Fair Value Measurements

Authoritative guidance defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The guidance establishes a fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value into three broad levels as follows:

Level 1—Inputs are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that can be accessed at the measurement date.

Level 2—Inputs include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability (i.e. interest rates, yield curves, etc.) and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means (market corroborated inputs).

Level 3—Unobservable inputs that reflect assumptions about what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. These inputs would be based on the best information available, including the Company’s own data.

The following table presents the fair value hierarchy for those assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of October 28, 2017 and January 28, 2017 (in thousands):



	Fair Value Measurements at Oct 28, 2017								Fair Value Measurements at Jan 28, 2017
Recurring Fair Value Measures	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets:
Foreign exchange currency contracts	$	—	$	1,820	$	—	$	1,820	$	—	$	9,868	$	—	$	9,868
Interest rate swap	—		812		—		812		—		876		—		876
Total	$	—	$	2,632	$	—	$	2,632	$	—	$	10,744	$	—	$	10,744
Liabilities:
Foreign exchange currency contracts	$	—	$	6,594	$	—	$	6,594	$	—	$	1,424	$	—	$	1,424
Deferred compensation obligations	—		12,729		—		12,729		—		11,184		—		11,184
Total	$	—	$	19,323	$	—	$	19,323	$	—	$	12,608	$	—	$	12,608

There were no transfers of financial instruments between the three levels of fair value hierarchy during the nine months ended October 28, 2017 or during the year ended January 28, 2017.

Foreign exchange currency contracts are entered into by the Company principally to hedge the future payment of inventory and intercompany transactions by non-U.S. subsidiaries. Periodically, the Company may also use foreign exchange currency contracts to hedge the translation and economic exposures related to its net investments in certain of its international subsidiaries. The fair values of the Company’s foreign exchange currency contracts are based on quoted foreign exchange forward rates at the reporting date. Fair values of the Company’s interest rate swaps are based upon inputs corroborated by observable market data. Deferred compensation obligations to employees are adjusted based on changes in the fair value of the underlying employee-directed investments. Fair value of these obligations is based upon inputs corroborated by observable market data.

During the nine months ended October 28, 2017, the Company invested €0.5 million ($0.5 million) in a private equity fund, which was included in other assets in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet as of October 28, 2017. As permitted in accordance with authoritative guidance, the Company uses net asset value per share as a practical expedient to measure the fair value of this investment and has not included this investment in the fair value hierarchy as disclosed above. As of October 28, 2017, the Company had an unfunded commitment to invest an additional €4.5 million ($5.3 million) in the private equity fund.

The carrying amount of the Company’s remaining financial instruments, which principally include cash and cash equivalents, trade receivables, accounts payable and accrued expenses, approximates fair value due to the relatively short maturity of such instruments. The fair values of the Company’s debt instruments (see Note 9) are based on the amount of future cash flows associated with each instrument discounted using the Company’s incremental borrowing rate. As of October 28, 2017 and January 28, 2017, the carrying value of all financial instruments was not materially different from fair value, as the interest rates on the Company’s debt approximated rates currently available to the Company.

Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets, such as property and equipment, and purchased intangibles subject to amortization, are reviewed for impairment quarterly or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The majority of the Company’s long-lived assets relate to its retail operations which consist primarily of regular retail and flagship locations. The Company considers each individual regular retail location as an asset group for impairment testing, which is the lowest level at which individual cash flows can be identified. The asset group includes leasehold improvements, furniture, fixtures and equipment, computer hardware and software and certain long-term security deposits and lease acquisition costs. The Company reviews regular retail locations in penetrated markets for impairment risk once the locations have been opened for at least one year in their current condition, or sooner as changes in circumstances require. The Company believes that waiting at least one year allows a location to reach a maturity level where a more comprehensive analysis of financial performance can be performed. The Company evaluates impairment risk for regular retail locations in new markets, where the Company is in the early stages of establishing its presence, once brand awareness has been established. The Company also evaluates impairment risk for retail locations that are expected to be closed in the foreseeable future. The Company has flagship locations which are used as a regional marketing tool to build brand awareness and promote the Company’s current product. Impairment for these locations is tested at a reporting unit level similar to goodwill since they do not have separately identifiable cash flows.

An asset is considered to be impaired if the Company determines that the carrying value may not be recoverable based upon its assessment of the asset’s ability to continue to generate earnings from operations and positive cash flow in future periods or if significant changes in the Company’s strategic business objectives and utilization of the assets occurred. If the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its estimated undiscounted future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized in the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the estimated fair value, which is determined based on discounted future cash flows. The impairment loss calculations require management to apply judgment in estimating future cash flows and the discount rates that reflect the risk inherent in future cash flows. Future expected cash flows for assets in regular retail locations are based on management’s estimates of future cash flows over the remaining lease period or expected life, if shorter. For expected location closures, the Company will evaluate whether it is necessary to shorten the useful life for any of the assets within the respective asset group. The Company will use this revised useful life when estimating the asset group’s future cash flows. The Company considers historical trends, expected future business trends and other factors when estimating the future cash flow for each regular retail location. The Company also considers factors such as: the local environment for each regular retail location, including mall traffic and competition; the Company’s ability to successfully implement strategic initiatives; and the ability to control variable costs such as cost of sales and payroll and, in some cases, renegotiate lease costs. The estimated cash flows used for this nonrecurring fair value measurement are considered a Level 3 input as defined above. If actual results are not consistent with the assumptions and judgments used in estimating future cash flows and asset fair values, there may be additional exposure to future impairment losses that could be material to the Company’s results of operations.

The Company recorded asset impairment charges of $2.0 million and $6.0 million during the three and nine months ended October 28, 2017, respectively, and $0.8 million and $1.5 million during the three and nine months ended October 29, 2016, respectively. The asset impairment charges related primarily to the impairment of certain retail locations in North America resulting from under-performance and expected store closures during each of the respective periods.