Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Jan. 30, 2021

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES:

Leases

    Information regarding our lease commitments and contingencies, including total rent expense under operating leases and minimum future rental payments under non-cancelable operating leases (including leases with certain minimum sales cancellation clauses and exclusive of variable common area maintenance charges and/or contingent rental payments based on sales), as of January 30, 2021, is incorporated by reference from Note 11.

Open Purchase Orders

At January 30, 2021 and February 1, 2020, we had approximately $256.1 million and $325.6 million, respectively, of open purchase orders for inventory, in the normal course of business.

Legal Proceedings

In July 2015, WHBM was named as a defendant in Altman v. White House Black Market, Inc., a putative class action filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (“District Court”). The complaint alleges that WHBM, in violation of federal law, willfully published more than the last five digits of a credit or debit card number on customers' point-of-sale receipts. The plaintiff seeks an award of statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 for each alleged willful violation of the law, as well as attorneys' fees, costs and punitive damages. WHBM denies the material allegations of the complaint and believes the case is without merit. On February 12, 2018, the District Court issued an order certifying the class. Later in 2018, the parties reached an agreement to settle the case on a classwide basis. The settlement has been held in abeyance pending the decision of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Eleventh Circuit”) in a case involving the same legal allegations as the Altman case and addressing whether the plaintiff may maintain this type of lawsuit in federal court (the “Muransky case”). In the fall of 2020, the Eleventh Circuit issued its decision in the Muransky case holding that, under the circumstances as alleged by the plaintiff in that case, which are identical to the Altman plaintiff’s allegations, the plaintiff

cannot maintain the lawsuit in federal court. In light of that decision, the Altman plaintiff re-filed in State Court of Cobb County in the State of Georgia (the “State Court of Cobb County”) on February 26, 2021.

The parties have agreed to submit the proposed settlement to the State Court of Cobb County, Georgia for approval. The proposed settlement would not have a material adverse effect on the Company's consolidated financial condition or results of operations. No assurance can be given that the proposed settlement will be approved. If the proposed settlement is rejected and the case were to proceed as a class action and WHBM were to be unsuccessful in its defense on the merits, then the ultimate resolution of the case could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial condition or results of operations.

Other than as noted above, we are not currently a party to any material legal proceedings other than claims and lawsuits arising in the normal course of business. All such matters are subject to uncertainties, and outcomes may not be predictable. Consequently, the ultimate aggregate amounts of monetary liability or financial impact with respect to other matters as of January 30, 2021 are not estimable. However, while such matters could affect our consolidated operating results when resolved in future periods, management believes that upon final disposition, any monetary liability or financial impact to us would not be material to our annual consolidated financial statements.