Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Jan. 28, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Purchase Commitments

Inventory purchase commitments as of January 28, 2023 were $303.3 million. These purchase commitments can be impacted by various factors, including the scheduling of market weeks, the timing of issuing orders, the timing of the shipment of orders and currency fluctuations.

Incentive Bonuses

Certain officers and key employees of the Company are eligible to receive annual cash incentive bonuses based on the achievement of certain performance criteria. These bonuses are based on performance measures such as earnings from operations of the Company or particular segments thereof, as well as other objective and subjective criteria as determined by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors.

Investment Commitments

As of January 28, 2023, the Company had an unfunded commitment to invest €11.0 million ($11.9 million) in a private equity fund. Refer to Note 20 for further information.

Legal and Other Proceedings

The Company is involved in legal proceedings, arising both in the ordinary course of business and otherwise, including the proceedings described below as well as various other claims and other matters incidental to the Company’s business. Unless otherwise stated, the resolution of any particular proceeding is not currently expected to have a material adverse impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Even if such an impact could be material, the Company may not be able to estimate the reasonably possible loss or range of loss until developments in the proceedings have provided sufficient information to support an assessment.

The Company has received customs tax assessment notices from the Italian Customs Agency (“ICA”) regarding its customs tax audit of one of the Company’s European subsidiaries for the period from July 2010 through December 2012. Such assessments totaled €9.8 million ($10.7 million), including potential penalties and interest. The Company strongly disagreed with the ICA’s positions and therefore filed appeals with the Milan First Degree Tax Court (“MFDTC”). Those appeals were split into a number of different cases that were then heard by different sections of the MFDTC. The MFDTC ruled in favor of the Company on all of these appeals. The ICA subsequently appealed €9.7 million ($10.5 million) of these favorable MFDTC judgments with the Appeals Court. To date, €8.5 million ($9.2 million) have been decided in favor of the Company and €1.2 million ($1.3 million) have been decided in favor of the ICA. The Company believes that the unfavorable Appeals Court ruling is incorrect and inconsistent with the prior rulings on similar matters by both the MFDTC and other judges within the Appeals Court, and has appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. The ICA has appealed most of the favorable Appeals Court rulings to the Supreme Court. To date, of the cases that have been appealed to the Supreme Court, €0.4 million ($0.4 million) have been decided in favor of the Company based on the merits of the case and €1.1 million ($1.2 million) have been remanded back to the lower court for further consideration. There can be no assurances the Company will be successful in the remaining appeals. It also continues to be possible that the Company will receive similar or even larger assessments for periods subsequent to December 2012 or other claims or charges related to the matter in the future. Although the Company believes that it has a strong position and will continue to vigorously defend this matter, it is unable to predict with certainty whether or not these efforts will ultimately be successful or whether the outcome will have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

On January 11, 2022, Legion Partners Holdings, LLC (“Legion”), a stockholder of Guess common stock, sent two letters to the Board of Directors of Guess (the “Board”). One letter sought books and records pursuant to Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “220 Demand”) to purportedly investigate potential breaches of fiduciary duties by the Board in connection with the Board’s renomination of Mr. Maurice Marciano to the Board and certain related party transactions. The second letter demanded that the Board take action to cause the Company to investigate and commence legal proceedings for breach of fiduciary duty claims the Company may have in connection with alleged misconduct of Mr. Paul Marciano, the Board’s oversight of and response to such alleged misconduct, and the Board’s review and approval of certain related-party transactions (the “Litigation Demand”). On January 31, 2022, the Company responded to both letters informing Legion that the Company was reviewing the formation of a committee in response to the Litigation Demand and detailing the deficiencies with the 220 Demand under Delaware law, including that Legion failed to state a proper purpose and that the scope of Legion’s requested books and records was overbroad. The Company subsequently formed a

Demand Review Committee (the “DRC”), which is engaged in an ongoing review of the matters detailed in the Litigation Demand.

On April 14, 2022, the Employees Retirement System of Rhode Island (“ERSRI”), a stockholder of Guess common stock, sent a letter to the Company seeking books and records pursuant to Section 220 of the Delaware General Corporation Law to purportedly investigate potential breaches of fiduciary duties by the Board in connection with alleged misconduct of Mr. Paul Marciano, the Board’s oversight of and response to such alleged misconduct, and the Board’s review and approval of certain related-party transactions. The Company responded to the letter on April 19, 2022, negotiated a Confidentiality Agreement, and has completed its production of books and records to ERSRI.

On September 19, 2022, ERSRI filed a stockholder derivative lawsuit styled Employees Retirement System of Rhode Island, derivatively on behalf of Guess?, Inc. v. Paul Marciano, et al., in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware against the Company, as the nominal defendant, Mr. Paul Marciano and other members of the Board, alleging breach of fiduciary duties relating to the continued service of Mr. Paul Marciano as a director of the Board and as the Company’s Chief Creative Officer following prior allegations of improper conduct by him relating to the treatment of models and other women. ERSRI did not make a demand on the Board before instituting the lawsuit and alleges such demand would have been futile. On October 28, 2022, ERSRI amended the complaint to include an additional basis for alleging demand futility. ERSRI seeks monetary damages and possible injunctive relief.

On February 16, 2023, Legion filed a stockholder derivative lawsuit styled Legion Partners Holdings, LLC, derivatively on behalf of Guess?, Inc. v. Paul Marciano, et al. in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware against the Company, as the nominal defendant, Mr. Paul Marciano and other members of the Board, alleging breach of fiduciary duties relating to the continued service of Mr. Paul Marciano to the Company following the prior allegations described in the ERSRI stockholder derivative lawsuit. Legion seeks monetary damages and possible injunctive relief.

On January 6, 2023, the Company received a letter from an attorney asserting a claim under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act based on allegations that a former model for the Company was treated improperly by Mr. Paul Marciano, a director of the Company and the Company’s Chief Creative Officer now and at the time of the allegations, and Mr. Maurice Marciano, now a director of the Company who was a director of the Company and non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors at the time of the allegations. The letter was from the same attorney that had represented several other individuals who made prior allegations of improper conduct by Mr. Paul Marciano, all of which have been previously resolved. Though no complaint was filed with respect to the allegations in the January 2023 letter and Mr. Paul Marciano, Mr. Maurice Marciano and the Company disputed each of those allegations fully, in order to avoid the cost of litigation and without admitting liability or fault, the Company, Mr. Paul Marciano and Mr. Maurice Marciano entered into a settlement agreement with the individual referenced in the January 2023 letter, resolving the claim for $75,000 in February 2023.

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests

The Company is party to a put arrangement with respect to the common securities that represent the remaining noncontrolling interest for its majority-owned subsidiary, Guess Brasil Comércio e Distribuição S.A. (“Guess Brazil”). The put arrangement for Guess Brazil, representing 40% of the total outstanding equity interest of that subsidiary, may be exercised at the discretion of the noncontrolling interest holder by providing written notice to the Company every third anniversary beginning in March 2019, subject to certain time restrictions. The redemption value of the Guess Brazil put arrangement is based on a multiple of Guess Brazil’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization subject to certain adjustments and is classified as a redeemable noncontrolling interest outside of permanent equity in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. The carrying value of the redeemable noncontrolling interest related to Guess Brazil was $0.5 million and $0.4 million as of January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022, respectively.

The Company (through a wholly-owned European subsidiary) is also party to a put arrangement with respect to the securities that represent the remaining noncontrolling interest for its majority-owned Russian subsidiary, Guess? CIS, LLC (“Guess CIS”), which was established through a majority-owned joint venture

during fiscal 2016. The put arrangement for Guess CIS (the “Put Option”), representing 30% of the total outstanding equity interest of that subsidiary, may be exercised at the sole discretion of the noncontrolling interest holder (the “Minority Holder”) by providing written notice to the Company through December 31, 2025. The redemption value of the Put Option is based on a multiple of Guess CIS’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization subject to certain adjustments and is classified as a redeemable noncontrolling interest outside of permanent equity in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. The carrying value of the redeemable noncontrolling interest related to Guess CIS was €8.0 million and €8.1 million as of January 28, 2023 and January 29, 2022, respectively.

In November 2022, the Minority Holder exercised the Put Option, triggering a contractual obligation for the Company to purchase the Minority Holder’s 30% interest in Guess CIS. Following a comprehensive review of the various economic sanctions imposed by the United States and European governments with respect to Russia, and obtaining guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the Company determined that its acquisition of the Minority Holder’s 30% interest in Guess CIS pursuant to the Company’s pre-sanctions contractual obligations to fulfill the Minority Holder’s exercise of the Put Option is not prohibited by current economic sanctions, including the U.S. ban on new investment in Russia. As such, the Company expects to fulfill its pre-sanctions contractual obligation to purchase the Minority Holder’s interest as required by the terms of the Guess CIS agreements.

Following the exercise of the Put Option by the Minority Holder, the Company and the Minority Holder entered into an agreement to proceed with the Company’s acquisition of the Minority Holder’s 30% interest in Guess CIS for a purchase price of €8.0 million, subject to the formal approval of the acquisition by the relevant Russian government commission and certain other customary conditions. The purchase is currently expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2024.

The Company’s European subsidiary, Guess Europe SAGL has also counter guaranteed up to $900,000 of Guess CIS’s obligations under its local Russian guarantee line, as required by certain lease agreements.

The redeemable noncontrolling interests of the Guess Brazil and Guess CIS put arrangements are recorded at the greater of their carrying values, adjusted for their share of the allocation of income or loss, dividends and foreign currency translation adjustments, or redemption values. The Company had no redeemable noncontrolling interest redemption value adjustments during fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2021. During fiscal 2022, the Company recorded a redeemable noncontrolling interest redemption value adjustment of $5.7 million.

A reconciliation of the total carrying amount of redeemable noncontrolling interests is (in thousands):


	Year Ended
	Jan 28, 2023		Jan 29, 2022
Beginning balance	$	9,500	$	3,920
Redeemable noncontrolling interest redemption value adjustment	—		5,654
Foreign currency translation adjustment	(346)		(74)
Ending balance	$	9,154	$	9,500