The global economy and retail industry are impacted by many uncontrollable factors, including, among others, diplomatic and trade relationships, including potential changes to international trade policies or agreements, such as the imposition of new tariffs; general domestic and international political conditions; consumer perceptions of current and future economic conditions, including any recessionary fears; inflation; interest rates; foreign currency exchange rates; the availability and price of commodities, including fuel and energy costs; employment levels and wage rates; stock market performance; the housing market; consumer debt levels; the availability of consumer credit; the health and stability of the banking sector; global food supplies; taxation; the threat, outbreak, or escalation of terrorism, military conflicts, or other hostilities; consumer perceptions of personal well-being and safety; man-made or natural disasters, including pandemic diseases; and weather conditions.
Most recently, the U.S. announced significant changes to its trade policies, including widespread tariff increases on imported goods (including on those countries from which we import a substantial amount of our finished products, most notably Vietnam, Cambodia, and China) with potential further increases and revisions or terminations to existing trade agreements. In response, many countries have announced or are otherwise considering retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports and other trade restrictions. This has led to significant uncertainty regarding the future relationship between the U.S. and other countries, as well as growing concerns about a global trade war, higher inflation, and a potential global recession, which has already caused significant volatility of global stock markets and foreign currency exchange rates.
Other recent economic conditions, including ongoing inflationary pressures, organized labor disputes, high interest rates, significant foreign currency volatility, and military conflicts (as discussed below), continue to impact consumer discretionary income levels, spending, and sentiment in the U.S. and beyond. In response to such pressures, as well as to reduce elevated inventory levels, many retailers (particularly in the U.S.) continue to resort to promotional activity in an attempt to offset traffic declines and increase conversion. Our gross margins could be adversely impacted if we were to apply a similar strategy over a prolonged period of time.
The global economy has also been negatively impacted by ongoing military conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, militant attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea, and other hostilities in the Middle East. Although our voluntary decision to suspend operations in Russia has not resulted in a material impact to our consolidated financial statements and our ongoing operations in Israel are also not material, our business has been, and may continue to be, affected by the broader macroeconomic implications resulting from these and other military conflicts, including inflationary pressures, unfavorable foreign currency exchange rates, increases in energy prices, food shortages, and financial market volatility, among other factors, which have adversely impacted consumer sentiment and confidence. Although our business has not been significantly impacted by the Red Sea crisis, it could lead to shipping delays, inventory shortages, and/or higher freight costs in the near future and beyond. It is not clear at this time how long these conflicts will endure, or if they will escalate further with additional countries declaring war against each other, which could further amplify the impacts of the various macroeconomic factors described above and potentially result in a global recession.
Consumer purchases of discretionary items and luxury retail products, including our products, tend to decline during periods of recession, high inflation, or rising interest rates, and at other times when disposable income is lower. Unfavorable economic conditions and other factors, such as pandemic diseases and other health-related concerns, political unrest, military conflicts, and acts of terrorism, may also reduce consumers' willingness and ability to travel to major cities and vacation destinations in which our stores and shop-within-shops are located. Further, consumers may prefer to spend more of their discretionary income on "experiences," such as dining and entertainment, over consumer goods. Stay-at-home orders, social gathering restrictions, and work-from-home arrangements, such as those resulting from pandemic diseases, may also diminish consumers' demand for luxury apparel products. Accordingly, a downturn or an uncertain outlook in the economies in which we, or our wholesale customers and licensing partners, sell our products, or other changes in consumer preferences, may materially adversely affect our business.