Sportsman's Warehouse (SPWH) Risk Analysis

The outdoor activities and sporting goods market is highly fragmented and competitive. Some of our competitors have a larger number of stores, and greater market presence (both brick and mortar and online), name recognition and financial, distribution, marketing and other resources than we have. Other competitors have announced strategic partnerships with retailers that will allow those competitors to enter our markets that they historically have not competed in. In addition, the ability of consumers to compare prices on a real-time basis through the use of smartphones and digital technology puts additional pressure on us to maintain competitive pricing. If our competitors reduce their prices, we may have to reduce our prices in order to compete, which could harm our margins. Furthermore, some of our competitors may build new stores in or near our existing locations or in locations with high concentrations of our e-commerce business customers. As a result of this competition, we may need to spend more on advertising and promotion. Some of our mass merchandising competitors do not currently compete in many of the product lines we offer. However, if these competitors were to begin offering a broader assortment of competing products or partner with our competitors to offer such products, or if any of the other factors listed above occurred, our net sales could be reduced or our costs could be increased, resulting in reduced profitability.

Our success depends on the value and strength of the Sportsman's Warehouse brand. The Sportsman's Warehouse name is integral to our business as well as to the implementation of our strategies for expanding our business. Maintaining, promoting and positioning our brand will depend largely on the success of our marketing and merchandising efforts and our ability to provide high quality merchandise and a consistent, high quality customer experience both in-store and online. Our brand could be adversely affected if we fail to achieve these objectives or if our public image or reputation were to be tarnished by negative publicity, any of which could result in decreases in net sales. In addition, the sale of firearm-related products also may present reputational risks and negative publicity that could affect consumers' perception of us or willingness to shop in our stores, which could harm our results of operations and financial condition.

Our trademarks, service marks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets, domain names and other intellectual property are valuable assets that are critical to our success. The unauthorized reproduction or other misappropriation of our intellectual property could diminish the value of our brands or goodwill and cause a decline in our net sales. Any infringement or other intellectual property claim made against us, whether or not it has merit, could be time-consuming, result in costly litigation, cause product delays or require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements. As a result, any such claim could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

We and the third parties with whom we work face a variety of evolving threats, which could cause security incidents, such as cyber-attacks, system disruptions, malicious internet-based activity, online and offline fraud, and other similar activities. Such threats are prevalent and continue to rise, are increasingly difficult to detect, and come from a variety of sources, including traditional computer "hackers," threat actors, "hacktivists," organized criminal threat actors, computer programmers, personnel (such as through theft or misuse), sophisticated nation states, and nation-state supported actors. Some actors now engage and are expected to continue to engage in cyber-attacks, including without limitation nation-state actors for geopolitical reasons and in conjunction with military conflicts and defense activities. During times of war and other major conflicts, we and the third parties with whom we work may be vulnerable to a heightened risk of these attacks, including retaliatory cyber-attacks, that could materially disrupt our systems and operations, supply chain, and ability to produce, sell and distribute our products. These threats include but are not limited to social-engineering attacks (including through deep fakes, which may be increasingly difficult to identify as fake, and phishing attacks), malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware (including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions), denial-of-service attacks, credential stuffing, credential harvesting, personnel misconduct or error, ransomware attacks, supply-chain attacks, software bugs, server malfunctions, software or hardware failures, loss of data or other information technology assets, adware, attacks enhanced or facilitated by AI (such as using AI to develop malicious code or launch sophisticated phishing attempts), telecommunications failures, and other similar threats. In particular, severe ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent and can lead to significant interruptions in operations, ability to provide products or services, loss of sensitive data and income, reputational harm, and diversion of funds. Extortion payments may alleviate the negative impact of a ransomware attack, but we may be unwilling or unable to make such payments due to, for example, applicable laws or regulations prohibiting such payments. Remote work has increased risks to our information technology systems and data, as more of our outfitters utilize network connections, computers, and devices outside our premises or network, including working at home, while in transit and in public locations. Additionally, future or past business transactions (such as acquisitions or integrations) could expose us to additional cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, as our systems could be negatively affected by vulnerabilities present in acquired or integrated entities' systems and technologies. Furthermore, we may discover security issues that were not found during due diligence of such acquired or integrated entities, and it may be difficult to integrate companies into our information technology environment and security program. In addition, we rely on third parties and their technologies to operate critical business systems to process sensitive data in a variety of contexts and to provide other products, services, parts, or otherwise to operate our business. Our ability to monitor these third parties' information security practices is limited, and these third parties may not have adequate information security measures in place. If the third parties with whom we work experience a security incident, threat, or other interruption, we could experience adverse consequences. While we may be entitled to damages if these parties fail to satisfy their privacy or security-related obligations to us, any award may be insufficient to cover our damages, or we may be unable to recover such award. In addition, supply-chain attacks have increased in frequency and severity, and we cannot guarantee that third parties' infrastructure in our supply chain or our third-party partners' supply chains have not been compromised. While we have implemented security measures designed to protect against security incidents, there can be no assurance that these measures will be effective. We take steps designed to detect, mitigate, and remediate vulnerabilities in our information systems (such as our hardware and/or software, including that of third parties with whom we work). We have not been, and may not in the future, be able to detect and/or remediate all such vulnerabilities or on a timely basis. For example, we have identified high and critical vulnerabilities in certain of our legacy information systems, including end-of-life systems that are difficult to patch, for which remediation options may be constrained despite the implementation of mitigating controls (including ring fencing). There can be no assurance that the vulnerability mitigation measures we have taken will be effective against such identified vulnerabilities. Further, we have experienced (and may in the future experience) delays in developing and deploying remedial measures designed to address any such identified vulnerabilities, which could be exploited and result in a security incident. Any of the previously identified or similar threats have caused, and may in the future cause, a security incident or other interruption that has resulted, and may in the future result, in unauthorized, unlawful, or accidental acquisition, modification, destruction, loss, alteration, encryption, disclosure of, or access to our sensitive data or our information technology systems, or those of the third parties with whom we work. A security incident or other interruption could disrupt our ability (and that of third parties with whom we work) to provide our products and services. We may expend significant resources or modify our business activities to try to protect against security incidents. Additionally, certain data privacy and security obligations require us to implement and maintain specific security measures to protect our information technology systems and sensitive data. Applicable data privacy and security obligations may require us, or we may voluntarily choose, to notify relevant stakeholders, including affected individuals, customers, regulators, and investors, of security incidents, or to take other actions, such as providing credit monitoring and identity theft protection. Such disclosures and related actions can be costly, and the disclosure or the failure to comply with such applicable requirements could lead to adverse consequences. If we (or a third party with whom we work) experience a security incident or are perceived to have experienced a security incident, we may experience material adverse consequences, such as government enforcement actions (for example, investigations, fines, penalties, audits, and inspections); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; restrictions on processing sensitive data (including personal data); litigation (including class claims); indemnification obligations; negative publicity; reputational harm; monetary fund diversions; diversion of management attention; interruptions in our operations (including availability of data); financial loss; and other similar harms. Security incidents and material attendant consequences may prevent or cause customers to stop using our services, deter new customers from using our services, and negatively impact our ability to grow and operate our business. Some of our contracts do not contain limitations of liability, and even where they do, there can be no assurance that limitations of liability in our contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities, damages, or claims related to our data privacy and security obligations. We cannot be sure that our insurance coverage will be adequate or sufficient to protect us from or to mitigate liabilities arising out of our privacy and security practices, that such coverage will continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that such coverage will pay future claims. In addition to experiencing a security incident, third parties may gather, collect, or infer sensitive data about us from public sources, data brokers, or other means that reveal competitively sensitive details about our organization and could be used to undermine our competitive advantage or market position. Additionally, sensitive data of the Company or our customers could be leaked, disclosed, or revealed as a result of or in connection with our outfitters', personnel's, or vendors' use of generative AI technologies.

We have been increasing our utilization of machine learning and other types of AI (collectively, "AI/ML") in our business and we anticipate that as technology advances, we will continue to expand our application of AI/ML, including generative AI. AI/ML may become more important to our operations over time as we increase reliance on AI/ML throughout our operations and administration. The rapid evolution of AI/ML technology and potential regulation of AI/ML may require that we expend significant resources to develop, test and maintain our implementation of AI/ML. Our competitors may incorporate AI/ML into their businesses faster or more successfully than us, which could impair our ability to compete effectively and adversely affect our results of operations. Additionally, if the information generated through our use of AI/ML is or is deemed to be deficient, inaccurate or biased, our business, financial condition, and results of operations may be adversely affected.

We operate in a complex regulatory and legal environment that could negatively impact the demand for our products and expose us to compliance and litigation risks, which could materially affect our operations and financial results. These laws may, and do, change, sometimes significantly, as a result of political, economic or social events. For instance, Colorado and Washington passed legislation that, among other things, raises the minimum age to purchase certain firearms from 18 to 21 and imposes multi-day waiting period on gun purchases. In addition, Florida has also raised the minimum age for firearms purchases to 21 with some exceptions, and in November 2022, the State of Oregon passed a ballot measure that will ban firearms and magazines with a capacity of over ten rounds, and that will, among other things, impose complex permitting and training requirements for the purchases of firearms. Some of the federal, state or local laws and regulations that affect our business and demand for our products include: - federal, state or local laws and regulations or executive orders that prohibit or limit the sale of certain items we offer, such as firearms, black powder firearms, ammunition, bows, knives and similar products;- the ATF, regulations, audit and regulatory policies that impact the process by which we sell firearms and ammunition and similar policies of state agencies that have concurrent jurisdiction, such as the CA DOJ;- laws and regulations governing hunting and fishing;- laws and regulations relating to the collecting and sharing of non-public customer information;- laws and regulations relating to consumer products, product liability or consumer protection, including regulation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and similar state regulatory agencies;- laws and regulations relating to the manner in which we advertise, market or sell our products;- labor and employment laws, including wage and hour laws;- U.S. Customs laws and regulations pertaining to proper item classification, quotas and the payment of duties and tariffs; and - FTC regulations governing the manner in which orders may be solicited and prescribing other obligations in fulfilling orders and consummating sales. Over the past several years, bills have been introduced in the United States Congress that would restrict or prohibit the manufacture, transfer, importation or sale of certain calibers of handgun ammunition, impose a tax and import controls on bullets designed to penetrate bullet-proof vests, impose a special occupational tax and registration requirements on manufacturers of handgun ammunition and increase the tax on handgun ammunition in certain calibers. Because we carry these products, such legislation could, depending on its scope, materially harm our sales. Additionally, state and local governments have proposed laws and regulations that, if enacted, would place additional restrictions on the manufacture, transfer, sale, purchase, acquisition, possession and use of firearms, ammunition and shooting-related products. For example, in response to mass shootings and other incidents in the United States, several states, such as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington have enacted laws and regulations that limit access to and sale of certain firearms in ways more restrictive than federal laws. Other state or local governmental entities may continue to explore similar legislative or regulatory restrictions that could prohibit the manufacture, sale, purchase, possession or use of firearms and ammunition. In California, Connecticut and New York, mandatory screening of ammunition purchases is now required, as well as electronic recordkeeping that will be audited by the state. In addition, several states and the United States Congress have introduced microstamping legislation (that is, engraving the handgun's serial number on the firing pin of new handguns) for certain firearms. Other state or local governmental entities may also explore similar legislative or regulatory initiatives that may further restrict the manufacture, sale, purchase, possession or use of firearms, ammunition and shooting-related products. For instance, we are actively monitoring Virginia HB 2117 which, if passed as currently drafted, would take effect July 1, 2026. This bill would prohibit future sales of certain firearms, firearm magazines and feeding devices in Virginia. Lastly, some states prohibit the sale of firearms without internal or external locking mechanisms, and several states are considering mandating certain design features on safety grounds, most of which would be applicable only to handguns. Other state or local governmental entities may also explore similar legislative or regulatory initiatives that may further restrict the manufacture, sale, purchase, acquisition, possession or use of firearms, ammunition and shooting-related products. State, local, and federal laws and regulations relating to products that we sell may change, sometimes significantly, as a result of political, economic or social events. For instance, in November 2022, Oregon passed a ballot measure that bans firearms and magazines with a capacity of over ten rounds, and that, among other things, imposes complex permitting and training requirements for the purchases of firearms. On December 6, 2022, a state circuit court judge in Oregon temporarily blocked the enforcement of such legislation and later granted a permanent injunction on November 21, 2023. On March 12, 2025, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed the state Circuit Court judge's permanent injunction, holding that the ballot measure was in fact facially constitutional under Oregon's state constitution. The Oregon Court of Appeals ordered the Circuit Court judge to enter a declaratory judgment consistent with the Court of Appeals' decision. The plaintiffs filed a petition for review before the Oregon Supreme Court on April 14, 2025, preventing the Circuit Court judge from entering the declaratory judgment pending a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court on whether to grant the petition for review. On June 12, 2025, the Oregon Supreme Court granted the petition for review. We anticipate a decision in the case will be rendered by the Oregon Supreme Court in late 2026. The permanent injunction entered by the Circuit Court Judge will continue to remain in effect pending the decision of the Oregon Supreme Court in this case. The Circuit Court judge's permanent injunction of the ballot measure continues to remain in effect pending a decision from the Oregon Supreme Court on the original initiative. The measure was also being challenged in a related case in federal court and was on appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. However, due to the recent ruling of a similar capacity restriction case in California (Duncan vs. Bonta), the Oregon federal court case will likely be remanded to the lower court. We are also actively monitoring Oregon HB 4145, which if passed would further delay the permit requirement of Ballot Measure 114 until January 01, 2028. We currently operate eight stores in the State of Oregon. If the Oregon Supreme Court upholds the Oregon Court of Appeals March 12, 2025 order and the ballot measure is allowed to take effect, sales of firearms in Oregon may be halted or substantially diminished unless all permitting and training programs are fully developed by the state and/or law enforcement agencies at the time the ballot measure takes effect. If delays in establishing such permitting and training programs occur, it could result in a substantial decline in our sales of firearms and related products and reduce traffic to our stores in Oregon, which would significantly impact on our sales and gross margin. It is still unclear what measures the State of Oregon has undertaken thus far to set up the permitting and training infrastructure called for in the ballot measure. The regulation of firearms, ammunition and shooting-related products may even become more restrictive in the future. Changes in these laws and regulations or additional regulations, particularly new laws or increased regulations regarding sales and ownership of firearms and ammunition, could cause the demand for and sales of our products to decrease and could materially adversely impact our net sales and profitability. Sales of firearms represent a significant percentage of our net sales and are critical in drawing customers to our stores. A substantial reduction in our sales or margins on sales of firearms and firearm related products due to the establishment of new regulations could harm our operating results. Moreover, complying with increased or changed regulations could cause our operating expenses to increase.

We have been subject to lawsuits involving the products we sell, including lawsuits relating to firearms, ammunition, tree stands and archery equipment. We have incurred, and may incur in the future, losses from lawsuits relating to the improper use of firearms or ammunition sold by us, including lawsuits by municipalities or other organizations attempting to recover costs from manufacturers and retailers of firearms and ammunition. We may also incur losses due to lawsuits, including potential class actions, relating to our performance of background checks on firearms purchases and compliance with other sales laws as mandated by state and federal law. Our insurance coverage, as well as the insurance provided by our vendors for certain products they sell to us, may be inadequate to cover claims and liabilities related to products that we sell. In addition, claims or lawsuits related to products that we sell, or the unavailability of insurance for product liability claims, could result in the elimination of these products from our product line, thereby reducing net sales. If one or more successful claims against us are not covered by or exceed our insurance coverage, or if insurance coverage is no longer available, our available working capital may be impaired and our operating results could be materially adversely affected. Even unsuccessful claims could result in the expenditure of funds and management time and could have a negative impact on our profitability and on future premiums we would be required to pay on our insurance policies.

In the ordinary course of business, we process personal data (including, in the case of certain customers, social security numbers and payment information) and other sensitive information, including proprietary and confidential business data, trade secrets, intellectual property, sensitive third-party data, business plans, transactions, and financial information (collectively, sensitive data). These processing activities subject us to numerous data privacy and security obligations, such as various laws, regulations, guidance, industry standards, external and internal privacy and security policies, contractual requirements, and other obligations relating to data privacy and security. In the United States, federal, state, and local governments have enacted numerous data privacy and security laws, including data breach notification laws, personal data privacy laws, consumer protection laws (e.g., Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act), and other similar laws (e.g., wiretapping laws). Numerous U.S. states have enacted comprehensive privacy laws that impose certain obligations on covered businesses, including providing specific disclosures in privacy notices and affording residents with certain rights concerning their personal data. As applicable, such rights include the right to access, correct, or delete certain personal data, and to opt-out of certain data processing activities, such as targeted advertising, profiling, and automated decision-making. The exercise of these rights may impact our business and ability to provide our products and services. Certain states also impose stricter requirements for processing certain personal data, including sensitive information, such as conducting data privacy impact assessments. These state laws allow for statutory fines for noncompliance. For example, the CCPA imposes obligations on covered businesses regarding their processing of personal data and provides for fines and a private right of action for certain data breaches. Similar laws are being considered at the federal level, and we expect more states to pass similar laws in the future. Additionally, under various privacy laws and other obligations, we may be required to obtain certain consents to process personal data. For example, some of our data processing practices have been and may in the future be subject to challenges or lawsuits under data privacy and communications laws, including for example under wiretapping laws. Our inability or failure to do so could result in adverse consequences, such as threats of class-action litigation alleging violations of wiretapping laws. In addition to data privacy and security laws, we are contractually subject to industry standards adopted by industry groups, such as the PCI DSS, and we are, and may become in the future subject to such obligations. We rely on vendors to process payment card data, and those vendors are subject to PCI DSS, and our business may be negatively affected if our vendors are fined or suffer other consequences as a result of PCI DSS noncompliance. We are also bound by other contractual obligations related to data privacy and security, and our efforts to comply with such obligations may not be successful. We publish privacy policies, marketing materials, and other statements concerning data privacy and security. Regulators in the United States are increasingly scrutinizing these statements, and if these are found to be deficient,lacking in transparency, deceptive, unfair, misleading, or misrepresentative of our practices, we may be subject to investigation, enforcement actions by regulators, or other adverse consequences. Our business is materially reliant on revenue from behavioral, interest-based, or tailored advertising (collectively, "targeted advertising"), but delivering targeted advertisements is becoming increasingly difficult due to changes to our ability to gather information about user behavior through third party platforms, new laws and regulations, and consumer resistance. In the United States, the CCPA, for example, grants California residents the right to opt-out of a company's sharing of personal data for advertising purposes in exchange for money or other valuable consideration, and requires covered businesses to honor user-enabled browser signals from the Global Privacy Control. Partially because of these developments, individuals are becoming increasingly resistant to the collection, use, and sharing of personal data to deliver targeted advertising. As a result, for certain customers, we may be required to change the way we market our products, and any of these developments or changes could materially impair our ability to reach new or existing customers or otherwise negatively affect our operations. Obligations related to data privacy and security (and consumers' data privacy expectations) are quickly changing, becoming increasingly stringent, creating regulatory uncertainty, and may be subject to differing applications and interpretations. Preparing for and complying with these obligations requires us to devote significant resources and may necessitate changes to our services, information technologies, systems, and practices and to those of any third parties that process personal data on our behalf. Our outfitters and personnel use generative artificial intelligence ("AI") and/or automated decision-making technologies to perform their work, and the disclosure and use of personal data in AI technologies are subject to various privacy laws and other privacy obligations. Governments have passed and are likely to pass additional laws and regulations regulating AI and/or automated decision-making technologies. Our use of this technology could result in additional compliance costs, regulatory investigations and actions, and lawsuits. If we are unable to use AI and/or automated decision-making technologies, it could make our business less efficient and result in competitive disadvantages. We may at times be unsuccessful (or be perceived to have been unsuccessful) in our efforts to comply with our data privacy and security obligations. Moreover, despite our efforts, our personnel or third parties with whom we work may be unsuccessful in complying with such obligations, which could negatively impact our business operations. If we or the third parties with whom we work are unsuccessful, or are perceived to have been unsuccessful, to address or comply with applicable data privacy and security obligations, we could face significant consequences, including but not limited to: government enforcement actions (e.g., investigations, fines, penalties, audits, inspections, and similar); litigation (including class-action claims); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; bans on processing personal data; and orders to destroy or not use personal data. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, or financial condition, including but not limited to: loss of customers; inability to process personal data or to operate in certain jurisdictions; limited ability to develop or commercialize our products; expenditure of time and resources to defend any claim or inquiry; adverse publicity; or substantial changes to our business model or operations.

Our success, in particular our ability to successfully manage inventory levels, largely depends upon the efficient operation of our computer hardware and software systems. We use third-party management information systems to track inventory information at the store level, communicate customer information and aggregate daily sales, margin and promotional information. These systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from natural disasters, power loss, computer system failures, telecommunications failures, misappropriation and similar events, including those addressed in "Risks Related to Our Business Strategy-If our information technology systems, or those of third parties with whom we work, or our data are or were compromised, we could experience adverse consequences", any of which could disrupt our operations and result in reduced sales. Furthermore, we centralize most of our computer systems in our support and distribution centers and it is possible that an event, natural disaster, or other interruption at either office could materially and adversely affect the performance of our company and the ability of each of our stores to operate efficiently.