed, net of estimated forfeitures, over the RSUs’ vesting periods.

RSU activity for the twenty-six weeks ended August 2, 2015 was as follows:



(In thousands, except per RSU data)	RSUs	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per RSU
Non-vested at February 1, 2015	640	$	107.42
Granted	295	104.53
Vested	195	86.22
Cancelled	53	113.53
Non-vested at August 2, 2015	687	$	111.73

The Company’s restricted stock awards consist solely of awards to Warnaco employees that were replaced with the Company’s restricted stock as of the effective time of the acquisition. The fair value of restricted stock with respect to awards for which the vesting period had not lapsed as of the acquisition date was equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on February 12, 2013 and is expensed, net of forfeitures, over the vesting period.

Restricted stock activity for the twenty-six weeks ended August 2, 2015 was as follows:



(In thousands, except per share data)	Restricted Stock	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Share
Non-vested at February 1, 2015	20	$	120.72
Granted	—	—
Vested	17	120.72
Cancelled	1	120.72
Non-vested at August 2, 2015	2	$	120.72

The Company granted contingently issuable PSUs to certain of the Company’s senior executives during the first quarter of each of 2012, 2013 and 2014. These awards were (are) subject to achievement of an earnings per share and, in the case of the awards made in 2012, a return on equity goal for the two-year performance period beginning with the year of grant and a service period of one year beyond the certification of performance. For the awards granted in the first quarter of 2014, the final number of shares that will be earned, if any, is contingent upon the Company’s achievement of goals for the performance period based on earnings per share growth during the performance cycle. For the awards granted in the first quarter of 2013, the two year performance period has ended and the holders earned an aggregate of 26 thousand shares, which will vest and be paid out subject to and following the additional one-year service period. The holders of the awards granted in the first quarter of 2012 earned an aggregate of 54 thousand shares, which were paid out in the first quarter of 2015. For such awards, the Company records expense ratably over each applicable vesting period based on fair value and the Company’s current expectations of the probable number of shares that will ultimately be issued. The fair value of these contingently issuable performance share units is equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant, reduced for the present value of any dividends expected to be paid on the Company’s common stock during the performance cycle, as these contingently issuable performance share units do not accrue dividends prior to the completion of the performance cycle.

The Company granted contingently issuable PSUs to certain of the Company’s executives during the second quarter of 2013 and to certain of the Company’s senior executives during the first quarter of 2015 subject to a performance period of three years. For the awards granted in the second quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2015, the final number of shares that will be earned, if any, is contingent upon the Company’s achievement of goals for the applicable performance period, of which 50 percent is based upon the Company’s absolute stock price growth during the applicable performance period and 50 percent is based upon the Company’s total shareholder return during the applicable performance period relative to other companies included in the S&P 500 as of the date of grant. For such awards, because the awards are subject to market conditions, the Company records expense ratably over the applicable vesting period, net of estimated forfeitures, regardless of whether the market condition is satisfied. The fair value of the awards granted in the first quarter of 2015 was established on the grant date using the Monte Carlo simulation model, which was based on the following assumptions:



Risk-free interest rate	0.90		%
Expected Company volatility	29.10		%
Expected annual dividends per share	$	0.15
Grant date fair value per performance share unit	$	101.23

Performance share activity for the twenty-six weeks ended August 2, 2015 was as follows:



(In thousands, except per share data)	Performance Shares	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value Per Share
Non-vested at February 1, 2015	553	$	119.95
Granted	46	101.23
Vested	54	88.52
Cancelled	45	121.91
Non-vested at August 2, 2015	500	$	121.45

The Company receives a tax deduction for certain transactions associated with its stock plan awards. The actual income tax benefits realized from these transactions for the twenty-six weeks ended August 2, 2015 and August 3, 2014 were $9.0 million and $10.5 million, respectively. Of those amounts, $3.4 million and $4.6 million, respectively, were reported as excess tax benefits. Excess tax benefits arise when the actual tax benefit resulting from a stock plan award transaction exceeds the tax benefit associated with the grant date fair value of the related stock award.