SHRG Sharing Services Global Corporation (PK)

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Our operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described below, that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. If any of these events occurs, the market price of our Common Stock could decline, and you could experience the loss of all or a portion of the value of your investment in our Common Stock. You should not draw any inference about the relative magnitude or relevance of any particular risk from its position in the following discussion.

A - Risks Associated with Direct Selling:

Our dependence upon a direct selling business model to sell our products, the highly competitive and dynamic nature of the direct selling industry.

We market and distribute our products and services through a sales force of independent distributors, using a direct selling business model. The distribution of our products and services depends upon our continued efforts to recruit, train, and retain successful independent distributors. The success of our efforts to recruit and retain distributors may be affected by the competitive environment among direct-to-consumer companies, the conditions of the general labor market, including levels of employment, the occurrence of demographic and cultural changes in the workforce, and the extent to which our brand is recognized in the geographies in which we operate. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in recruiting and retaining enough independent distributors to grow our business worldwide.

The direct selling industry worldwide is highly competitive and dynamic, and generally there are few barriers to entering the industry. In addition, the sale of health and wellness products by direct selling industry participants, online resellers, and others is highly competitive. There are several companies, including many with more resources than the Company, that offer competing health and wellness products. The primary competitive factors for health and wellness products are (a) price; (b) the quality, perceived value, brand recognition and package appeal of the product; (c) the skills and effectiveness of the sales and customer service staff interacting with the customer or potential customer; and (d) the continuous availability of enough product to fulfill orders promptly. There can be no assurance that we will remain competitive or that competition in our industry will not intensify.

If we do not remain competitive and promptly and effectively respond to increased competition, including competition for independent distributors, and to marketplace changes in the future, future sales of our products and services could decline. This could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our ability to attract and retain independent distributors; the ability of a distributor to successfully perform his or her role; and the potential adverse impact of the loss of a high-level distributor or a significant number of distributors for causes out of our control.

We depend on the skills and marketability of our independent distributors to promote our brand and to market and distribute our products and services. The direct selling industry generally experiences a relatively high rate of salesforce turnover and is very competitive. The success of our efforts to recruit and retain distributors may be affected by the competitive environment among direct-to-consumer companies, the conditions of the general labor market, including levels of employment, the occurrence of demographic and cultural changes in the workforce, and the extent to which our brand is recognized in the geographies in which we operate. Our inability to attract and retain qualified distributors in the future, the inability or failure of a distributor to fulfill his or her role, including his or her role to comply with all laws and regulations applicable to direct-to-consumer sales activities, the ineffectiveness of a distributor as a spokesperson for our brand and products, or the loss of a high-level distributor or a significant number of distributors for causes out of our control may adversely affect future sales of our products and services. This could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Changes to our sales compensation plan could be negatively perceived by members of our independent sales force, could fail to achieve the desired long-term goals, and could adversely impact future sales.

We modify aspects of our sales compensation plan from time to time in order to keep our sales compensation plan competitive and attractive to our existing and future sales force, to address changing market conditions, to provide incentives that we believe will help grow our business, and to ensure conformance with evolving government regulations, among other reasons. For example, we modified our sales force compensation plan in 2018, and in 2019. In addition, we may be required to modify our sales compensation plan from time to time to comply with existing or new regulations in the future, including in response to potential governmental enforcement action. Changes to our sales compensation plan, including changes perceived to reduce sales commissions earned by our independent sales force, could be negatively received by our sales force, could fail to achieve the desired long-term goals, and could adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We may be held responsible for certain taxes or assessments relating to the activities of our independent distributors.

The success of our business depends on the effective use of an independent sales force to market and distribute our products and services. Our business activities and the activities of our independent distributors are subject to various local, state, and national laws and regulations and, in some instances, governmental agencies may seek to impose on us an obligation to collect taxes, such as sales or value-added tax, to maintain appropriate tax records, or to otherwise ensure compliance with local, state, or national laws and regulations by our distributors. In addition, some jurisdictions may challenge a company’s classification of its distributors as independent contractors and seek to make the Company pay additional compensation to its distributors or seek to make the Company responsible to withhold and remit payroll and similar taxes with respect to compensation paid to its distributors or with respect to the activities of its distributors. For example, in 2020, the State of California passed legislation which seeks to expand the classification of employees. Other states and other jurisdictions where we operate, now or in the future, may pass similar laws or interpret existing laws, rules, and regulations to expand the classification of employees. Although the California legislation provides an exemption for direct sellers, such as the Company, there can be no assurance that other jurisdictions where we operate now or in the future will provide a similar exemption or that judicial or regulatory authorities will not assert interpretations of law that would mandate that we change our classification. In the event that any governmental agency challenges our classification of our distributors as independent contractors or otherwise seeks to make us responsible to withhold and remit payroll or other taxes in connection with the activities of our independent distributors, we may incur significant costs and expenses to defend us from such actions, with no assurance that we will prevail, and we may ultimately be held responsible for such taxes in those jurisdictions in the future. The occurrence of any of these conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Civil or governmental challenges to our direct selling system or independent distributor policies could harm our business.

The direct-to-consumer industry is subject to extensive governmental scrutiny, including as a result of various national, state, and local laws and regulations. For example, in the U.S., the FTC has actively warned several direct selling companies, and the industry as a whole, about certain business practices associated with direct selling and has entered into settlements with several direct selling companies that required those companies to modify their compensation plans and business models. Those settlements resulted from FTC enforcement actions involving a variety of alleged violations of consumer protection laws, including allegations of earnings potential misrepresentations and challenges about the legal validity of the distributor compensation plans and business models. Elements of our network marketing system or our distributor policies may also be challenged by third parties, including our independent distributors, by competing direct-to-consumer companies, and by others.

In the countries where we operate, the direct selling industry relies on the implementation of distributor rules and policies designed to protect consumers, prevent inappropriate sales activities and marketing practices, and distinguish between legitimate direct selling distribution systems and unlawful pyramid schemes. We have adopted formal rules and policies that we believe are consistent with best domestic and global direct-to-consumer industry standards. The laws and regulations covering the direct selling industry, however, often involve a high level of subjectivity and are subject to judicial interpretation. Because of this, there can be no assurance that elements of our network marketing system, including representations made by our independent distributors, or elements of our distributor policies will not be challenged in civil or governmental actions, or that the application and interpretation of laws or regulations governing the direct-to-consumer industry in the future would not be harmful to our business. The occurrence of any of these conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

B – Risks Associated with our Emerging Growth Business:

The success of our growth initiatives, including our efforts to attract new customers, build brand awareness, and expand into international areas, and our efforts to generate recurring customer orders, which we call “SmartShip” orders.

Our long-term success is dependent on our ability to achieve sustained growth. We are an emerging growth company and had no significant sales history prior to December 2017, when we launched our Elevate health and wellness product line. During the period from December 2017 through October 31, 2019, our quarterly consolidated sales increased at a fast pace. During the five consecutive quarterly periods ending on January 31, 2021, however, we have experienced quarter-over-quarter sales decline. In efforts to restore growth, in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, we launched a multipronged growth strategy intended to accelerate sales growth, including by (a) expanding our product offerings in the U.S., (b) initiating operations in countries like South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines, among others, (c) launching its previously announced “Passport to Happiness” membership-based consumer travel products line worldwide, and (d) launching a “not-for-resale” product sales growth initiative in geographies outside the U.S., Canada, and Asia. We indent to complete implementation of this growth strategy in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022. In addition, we have made significant investments in developing and launching our new business brand, “The Happy Co ^TM,” in February 2021, in the U.S. There can be no assurance that these strategic initiatives will result in the consolidated sales growth we anticipate, or any sales growth at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our ability to anticipate and effectively respond to changes in consumer preferences and buying trends in several countries in a timely manner.

Our success depends in part on our ability to anticipate, evaluate, and respond in a timely manner to changes in consumer preferences and buying trends, particularly for health and wellness products, in the countries we operate. We anticipate that continuously changing consumer preferences and buying trends will affect future worldwide demand for health and wellness products, and other consumer products and services. If we do not effectively identify and respond in a timely manner to evolving consumer preferences and buying trends, including consumer demands for health and wellness products and services, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be adversely affected.

Our ability to maintain a positive image and brand acceptance in the dynamic, highly competitive, and sometimes unpredictable marketplace, including the impact of social media.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the use by businesses of social media platforms, including informal blogs, social media websites, and other forms of internet-based communications. Social media can enable a business to reach a wide selection of consumers and other targeted audiences, generally in a more cost-effective way than more traditional forms of marketing and advertising. However, negative, inaccurate, or false information about a company or the products it sells may be circulated through social media quickly and may damage a company’s reputation and business. In addition, negative, inaccurate, or false information about a company or the products it sells may be circulated through more traditional communication means. Most consumers and some independent distributors of direct-to-consumer companies, value readily available information and often act on such information without further investigation. The harm caused by the circulation of negative, inaccurate, or false information about a company or its products may be immediate, and opportunities to redress and correct the information may be slow and costly. If we were the victim of allegations, or the dissemination of negative, inaccurate, or false information, circulated through social media or otherwise, this could adversely impact our reputation and business and could result in the loss of independent distributors and in a decline in our future sales.

The Company also uses social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, to communicate with existing and prospective customers, independent distributors, vendors, and employees, and to otherwise promote its products and services. Laws and regulations intended to govern the use of the Internet and social media platforms are complex and evolving. If we, our employees, our independent distributors, or other third parties acting on our behalf were found to be in violation of any of these laws and regulations, this could result in fines and enforcement actions and adversely impact our reputation and business.

The occurrence of any of these conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our dependence on one merchant processor for a material portion of our sales proceeds

The availability of merchant processor providers willing to serve emerging growth companies is limited. A substantial portion of our credit card sales is processed by one merchant processor. In addition, at March 31, 2021 and April 30, 2020, our accounts receivable balance includes $1.5 million and $4.0 million, respectively, due from this merchant processor. Any disruption in the operations of this merchant processor, as a result of organized labor disputes, natural disasters, acts of cyberterrorism or otherwise, could disrupt or substantially decrease our cash flows from operation. If this occurred, particularly for an extended period, we may not be able to meet our obligations, including servicing our debt now or in the future. The occurrence of any of these conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our long-term success depends on our ability to attract and retain talented employees and management.

As an emerging growth business, our long-term success depends in large part on our ability to attract and retain talented employees and senior executives who have strong knowledge, experience, and managerial skills, including in the direct selling industry. From time to time, key employees may retire or otherwise leave our business, and we may experience delays or be unsuccessful in attracting and integrating the new staff required to grow and operate our business profitably. In addition, as an emerging growth company with a relatively limited number of executives currently on staff, our ability to develop effective management succession plans is limited. Effective management succession planning is important to our long-term success because failure to effectively transfer knowledge and to complete a smooth management transition could hinder or disrupt our strategic planning initiatives and/or adversely affect future execution of those initiatives and our performance. The occurrence of any of these conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our long-term success depends on our ability to effectively manage and control our operating expenses.

We are an emerging growth company and have not achieved sustained growth and profitability. Our ability to consistently generate earnings from operations depends in large part on our ability to successfully control our operating costs and expenses, while we continue to invest in strategic initiatives intended to grow our sales volume and business infrastructure, including our international footprint. In furtherance of this goal, we have intensified our ongoing activities to control operating costs and expenses, including by strengthening our financial management processes. There can be no assurance that our strategic initiatives and cost control efforts will result in the levels of profitability and positive cash flows that we expect, if at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our quarterly financial performance and potential fluctuations therein.

Our quarterly financial performance may fluctuate and adversely affect the price of our Common Stock, often for causes outside of our control. For example, consumer demand for our products and services and, as a result, our quarterly consolidated sales levels, may increase or decrease materially, among other things, because of changes in actual or anticipated levels of employment, changes in the interest rates applicable to consumer credit cards, inflation, national or local political uncertainty, increased competition, and changes in consumer sentiment in general in the countries where we operate. In addition, our results of operations and cash flows may decrease because of, among other things, potential increases in our product costs beyond that which we can pass along to our customers, changes in the willingness or ability of our suppliers to provide product to us in a timely manner, changes in labor costs and in payroll tax rates, and changes in the regulatory environment in the countries where we operate. The occurrence of any of these conditions could have a material adverse effect on our quarterly financial performance and adversely affect the price of our Common Stock.

Our ability to generate sustained, positive cash flows from operations or to obtain additional financing, if needed, with which to fund our working capital needs, including servicing or refinancing our debt, now and in the future.

The Company is an emerging growth company and has not consistently generated sustained positive cash flows from operations, has experienced significant fluctuations in its levels of cash flows from operations, or has otherwise depended on the issuance of equity securities and debt, including convertible notes and short-term borrowings under financing arrangements, in order to meet its working capital needs. For example, during the nine months ended January 31, 2021, our net cash used by operating activities was $5.2 million. If the Company is unable to generate sustained positive cash flows from operations or to obtain additional equity or debt financing, if needed, this could inhibit the Company’s ability to implement its business strategies and to grow its business, service its debt, now or in the future, and otherwise meet its business goals. This could, in turn, have a material adverse effect on its financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our financial performance could be adversely affected by economic downturns, particularly over an extended period.

Our results of operations may be materially impacted by changes in economic conditions in general in the countries where we operate. The economies in the countries where we operate may be adversely affected by changes in government policy and/or by, among other things, changes in levels of employment, changes in tax laws, increases in energy costs, geopolitical conflict, natural disasters or acts of terrorism, widespread health crises, changes in consumer credit card interest rates, inflation, and changes in consumer sentiment in general. For example, as further discussed below, business activity in several sectors of the economy were severely reduced or completely halted as a result of the recent COVID global health emergency, and a significant number of workers were laid off in the countries where we operate. These conditions, in turn, resulted in a significant economic downturn in countries where we operate. As the affected businesses resume normal operations, there can be no assurance that economic recovery will be complete or prompt. In the event of a significant economic downturn, particularly over an extended period of time, whether as a result of a similar health crisis or otherwise, consumer spending habits could be adversely affected over a longer term, and we could experience lower than expected sales. Any economic downturn could also adversely affect one or more of our key suppliers. The occurrence of any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

The success of our efforts to register our trademarks and to protect certain intellectual property rights.

We have applied for, or are in the process of applying for, trademark protection in the United States and in other jurisdictions where we operate or intend to operate in the future. We have obtained 19 U.S. trademarks and have over 30 pending trademark applications in the U.S. We anticipate securing additional U.S. trademarks and foreign trademarks. Trademark protection is increasingly important to our business. If we fail to register or enforce our intellectual property rights or if our intellectual property rights are successfully challenged, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Several of our products are manufactured under formulations and processes owned by some of our key vendors. Some of our key vendors have registered or applied for patent registrations to maintain exclusivity over the ingredients, formulation and processes, and the integrated products they supply to us. Such existing or potential patents, the underlying ingredients, formulation and processes, and integrated products could be material to our business. The Company reserves the right to join in any actions to defend against any infringement on such vendor-owned patents that could adversely affect the products the Company sells. If we, and our vendors were unsuccessful in protecting such intellectual property rights, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our potential unintended infringement on the intellectual property rights of others.

The industry in which we operate is competitive and characterized by the need for trademarks to protect intellectual property rights, and by claims of infringement or other violation of intellectual property rights. A third-party may assert that one or more of our products violates that party’s intellectual property rights. Any successful intellectual property claim against us in the future could result in significant financial liability and/or prevent us from selling the affected product afterwards. In addition, the resolution of infringement claims may require that we redesign our products, obtain licenses to use intellectual property belonging to a third party, or cease using the intellectual property altogether. Moreover, any intellectual property claim, regardless of its merits, could be expensive and time-consuming to defend against. As a result, claims based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights, regardless of the outcome, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

From time to time, we are a party to lawsuits and other claims that may result in adverse outcomes.

In recent years, we have been a party to several claims and lawsuits arising from a wide variety of business activities, including acquisition-related contingencies, disputes between the Company and certain former officers, disputes between the Company and certain shareholders, and disputes between the Company and former independent distributors. An adverse outcome in any of these claims may result in significant monetary damages or injunctive relief that could adversely affect our business. Litigation and other claims are subject to inherent uncertainties and management’s assessment of these uncertainties may change in the future, including as a result of new information. A material adverse impact to our consolidated financial position and results of operations could occur in a period in which an unfavorable outcome becomes probable and reasonably estimable, and a material adverse cash flow could occur in the period when these lawsuits or claims are settled.

Our stated intension to expand into foreign markets will expose us to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, and other risks inherent to foreign operations.

Historically, 94% or more of our sales have been to customers and independent distributors located in the United States. However, as part of our strategic growth initiatives, we intend to expand our operations in other countries in the near future. As a result, the amount of our reported consolidated sales, expenses, and cash flows may be significantly affected by fluctuations in the relevant foreign currency exchange rates, as we translate the financial statements of our foreign operations from their functional currency into our reporting currency, the U.S. Dollar. In addition, as a multinational consolidated group, we and some of our domestic or foreign affiliates may obtain and hold assets and liabilities denominated in a currency different from our or their functional currency, in the normal course of business. As a result, we and some of our affiliates may incur foreign currency transaction gains and losses in connection with such assets and liabilities.

Our business may also become exposed to more adverse economic, regulatory, and other conditions in the international areas to which we expand, compared to those in the U.S. For example, our future international operations may result in exposure to more restrictive consumer safety, product labeling and other consumer product regulations; more restrictive labor laws and regulations; more frequent or unexpected changes in the regulatory environments; more economic volatility; higher rates of inflation; or higher political instability, compared to the U.S. Furthermore, our international operations may expose us to higher consolidated income tax rates, import and export restrictions and tariffs, restrictions on the expatriation of cash to the U.S., and potentially adverse changes in trade agreements between the U.S. and that particular foreign country where we operate now or in the future.

The occurrence of any of these conditions could have a material adverse effect on our future business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our ability to respond to any natural disasters, epidemics, and other health emergencies, or acts of violence or terrorism that may affect our customers and/or our business effectively and cost-efficiently.

The occurrence of natural disasters, epidemics or other health emergencies, or acts of violence or terrorism in the geographies we operate now and in the future, could result in physical damage to our property, the temporary or long-term closure of a facility, the temporary or long-term disruption in the supply of products (or a substantial increase in the cost of those products) to us, the temporary or long-term reduction in our ability to sell products and grow our business, and/or the temporary reduction in consumer demand for our products and services. In addition, if one or more natural disasters, epidemics, or other health emergencies, or acts of violence or terrorism were to impact our global business, our insurance costs may rise significantly afterwards. The occurrence of any of these conditions could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

C – Risks Associated with our Products, and with Product and Consumer Laws and Regulations:

Our dependence on one supplier for a substantial portion of the products we sell and the potential for material disruptions in our supply chain or potential increases in the prices of the products we purchase beyond what we can pass along to our customers.

We depend on one supplier for a substantial amount of the products we sell. Any disruption or substantial decrease in the supply of product by this supplier, as a result of a shortage of raw materials, organized labor disputes, natural disasters, acts of cyberterrorism, or otherwise, could disrupt or substantially decrease our ability to fulfill customer orders. If this occurred, particularly for an extended period, we may not be able to continue to offer these or similar products and our future sales may decline. In such event, we may not be able to offset the decline in sales through substitution of product, price increases, or otherwise. In addition, if this supplier or any of our suppliers implemented unilateral price increases, we may not be able to pass along such price increases to our customers and our profitability may be reduced. Further, if this supplier or any of our suppliers fails to continue to supply product of adequate quality and in a timely fashion to us, this could adversely affect our future sales. The occurrence of any of these conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Past or future reformulations of our products, including in response to potential governmental enforcement action, could be negatively received by our independent sales force and customers, and adversely impact future sales.

As part of our commitment to continuously improve our products, we introduce product reformulations and other product enhancements from time to time. In addition, we may be required to modify our product formulations from time to time to comply with existing or new regulations in the future, including in response to potential governmental enforcement action. Changes to our product formulations, whether as a result of potential governmental enforcement action or not, could be negatively received by our sales force and customers, and could adversely impact future sales, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Potential product liability claims could harm our business.

Historically, product liability claims have not been material to our business. However, given the increase in product liability claim activity in recent years and the increased application of a “strict liability” legal standard to those claims particularly in the U.S., we purchase product liability insurance to minimize the financial risks associated with such claims or potential claims. The sources of product liability insurance coverage in the countries where we operate are limited, product liability coverage is increasingly expensive, and product liability insurance policies contain many exclusions. We believe our product liability insurance policies significantly mitigate the potentially adverse financial impact to us resulting from most potential product liability claims. However, there can be no assurance that our product liability coverages are adequate to protect us sufficiently and against all potential claims. For example, if any of our products is found to have caused personal injury to a consumer, we might be subjected to liability substantially in excess of our insurance coverages. Any of these conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Nutritional supplements are often supported only by limited available clinical studies.

Nutritional supplements, such as many of the Company’s health and wellness products, have a long history of human consumption. Some of our products may contain innovative ingredients or contain combinations of ingredients. Although we believe that all our products are safe when taken as directed, there is only limited data available about human consumption of certain of these product ingredients or combinations of ingredients in concentrated form. We and our key suppliers conduct research and test the formulation and production of our products, however, there are only limited, if any, conclusive clinical studies available about our products and similar product in the marketplace. Furthermore, because we are highly dependent on consumer perception of the efficacy, safety, and quality of our products, we could be adversely affected in the event that our products, or similar product in the marketplace, are proven or asserted to be ineffective or harmful to consumers or in the event of adverse publicity associated with any adverse effects resulting from use or misuse of our products, or similar products in the marketplace. Any of these conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our ability to comply with current consumer product laws and regulations or our becoming subject to new or more stringent consumer product laws and regulations in the future.

Our business and the products we sell are subject to several national, state, and local laws and regulations in the countries where we currently operate or intend to operate in the future. These laws and regulations generally govern the composition, packaging, labeling and consumer safety of the products we sell, as well as the information we use to market these products. In addition, the laws and regulations applicable to us and our products may become more stringent in the future. For example, the State of California enforces recent legislation that requires that “clear and reasonable” warnings be given to consumers who are exposed to chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. Although we actively seek to comply with the requirements of this and all other laws and regulations applicable to our business and products, there can be no assurance our products would not be found to be defective in labeling or content, or that the labeling and content of our products will not be challenged in civil or enforcement actions in the future. Our continued compliance with existing or new consumer product laws and regulations could also require the review and possible reformulation or relabeling of our products, as well as the potential removal of some products from the marketplace. In addition, the existence of more stringent consumer product laws and regulation in countries where we intend to operate in the future, could hinder our ability to grow our business into such countries. If we were found to be in violation of existing or new consumer product laws or regulations in the future, this could result in significant fines or damages and other enforcement actions, in addition to significant costs and expenses to defend the resulting claims. The occurrence of any of these conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

D - Risks Associated with our System of Internal Controls, and with our Disclosure Controls:

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting in the future, we may not be able to accurately report our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our securities.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, and disclosure controls and procedures. Under Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we are required to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This report must include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management during its periodic assessment of our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting that results in more than a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the financial statements will not be prevented or detected in a timely basis. Our compliance with Section 404(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we incur substantial accounting expense, and that our management spend significant time and efforts in its assessment of such internal control over financial reporting.

During the evaluation and testing process, if we identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we would be required to implement remediation procedures aimed at mitigating the control weakness or weaknesses. Until such remediation procedures succeed in mitigating the control weakness or weaknesses, we would be unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. We cannot assure you that there will not be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting in the future. Any failure to maintain internal control over financial reporting could severely inhibit our ability to timely and accurately report our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. If we are unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm determines we have a material weakness or significant deficiency in our internal control over financial reporting in the future, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our securities could decline, and we could be subject to enforcement actions by the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Any failure to promptly remedy any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, or to implement or maintain other effective control systems required of public companies, could also restrict our future access to the capital markets.

Our disclosure controls and procedures may not prevent or detect all errors or acts of fraud.

Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in reports we file or submit under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the rules and forms of the SEC. We believe that any disclosure controls and procedures or internal controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and executed, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple human error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of a person, by collusion of two or more people, or by an unauthorized override of the controls. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in any control system, misstatements, or insufficient disclosures due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

E – Risks Associated with Ongoing COVID Health Emergency:

The ongoing COVID health crisis and actions to mitigate it have adversely impacted the economies in the countries where we operate and may adversely impact our business.

In 2020, in response to the COVID public health emergency, national, regional and/or local governments in the countries where we operate mandated or recommended various containment measures, including selective business closures, social distancing, quarantine, stay-at-home or shelter-in-place directives, and limitations on, or cancellations of, larger meetings and other public events. At the time of this report, many of these mandated or recommended containment measures may still be in place. We believe that the actual impact of the health crisis, and/or actions taken to contain the spread of the virus, have had and continue to have a material adverse impact on the economies in the geographies we serve. Consumer demand for discretionary products such as ours is sensitive to significant downturns in the economy, increases in unemployment or decreases in perceived employment security.

In efforts to protect our customers, distributors, employees, and other business partners, in 2020, we instituted several preventive measures, including temporarily transitioning a significant number of our corporate employees to working remotely, increasing efforts to clean and sanitize our business facilities, increasing employee safety communication, and transitioning our sales conventions to a virtual convention platform. Some of these temporary measures have increased our already significant reliance on telephone and computer systems and on the availability of continued and impeded access to the Internet by our business. The timing when these temporary measures will be eased or reversed altogether is contingent on the success of current efforts, by government policy makers, the health service providers, and others, to inoculate large portions of the population and contain the pandemic. At the time of this report, we cannot project with certainty the timing and extend of any potential easing or reversal of our temporary preventive measures.

As a result of the foregoing, we cannot predict with certainty the scope, duration, and ultimate impact of the COVID public health emergency in the countries where we operate, but we believe these conditions may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, cash flows, and results of operations (including revenues and profitability), and those of our key suppliers.

F – Risks Associated with our Information Technology Systems and with Cybersecurity:

We may be adversely affected by any disruption in our information technology systems.

We depend on our information technology systems to manage most of our major business functions, including sales order processing, independent sales force service and support, billings and collection, human resources and recordkeeping, and accounting and reporting. More specifically, we rely upon our information technology systems to procure and replenish inventory, to fulfill and ship customer orders, to coordinate our sales activities across several functional areas, to carry out our administrative activities, and to protect personal or sensitive information about our customers, independent distributors, employees, vendors, and other business partners that we received in the ordinary course of our business. A substantial disruption in our information technology systems could result in delays in receiving product and in filling customer orders, and adversely affect our relationships with our customers, independent distributors, employees, vendors, and other business partners, and damage our reputation and business.

As our operations rapidly grow in both size and scope, we continuously need to scale and upgrade our systems and infrastructure to meet increased demand, while preserving their reliability and integrity. For example, we recently implemented an information system upgrade in the U.S. to better accommodate our current and anticipated growth. Any expansion or upgrade to our systems and infrastructure in the future will require us to commit substantial financial, operational, technical, and human resources before the volume of our business increases, with no assurance that the volume of business will increase to the extent we expect or at all. Also, there can be no assurance that any system expansion or upgrade will result in the anticipated benefits and efficiencies, or that the costs of such system expansion or upgrade will not outweigh the benefits and efficiencies derived.

Any of these conditions could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We may be adversely affected by potential acts of cyberterrorism.

The normal course of our business requires the collection, transmission, and retention of large volumes of confidential and proprietary information, including personal or confidential information of our customers, independent distributors, suppliers, and employees in the information technology systems that we maintain and in those maintained by certain third parties with which we do business. We operate in a global environment characterized by increasing threats of cyberterrorism. Information technology system threats can take a variety of forms. Individual and groups of hackers, and sophisticated organizations, including state-sponsored organizations or nation-states, often commit cyberattacks that pose threats to government, military, educational, and business institutions, among others. These actors could use a wide variety of methods, which could include the development and deployment of malicious software or exploiting vulnerabilities in hardware, software, or other infrastructure in order to gain access to networks and data, potentially compromising sensitive customer, independent distributor, supplier, employee, or other information.

Cyber-threats are constantly evolving, making it increasingly difficult to prevent, detect and successfully defend against. A potential breach of our facilities, data systems or data security could disrupt the operations of our information technology systems and business, impair our ability to ship product or provide services to our customers, and potentially compromise the privacy of our data, including our confidential or technical business information. In addition, the risk of one or more cybersecurity incidents may be heightened as more of our employees work remotely, for example, as a result of the current COVID crisis. Any of these things could harm our reputation or competitive position, require us to allocate more resources to improve our systems, technologies, and infrastructure, or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

G – Risk Associated with our Common Stock and with our Preferred Shareholder Rights:

Because we do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, likely will be your sole source of gain.

We have not declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock at any time since our inception. We currently intend to retain our future earnings to finance the growth and development of our business. In addition, the terms of any future debt agreements may preclude us from paying dividends or may materially restrict the amount of such dividends. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our securities likely will be your sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.

Future sales and issuances of our Common Stock or rights to purchase our Common Stock, including pursuant to our past equity awards, will result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership by our existing stockholders and could cause our trading price to decline.

We expect that significant additional capital will be needed in the future to fund our planned growth, including our stated intension to expand our footprint outside the U.S. To raise capital, we may sell substantial amounts of Common Stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Common Stock. Convertible notes and stock warrants currently held by Document Security Systems, Inc., and its affiliates may result in the issuance of up to 310,000,000 additional shares of our Common Stock. In addition, convertible notes and stock warrants currently held by HWH International, Inc. may result in the issuance of 666,666 or more additional shares of our Common Stock depending on the results of ongoing negotiations related to their conversion prices. Document Security Systems, Inc. and its affiliates, and HWH International, Inc. are affiliated with Chan Heng Fai Ambrose, a director of the Company. Future issuances of equity or equity-linked securities, together with future conversions of our Preferred Stock and exercises of stock warrants currently outstanding or granted in the future, and shares issued in connection with future acquisitions, if any, may result in material dilution to the equity interests of our existing investors. In addition, as a result of such future issuances, new investors could gain rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of the current holders of our Common Stock.

Our Board of Directors may adopt an equity compensation plan in the future to enhance our efforts to attract and reward employees, executives, and consultants with grants of equity-based awards. Future issuances of equity-based awards, including issuances under any such future equity compensation plan, may result in material dilution to the equity interests of our existing investors and have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities.

We will continue to incur significant increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance requirements as a result of our disclosed intent to uplist our stock in the NASDAQ Capital Market.

We will continue to incur significant increased administrative costs, including legal, accounting, and other expenses, as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to incremental compliance requirements as a result of our disclosed intent to uplist our stock in the NASDAQ Capital Market. For example, we have incurred and will continue to incur costs associated with the preparation and filing of annual, quarterly, and current reports pursuant to the Exchange Act. In addition, after our disclosed intent to uplist our stock in the NASDAQ Capital Market, we will be subject to mandatory incremental corporate governance and other compliance requirements. Further, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and rules subsequently implemented by the SEC, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the NASDAQ Capital Market have imposed various demanding reporting and corporate governance requirements on public companies. Stockholder activism, the current political environment, and the current high level of government intervention and regulatory reforms may lead to substantial new regulations and disclosure obligations, which may lead to additional compliance costs and adversely impact (in ways we cannot currently anticipate) the way we operate our business. Our management and staff will need to devote substantial amounts of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations have and will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, we will incur additional expense to increase our director and officer liability insurance.

In addition, if we cease to be a smaller reporting company and become subject to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we will be required to furnish an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. To achieve compliance with Section 404 within the prescribed period of time, we will continue to be engaged in a process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting, which is both costly and time-consuming. In this regard, we will need to dedicate substantially greater internal resources, potentially engage outside consultants, and adopt a detailed work plan to assess and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes as appropriate, validate, through testing, that the controls are functioning as documented and intended, and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, there is a risk that our independent registered public accounting firm, when required, will not be able to conclude within the prescribed timeframe that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404. This could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.

Certain corporate stockholders, directors, and officers beneficially own a significant combined amount of our Common Stock, which could allow them to influence corporate transactions and other matters and could otherwise limit the potential growth in the price of our Common Stock.

As of the date of this filing, 91,167,593 shares representing 49% of our total issued and outstanding Common Stock were owned by Document Security Systems, Inc. (“DSS”) and its subsidiary, Decentralized Sharing Systems, Inc., and under the voting control of Chan Heng Fai Ambrose, a director of the Company. In addition, the President, CEO and Interim Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company, and two additional Directors of the Company, including Mr. Chan, also serve on the Board of Directors of DSS. Further, convertible debt instruments and stock warrants held by DSS and HWH International, Inc., both affiliated with Mr. Chan, may result in the issuance of a substantial additional Common Stock and in a substantial concentration of our Common Stock under the voting control of Mr. Chan.

As of the date of this filing, 114,202,287 shares representing 61% of our total issued and outstanding Common Stock were owned, in the aggregate, by DSS, and directors and officers of the Company. In addition, a substantial number of shares are issuable upon the potential exercise of stock warrants and the potential conversion of convertible debt instruments held by those stockholders. As a result, before or after such potential exercises of conversions, if two or more of these parties choose to act together, they may be able to control a significant percentage of the total voting right of our Common Stock, which could affect the outcome of a shareholder vote, including, the election of directors, the adoption of employee stock option plans, the adoption of amendments to our articles of incorporation and bylaws, the approval of acquisitions, mergers and other corporate transactions, or the potential declaration and payment of dividends and distributions on our Common Stock.

The conditions discussed above may constitute a material limitation on the rights of our other Common Stockholders, including the right to receive dividends and other to distributions, if any, in the future and may limit the relative voting power of our other stockholders or otherwise limit the potential growth in the price of our Common Stock.

Certain rights of our Preferred Stockholders may limit your rights as a Common Stockholder.

The Company’s authorized capital stock structure is comprised of multiple classes of Common Stock (Class A and Class B) as well as Preferred Stock ( Series A, B and C). As of the date of this filing, there are 187,110,769 shares of our Class A Common Stock and 8,330,000 shares of our convertible Preferred Stock (including the Series A and the Series C Preferred Stock) issued and outstanding. There are no shares of the Company’s Class B Common Stock or Series B Preferred Stock currently issued and outstanding.

The rights of the holders of Series A and C Preferred Stock are set out in a Certificate of Designation (for each such series) filed in the State of Nevada. Pursuant to such Certificates of Designation, each share of Series A and Series C Preferred Stock entitles the holder to one vote and is convertible into one share of our Class A Common Stock, at the option of the holder. In addition, pursuant to such Certificates of Designation, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 86% of the shares of the Series A and the Series C Preferred Stock outstanding is required for the Board to declare and pay dividends and other distributions upon the shares of the Company’s Common Stock, unless, with respect to a cash dividend, the holders of the Company’s Preferred Stock (including the Series A and the Series C Preferred Stock) are to receive the same cash dividend as the Common Stock, on an if converted basis. Further, the shares of our Preferred Stock are senior to the shares of our Common Stock with regards to distributions in the event of dissolution, liquidation, or winding up of the Company, whether voluntary or involuntary.

The preferred shareholder rights discussed above may constitute a material limitation on the rights of our Common Stockholders, including the right to receive dividends and other to distributions, if any.