
H.	COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Leases - The Company conducts its operations in leased facilities under numerous non-cancelable operating leases expiring at various dates through fiscal 2028. Most of the Company’s stores have lease terms of approximately ten years and generally do not contain renewal options. Most lease agreements contain tenant improvement allowances, rent holidays, rent escalation clauses, and/or contingent rent provisions. For purposes of recognizing lease incentives and minimum rental expenses on a straight-line basis over the terms of the leases, the Company uses the date of initial possession to begin amortization, which is generally when the Company enters the space and begins to make improvements in preparation of intended use. For tenant improvement allowances and rent holidays, the Company records a deferred rent liability on the consolidated balance sheets and amortizes the deferred rent over the terms of the leases as reductions to rent expense on the consolidated statements of income. For scheduled rent escalation clauses during the lease terms or for rental payments commencing at a date other than the date of initial occupancy, the Company records minimum rental expenses on a straight-line basis over the terms of the leases on the consolidated statements of income. Certain leases provide for contingent rents, which are determined as a percentage of gross sales in excess of specified levels. The Company records a contingent rent liability on the consolidated balance sheets and the corresponding rent expense when specified levels have been achieved or are reasonably probable to be achieved. Operating lease base rental expense for fiscal 2017, 2016, and 2015 was $69,154, $68,839, and $67,121, respectively. Most of the rental payments are based on a minimum annual rental plus a percentage of sales in excess of a specified amount. Percentage rents for fiscal 2017, 2016, and 2015 were $2,130, $2,600, and $4,334, respectively.

Total future minimum rental commitments under these operating leases with remaining lease terms in excess of one year as of February 3, 2018 are as follows:



	Minimum Rental
Fiscal Year	Commitments

2018	$	68,689
2019	60,062
2020	49,037
2021	39,196
2022	33,699
Thereafter	73,234
Total minimum rental commitments	$	323,917

Litigation - From time to time, the Company is involved in litigation relating to claims arising out of its operations in the normal course of business. As of the date of these consolidated financial statements, the Company was not engaged in any legal proceedings that are expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a material effect on the Company's consolidated results of operations and financial position.

Data Security Incident - On June 16, 2017, the Company announced that it had become aware that it was a victim of a data security incident in which a criminal entity accessed certain guest credit card information following purchases at some of the Company's retail stores between October 28, 2016 and April 14, 2017. The Company immediately launched a thorough investigation and engaged leading third-party forensic experts to review its systems and secure the affected part of its network. Through that investigation, the Company learned that its store payment data systems were infected with a form of malicious code, which was quickly removed. The Company has taken actions that it believes have contained the issue and has implemented additional security enhancements, and will continue to work vigilantly to pursue this matter to resolution. Based on the forensic investigation, the Company believes that no social security numbers, email addresses, or physical addresses were obtained by those criminally responsible. There is also no evidence that the buckle.com website or buckle.com guests were impacted.

Buckle self-reported the issue to the payment card brands and cooperated fully with the card brands, their forensic experts, and law enforcement during the investigation. At this time, it is not possible to reasonably estimate the amount of any potential assessments, fines, penalties, or other liabilities in connection with this incident.