ITEM 1A.   RISK FACTORS

The following are significant factors known to us that could materially adversely affect our business, reputation, operating results, industry, financial position, or future financial performance.

Our net sales and earnings could be adversely affected by economic conditions and outlook in the United States and in other countries in which we conduct business.

Adverse economic conditions and outlook in the U.S. and in other countries in which we conduct business can impact demand for our products and, ultimately, our net sales and earnings. These include, but are not limited to, recessionary conditions; slow or negative economic growth rates; the impact of U.S. federal debt, state debt, and sovereign debt defaults and austerity measures by certain European countries; slow down or reductions in levels of golf course development, renovation, and improvement; golf course closures; reduced levels of home ownership, construction, and sales; home foreclosures; negative consumer confidence; reduced consumer spending levels resulting from tax increases or other factors; prolonged high unemployment rates; higher commodity and components costs and fuel prices; inflationary or deflationary pressures; reduced credit availability or unfavorable credit terms for our distributors, dealers, and end-user customers; higher short-term, mortgage, and other interest rates; and general economic and political conditions and expectations. In the past, some of these factors have caused our distributors, dealers, and end-user customers to reduce spending and delay or forego purchases of our products, which have had an adverse effect on our net sales and earnings. Our net sales and earnings could be adversely impacted by economic conditions and outlook in the U.S. and in other countries in which we conduct business.

Weather conditions may reduce demand for some of our products and adversely affect our net sales or otherwise adversely affect our operating results.

From time to time, weather conditions in a particular geographic region may adversely affect sales, demand, and field inventory levels of some of our products. For example, in the past, drought conditions have had an adverse effect on sales of certain mowing equipment products, unusually rainy weather or severe drought conditions that result in watering bans have had an adverse effect on sales of our irrigation products, and lower snowfall accumulations in key markets have had an adverse effect on sales of our snow thrower products and sales of products of our BOSS professional snow and ice management business. Similarly, adverse weather conditions in one season may negatively impact customer purchasing patterns and our net sales for some of our products in another season. For example, lower snowfall accumulations may result in lower winter season revenues for landscape contractor professionals, causing such customers to forego or postpone spring purchases of our mowing products. To the extent that unfavorable weather conditions are exacerbated by global climate change or otherwise, our sales and operating results may be affected to a greater degree than we have previously experienced.

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Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates have in the past affected our operating results and could continue to result in declines in our reported net sales and net earnings.

Because the functional currency of most of our foreign operations is the applicable local currency, and because our financial reporting currency is the U.S. dollar, preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires that we translate the assets, liabilities, expenses, and revenues of our foreign operations into U.S. dollars at applicable exchange rates. Accordingly, we are exposed to foreign currency exchange rate risk arising from transactions in the normal course of business, such as sales and loans to wholly owned subsidiaries, as well as sales to third party customers, purchases from suppliers, and bank lines of credit with creditors denominated in foreign currencies. Our reported net sales and net earnings are subject to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that have in the past affected our operating results and could continue to result in declines in our reported net sales and net earnings. Because our products are manufactured or sourced primarily from the U.S. and Mexico, a stronger U.S. dollar and Mexican peso generally have a negative impact on our operating results, while a weaker U.S. dollar and Mexican peso generally have a positive effect. In addition, currency exchange rate fluctuations may affect the comparative prices between products we sell and products our foreign competitors sell in the same market, which may adversely affect demand for our products. Substantial exchange rate fluctuations as a result of the strengthening of the U.S. dollar or otherwise, may have an adverse effect on our operating results, financial condition, and cash flows, as well as the comparability of our consolidated financial statements between reporting periods. Our primary foreign currency exchange rate exposure is with the Euro, the Australian dollar, the Canadian dollar, the British pound, the Mexican peso, the Japanese yen, the Chinese Renminbi, and the Romanian New Leu against the U.S. dollar, as well as the Romanian New Leu against the Euro including exposure as a result of the volatility and uncertainty that may arise as a result of the United Kingdom's vote to exit the European Union. While we actively manage the exposure of our foreign currency market risk in the normal course of business by entering into various foreign exchange contracts, these instruments involve risks and may not effectively limit our underlying exposure from foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations or minimize our net earnings and cash volatility associated with foreign currency exchange rate changes. Further, the failure of one or more counterparties to our foreign currency exchange rate contracts to fulfill their obligations to us could adversely affect our operating results.

Increases in the cost of raw materials and components that we purchase and/or increases in our other costs of doing business, may adversely affect our profit margins and businesses.

We purchase raw materials such as steel, aluminum, petroleum and natural gas-based resins, linerboard, and other commodities, and components, such as engines, transmissions, transaxles, hydraulics, and electric motors, for use in our products. In addition, we are a purchaser of components and parts containing various commodities, including steel, aluminum, copper, lead, rubber, and others that are integrated into our end products. To the extent that commodity prices increase and we do not have firm pricing from our suppliers, or our suppliers are not able to honor such prices, increases in the cost of such raw materials and components and parts may adversely affect our profit margins. In addition, increases in other costs of doing business may also adversely affect our profit margins and businesses. For example, an increase in fuel costs may result in an increase in our transportation costs, which also could adversely affect our operating results and businesses. In addition, changes to international trade agreements could result in additional tariffs, duties or other charges on raw materials or components we import into the U.S.

Historically, we have mitigated cost increases, in part, by collaborating with suppliers, reviewing alternative sourcing options, substituting materials, engaging in internal cost reduction efforts, and increasing prices on some of our products, all as appropriate. However, we may not be able to fully offset such increased costs in the future. Further, if our price increases are not accepted by our customers and the market, our net sales, profit margins, earnings, and market share could be adversely affected.

Disruption in the availability of raw materials and components used in our products may adversely affect our business.

Although most of the raw materials and components used in our products are generally commercially available from a number of sources and in adequate supply, certain components are sourced from single suppliers. Any disruption in the availability of raw materials and components used in our products, our inability to timely or otherwise obtain substitutes for such items, or any deterioration in our relationships with, the financial viability or quality of, or the personnel relationships at our suppliers, could adversely affect our business.

Our Professional segment net sales are dependent upon certain factors, including golf course revenues and the amount of investment in golf course renovations and improvements; the level of new golf course development and golf course closures; the level of property owners who outsource their lawn care and snow and ice removal activities; the level of residential and commercial construction; continued acceptance of and demand for micro-irrigation solutions for agricultural markets; the timing and occurrence of winter weather conditions; the demand for our products in the rental and specialty construction market; the availability of cash or credit to Professional segment customers on acceptable terms to finance new product purchases; and the amount of government revenues, budget, and spending levels for grounds maintenance equipment.

Our Professional segment products are sold by distributors or dealers, or directly to government customers, rental companies, and professional users engaged in maintaining and creating properties and landscapes, such as golf courses, sports fields,

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residential and commercial properties and landscapes, and governmental and municipal properties. Accordingly, our professional segment net sales are impacted by golf course revenues and the amount of investment in golf course renovations and improvements; the level of new golf course development and golf course closures; the level of property owners who outsource their lawn care and snow and ice removal activities; continued acceptance of and demand for micro-irrigation solutions for agricultural markets; the timing and occurrence of winter weather conditions; the demand for our products in the rental and specialty construction market; the level of residential and commercial construction; availability of cash or credit on acceptable terms to finance new product purchases; and the amount of government spending for new grounds maintenance equipment. Among other things, any one or a combination of the following factors could have an adverse effect on our Professional segment net sales:

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reduced levels of investment in golf course renovations and improvements and new golf course development; reduced number of golf rounds played at public and private golf courses resulting in reduced revenue for such golf courses; decreased membership at private golf courses resulting in reduced revenue and, in certain cases, financial difficulties for such golf courses; and increased number of golf course closures, any one of which or any combination of which could result in a decrease in spending and demand for our products;

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reduced consumer and business spending on property maintenance and/or unfavorable weather conditions, causing property owners, including homeowners, and landscape contractor professionals to forego or postpone purchases of our products;

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low or reduced levels of commercial and residential construction, resulting in a decrease in demand for our products;

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a decline in acceptance of and demand for micro-irrigation solutions for agricultural markets and our products in the rental and specialty construction market; and

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reduced tax revenue, increased governmental expenses in other areas, tighter government budgets and government deficits, generally resulting in reduced government spending for grounds maintenance equipment.

Our Residential segment net sales are dependent upon consumers buying our Residential segment products at dealers, mass retailers, and home centers, such as The Home Depot, Inc.; the amount of product placement at mass retailers and home centers; consumer confidence and spending levels; and changing buying patterns of customers.

The elimination or reduction of shelf space assigned to our residential products or other changes to the placement of our products by mass retailers and home centers, such as The Home Depot, could adversely affect our Residential segment net sales. Our Residential segment net sales also are dependent upon buying patterns of customers. For example, as consumers purchase products at home centers and mass retailers that offer broader and lower price points than dealers, we have experienced increased demand and sales of our Residential segment products purchased at mass retailers and home centers. The Home Depot is a substantial customer of ours, which accounted for approximately 11 percent of our total consolidated gross sales in each of fiscal 2016, 2015, and 2014. We believe that our diverse distribution channels and customer base should reduce the long-term impact on us if we were to lose The Home Depot or any other substantial customer. However, the loss of any substantial customer, a significant reduction in sales to The Home Depot or other customers, or our inability to maintain adequate product placement at retailers and home centers or our inability to respond to future changes in buying patterns of customers or new distribution channels could have a material adverse impact on our business and operating results. Changing buying patterns of customers could also result in reduced sales of one or more of our Residential segment products, resulting in increased inventory levels.

Changes in our product mix impact our financial performance, including profit margins and net earnings.

Our Professional segment products generally have higher profit margins than our Residential segment products. Our financial performance, including our profit margins and net earnings, can be impacted depending on the mix of products we sell during a given period. For example, if we experience lower sales of our Professional segment products that generally carry higher profit margins than our Residential segment products, our financial performance, including profit margins and net earnings, could be negatively impacted.

We intend to grow our business in part through acquisitions and alliances, strong customer relations, and new joint ventures and partnerships, which could be risky and may harm our business, reputation, financial condition, and operating results.

One of our growth strategies is to drive growth in our businesses and accelerate opportunities to expand our global presence through targeted acquisitions and alliances, strong customer relations, and new joint ventures and partnerships that add value while supplementing our existing brands and product portfolio. Our ability to grow through acquisitions will depend, in part, on the availability of suitable candidates at acceptable prices, terms, and conditions, our ability to compete effectively for acquisition candidates, and the availability of capital and personnel to complete such acquisitions and run the acquired business effectively. Any acquisition, alliance, joint venture, or partnership could impair our business, financial condition, reputation, and operating results. The benefits of an acquisition, or new alliance, joint venture, or partnership may take more time than expected to develop or integrate into our operations, and we cannot guarantee that previous or future acquisitions, alliances, joint ventures, or partnerships will, in fact, produce any benefits. Acquisitions, alliances, joint ventures, and partnerships may involve a number of risks, including:

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diversion of management's attention;

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disruption to our existing operations and plans;

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inability to effectively manage our expanded operations;

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difficulties or delays in integrating and assimilating information and financial systems, operations, and products of an acquired business or other business venture or in realizing projected efficiencies, growth prospects, cost savings, and synergies;

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inability to successfully integrate or develop a distribution channel for acquired product lines;

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potential loss of key employees, customers, distributors, or dealers of the acquired businesses or adverse effects on existing business relationships with suppliers, customers, distributors, and dealers;

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delays or challenges in transitioning distributors and dealers of acquired businesses to using our Red Iron financing joint venture with TCFIF;

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violation of any non-compete agreement by any key employee of an acquired business;

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adverse impact on overall profitability if our expanded operations do not achieve the financial results projected in our valuation models;

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reallocation of amounts of capital from other operating initiatives and/or an increase in our leverage and debt service requirements to pay acquisition purchase prices or other business venture investment costs, which could in turn restrict our ability to access additional capital when needed or pursue other important elements of our business strategy;

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failure by acquired businesses or other business ventures to comply with applicable international, federal, and state product safety or other regulatory standards;

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infringement by acquired businesses or other business ventures of intellectual property rights of others;

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inaccurate assessment of additional post-acquisition or business venture investments, undisclosed, contingent or other liabilities or problems, unanticipated costs associated with an acquisition or other business venture, and an inability to recover or manage such liabilities and costs; and

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incorrect estimates made in the accounting for acquisitions, incurrence of non-recurring charges, and write-off of significant amounts of goodwill or other assets that could adversely affect our operating results.

In addition, effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable and accurate financial reports and to effectively prevent fraud. The integration of acquired businesses may result in our systems and controls becoming increasingly complex and more difficult to manage. We devote significant resources and time to comply with the internal control over financial reporting requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. However, we cannot be certain that these measures will ensure that we design, implement, and maintain adequate control over our financial processes and reporting in the future, especially in the context of acquisitions of other businesses. Any difficulties in the assimilation of acquired businesses into our control system could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our financial reporting obligations. Also, some acquisitions may require the consent of the lenders under our credit agreements. We cannot predict whether such approvals would be forthcoming or the terms on which the lenders would approve such acquisitions. These risks, among others, could be heightened if we complete a large acquisition or other business venture or multiple transactions within a relatively short period of time.

If we underestimate or overestimate demand for our products and do not maintain appropriate inventory levels, our net sales and/or working capital could be negatively impacted.

Our ability to manage our inventory levels to meet our customers' demand for our products is important for our business. For example, our residential lawn and garden products are generally manufactured throughout the year and our residential snow thrower products are manufactured in the summer and fall months but may be extended into the winter months, depending upon demand. However, our production levels and inventory management goals for our Residential segment products are based on estimates of retail demand for our products, taking into account production capacity, timing of shipments, and field inventory levels. If we overestimate or underestimate demand for any of our products during a given season, we may not maintain appropriate inventory levels, which could negatively impact our net sales or working capital, hinder our ability to meet customer demand, or cause us to incur excess and obsolete inventory charges.

Our business and operating results are subject to the inventory management decisions of our distribution channel customers.

We sell many of our products through various distribution channels and are subject to risks relating to their inventory management decisions and operational and sourcing practices. Our distribution channel customers carry inventories of our products as part of their ongoing operations and adjust those inventories based on their assessments of future needs. Such adjustments may impact our inventory management and working capital goals as well as operating results. If the inventory levels of our distribution channel customers are higher than they desire, they may postpone product purchases from us, which could cause our sales to be lower than the end-user demand for our products and negatively impact our inventory management and working capital goals as well as our operating results. Similarly, our results could be negatively impacted through the loss of sales if our distribution channel customers do not maintain field inventory levels sufficient to meet end-user demand.

We face intense competition in all of our product lines with numerous manufacturers, including some that have larger operations and financial resources than us. We may not be able to compete effectively against competitors' actions, which could harm our business and operating results.

Our products are sold in highly competitive markets throughout the world. Principal competitive factors in our markets include

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product innovation, quality and reliability, pricing, product support and customer service, warranty, brand awareness, reputation, distribution, product placement and shelf space, and financing options. We compete in many product lines with numerous manufacturers, some of which have substantially larger operations and financial resources than us. As a result, they may be able to adapt more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer preferences, or devote greater resources to the development, promotion, and sale of their products than we can. In addition, competition could increase if new companies enter the market, existing competitors consolidate their operations or if existing competitors expand their product lines or intensify efforts within existing product lines. Our current products, products under development, and our ability to develop new and improved products may be insufficient to enable us to compete effectively with our competitors. Internationally, our Residential segment products typically face more competition because many foreign competitors design, manufacture, and market products in their respective countries. We experience this competition primarily in Europe. In addition, fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar may affect the price of our products in foreign markets, thereby impacting their competitiveness. We may not be able to compete effectively against competitors' actions, which may include the movement by competitors with manufacturing operations to low cost countries for significant cost and price reductions, and could harm our business and operating results.

A significant percentage of our consolidated net sales are generated outside of the United States, a portion of which are financed by third parties, and we intend to continue to expand our international operations. Our international operations require significant management attention and financial resources, expose us to difficulties presented by international economic, political, legal, regulatory, accounting, and business factors, and may not be successful or produce desired levels of net sales.

We currently manufacture our products in the U.S., Mexico, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Romania, and China for sale throughout the world. We maintain sales offices in the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Japan, China, Italy, South Korea, and Germany. Our net sales outside the U.S. were 24.2 percent, 25.5 percent, and 28.7 percent of our total consolidated net sales for fiscal 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively. International markets have been, and will continue to be, a focus for us for revenue growth, both organically and through acquisitions. We believe many opportunities exist in the international markets, and over time, we intend for international net sales to comprise a larger percentage of our total consolidated net sales. Several factors, including the implications of the United Kingdom's vote to exit the European Union, implications of withdrawal by the U.S. from, or revision to, international trade agreements, foreign policy changes between the U.S. and other countries, weakened international economic conditions or the impact of sovereign debt defaults by certain European countries, could adversely affect our international net sales. Additionally, the expansion of our existing international operations and entry into additional international markets require significant management attention and financial resources. Many of the countries in which we manufacture or sell our products, or otherwise have an international presence are, to some degree, subject to political, economic, and/or social instability, including drug cartel-related violence, which may disrupt our production activities and maquiladora operations based in Juarez, Mexico. Our international operations expose us and our representatives, agents, and distributors to risks inherent in operating in foreign jurisdictions. These risks include:

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increased costs of customizing products for foreign countries;

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difficulties in managing and staffing international operations and increases in infrastructure costs including legal, tax, accounting, and information technology;

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the imposition of additional U.S. and foreign governmental controls or regulations; new or enhanced trade restrictions and restrictions on the activities of foreign agents, representatives, and distributors; withdrawal from or revision to international trade agreements and the imposition or increases in import and export licensing and other compliance requirements, customs duties and tariffs, import and export quotas and other trade restrictions, license obligations, and other non-tariff barriers to trade;

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the imposition of U.S. and/or international sanctions against a country, company, person, or entity with whom we do business that would restrict or prohibit our business with the sanctioned country, company, person, or entity;

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international pricing pressures;

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laws and business practices favoring local companies;

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adverse currency exchange rate fluctuations;

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longer payment cycles and difficulties in enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through certain foreign legal systems;

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higher tax rates and potentially adverse tax consequences, including restrictions on repatriating cash and/or earnings to the U.S.;

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fluctuations in our operating performance based on our geographic mix of sales;

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transportation delays and interruptions;

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national and international conflicts, including foreign policy changes or terrorist acts;

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difficulties in protecting, enforcing or defending intellectual property rights; and

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multiple, changing, and often inconsistent enforcement of laws, rules, and regulations, including rules relating to environmental, health, and safety matters.

Our international operations may not produce desired levels of net sales or, among other things one or more of the factors listed above may harm our business and operating results. Any material decrease in our international sales or profitability could also adversely impact our operating results.

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In addition, a portion of our international net sales are financed by third parties. The termination of our agreements with these third parties, any material change to the terms of our agreements with these third parties or in the availability or terms of credit offered to our international customers by these third parties, or any delay in securing replacement credit sources, could adversely affect our sales and operating results.

If we are unable to continue to enhance existing products, as well as develop and market new products, that respond to customer needs and preferences and achieve market acceptance, we may experience a decrease in demand for our products, and our net sales, which have historically benefited from sales of new products, may be adversely affected.

One of our growth strategies is to develop innovative, customer-valued products to generate revenue growth. In the past, our sales from new products, which we define as those introduced in the current and previous two fiscal years, have represented a significant component of our net sales and are expected to continue to represent a significant component of our future net sales. We may not be able to compete as effectively with our competitors, and ultimately satisfy the needs and preferences of our customers, unless we can continue to enhance existing products and develop new innovative products for the markets in which we compete. Product development requires significant financial, technological, and other resources. Product improvements and new product introductions also require significant research, planning, design, development, engineering, and testing at the technological, product, and manufacturing process levels and we may not be able to timely develop and introduce product improvements or new products. Our competitors' new products may beat our products to market, be higher quality or more reliable, be more effective with more features and/or less expensive than our products, obtain better market acceptance, or render our products obsolete. Any new products that we develop may not receive market acceptance or otherwise generate any meaningful net sales or profits for us relative to our expectations based on, among other things, existing and anticipated investments in manufacturing capacity and commitments to fund advertising, marketing, promotional programs, and research and development.

We manufacture our products at, and distribute our products from, several locations in the U.S. and internationally. Any disruption at any of these facilities or our inability to cost-effectively expand existing, open and manage new, and/or move production between manufacturing facilities could adversely affect our business and operating results.

We currently manufacture most of our products at ten locations in the U.S., two locations in Mexico, and one location in each of Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Romania, and China. We have several locations that serve as distribution centers, warehouses, test labs, and corporate offices. In addition, we have agreements with other third-party manufacturers to manufacture products on our behalf. These facilities may be affected by natural or man-made disasters and other external events, including drug cartel-related violence that may disrupt our production activities and maquiladora operations based in Juarez, Mexico. In the event that one of our manufacturing facilities was affected by a disaster or other event, we could be forced to shift production to one of our other manufacturing facilities. Although we maintain insurance for damage to our property and disruption of our business from casualties, such insurance may not be sufficient to cover all of our potential losses. Furthermore, from time to time, we may decide to open new manufacturing or distribution facilities or move production between our facilities to align production capacity with production goals, which could result in disruption and/or additional expense. Any disruption in our manufacturing capacity could have an adverse impact on our ability to produce sufficient inventory of our products or may require us to incur additional expenses in order to produce sufficient inventory, and therefore, may adversely affect our net sales and operating results. Any disruption or delay at our manufacturing facilities, including a work slowdown, strike, or similar action at any one of our facilities operating under a collective bargaining agreement, or the failure to renew or enter into new collective bargaining agreements, could impair our ability to meet the demands of our customers, and our customers may cancel orders or purchase products from our competitors, which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Our production labor needs fluctuate throughout the year. During periods of peak production, it is necessary to sharply increase the number of production staff. Such production staff may be new to our manufacturing processes and safety protocols. Any failure by our production labor force to adequately and safely perform their jobs could adversely affect our business, operating results, and reputation.

Our production labor needs fluctuate throughout the year. During periods of peak manufacturing activity it is necessary to sharply increase the number of production staff by utilizing new hires and temporary labor. Production staff that we hire during such periods of peak manufacturing activity may not have the same level of training, competency, experience, or commitment as our regular production employees. In addition, from time to time, we may not have available to us a sufficient pool of experienced and competent individuals to fulfill our production labor requirements on a cost-effective basis. If we are unable to adequately staff our manufacturing operations, particularly during periods of peak manufacturing activity, or if our production staff are not adequately trained or do not adhere to protocols we have established to create a safe workplace, our business, operating results, and reputation could suffer.

Management information systems are critical to our business. If our management information systems or those of our business partners or third party service providers fail to adequately perform, or if we, our business partners, or third party service providers experience an interruption in their operation, our business, reputation, financial condition, and operating results could be adversely affected.

We have many management information systems that are critical to our business, some of which are managed by third parties.

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These management information systems are used to record, process, summarize, transmit, and store electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes and activities, including, among other things, our accounting and financial functions, including maintaining our internal controls; our manufacturing and supply chain processes; and the data related to our research and development efforts. The failure of our management information systems or those of our business partners or third party service providers to perform properly, or difficulties encountered in the development of new systems or the upgrade of existing systems, could disrupt our business and harm our reputation, which may result in decreased sales, increased overhead costs, excess or obsolete inventory, and product shortages, causing our business, reputation, financial condition, and operating results to suffer. Although we take steps to secure our management information systems and any access provided by our business partners or third party service providers, including our computer systems, intranet and internet sites, email and other telecommunications and data networks, the security measures we have implemented may not be effective and our systems may be vulnerable to theft, loss, damage, and interruption from a number of potential sources and events, including unauthorized access or security breaches, natural or man-made disasters, cyber attacks, computer viruses, phishing, power loss, or other disruptive events. Information technology security threats are increasing in frequency and sophistication. Cyber attacks may be random, coordinated, or targeted, including sophisticated computer crime threats. These threats pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks, and those of our business partners and third party service providers, and to the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of our data. Our business, reputation, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected if, as a result of a significant cyber event or otherwise, our operations are disrupted or shutdown; our confidential, proprietary information is stolen or disclosed; our intranet and internet sites are compromised; data is manipulated or destroyed; we incur costs or are required to pay fines in connection with stolen customer, employee, or other confidential information; we must dedicate significant resources to system repairs or increase cyber security protection; or we otherwise incur significant litigation or other costs.

Our reliance upon patents, trademark laws, and contractual provisions to protect our proprietary rights may not be sufficient to protect our intellectual property from others who may sell similar products. Our products may infringe the proprietary rights of others.

We hold patents relating to various aspects of our products and believe that proprietary technical know-how is important to our business and their loss could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results. Proprietary rights relating to our products are protected from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that they are covered by valid and enforceable patents or are maintained in confidence as trade secrets. We cannot be certain that we will be issued any patents from any pending or future patent applications owned by or licensed to us, or that the claims allowed under any issued patents will be sufficiently broad to protect our technology. In the absence of enforceable patent protection, we may be vulnerable to competitors who attempt to copy our products or gain access to our trade secrets and know-how. Others may initiate litigation to challenge the validity of our patents, or allege that we infringe their patents, or they may use their resources to design comparable products that do not infringe our patents. We may incur substantial costs if our competitors or others initiate litigation to challenge the validity of our patents, or allege that we infringe their patents, or if we initiate any proceedings to protect our proprietary rights. If the outcome of any such litigation is unfavorable to us, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected. We also cannot be certain that our products or technologies have not infringed or will not infringe the proprietary rights of others. Any such infringement could cause third parties, including our competitors, to bring claims against us, resulting in significant costs, possible damages and substantial uncertainty. We could also be forced to develop an alternative that could be costly and time-consuming, or acquire a license, which we might not be able to do on terms favorable to us, or at all.

We rely on trade secrets and proprietary know-how that we seek to protect, in part, by confidentiality agreements with our employees, suppliers, consultants, and others. These agreements may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any such breach. Even if these confidentiality agreements are not breached, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or be independently developed by competitors.

Our business, properties, and products are subject to governmental regulation with which compliance may require us to incur expenses, or modify our products or operations, and non-compliance may result in harm to our reputation and/or expose us to penalties. Governmental regulation may also adversely affect the demand for some of our products and our operating results.

Our business, properties, and products are subject to numerous international, federal, state, and other governmental laws, rules, and regulations relating to, among other things; climate change; emissions to air, including Tier 4 or similar engine emission requirements; discharges to water; restrictions placed on water usage and water availability; product and associated packaging; use of certain chemicals; restricted substances, including "conflict minerals" disclosure rules; import and export compliance, including country of origin certification requirements; worker and product user health and safety; energy efficiency; product life-cycles; outdoor noise laws; and the generation, use, handling, labeling, collection, management, storage, transportation, treatment, and disposal of hazardous substances, wastes, and other regulated materials. In addition, our business is subject to numerous international, federal, state, and other governmental laws, rules, and regulations that may adversely affect our operating results, including, (i) taxation and tax policy changes, tax rate changes, new tax laws, or revised tax law interpretations, which individually or in combination may cause our effective tax rate to increase, (ii) new, recently enacted, or revised healthcare laws or

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regulations or, (iii) changes to international trade agreements that could result in additional tariffs, duties or other charges on raw materials, whole goods or components that we import. Although we believe that we are in substantial compliance with currently applicable laws, rules, and regulations, we are unable to predict the ultimate impact of adopted or future laws, rules, and regulations on our business, properties, or products. Any of these laws, rules, or regulations may cause us to incur significant expenses to achieve or maintain compliance, require us to modify our products, adversely affect the price of or demand for some of our products, and ultimately affect the way we conduct our operations. Failure to comply with any of these laws, rules, or regulations could result in harm to our reputation and/or could lead to fines and other penalties, including restrictions on the importation of our products into, and the sale of our products in, one or more jurisdictions until compliance is achieved. In addition, our competitors may adopt strategies with respect to regulatory compliance that differ significantly from our strategies. This may have the effect of changing customer preferences and our markets in ways that we did not anticipate which may adversely affect market demand for our products and, ultimately, our net sales and financial results.

Climate change and climate change regulations may adversely impact our operations.

There is growing concern from members of the scientific community and the general public that an increase in global average temperatures due to emissions of greenhouse gases ("GHG") and other human activities have or will cause significant changes in weather patterns and increase the frequency and severity of natural disasters. We are currently subject to rules limiting emissions and other climate related rules and regulations in certain jurisdictions where we operate. In addition, we may become subject to additional legislation and regulation regarding climate change, and compliance with any new rules could be difficult and costly. Concerned parties, such as legislators, regulators, and non-governmental organizations, are considering ways to reduce GHG emissions. Foreign, federal, state, and local regulatory and legislative bodies have proposed various legislative and regulatory measures relating to climate change, regulating GHG emissions, and energy policies. If such legislation is enacted, we could incur increased energy, environmental, and other costs and capital expenditures to comply with the limitations. Due to uncertainty in the regulatory and legislative processes, as well as the scope of such requirements and initiatives, we cannot currently determine the effect such legislation and regulation may have on our products and operations.

The costs of complying with the various environmental laws related to our ownership and/or lease of real property, such as clean-up costs and liability that may be associated with certain hazardous waste disposal activities, could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

Because we own and lease real property, various environmental laws may impose liability on us for the costs of cleaning up and responding to hazardous substances that may have been released on our property, including releases unknown to us. These environmental laws and regulations could also require us to pay for environmental remediation and response costs at third-party locations where we disposed of or recycled hazardous substances. We are currently involved in the evaluation and clean-up of a limited number of properties we either currently or previously owned. Although we do not expect that these current matters will have a material adverse effect on our financial position or operating results, our future costs of complying with the various environmental requirements, as they now exist or may be altered in the future, could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

Legislative enactments could impact the competitive landscape within our markets and affect demand for our products.

Various legislative proposals, if enacted, could put us in a competitively advantaged or disadvantaged position and affect customer demand for our products relative to the product offerings of our competitors. For example, any fiscal-stimulus or other legislative enactment that inordinately impacts the lawn and garden, outdoor power equipment, or irrigation industries generally by promoting the purchase, such as through customer rebate or other incentive programs, of certain types of mowing, snow and ice management or irrigation equipment or other products that we sell, could impact us positively or negatively, depending on whether we manufacture products that meet the specified legislative criteria, including in areas such as fuel efficiency, alternative energy or water usage, or if, as a result of such legislation, customers perceive our product offerings to be relatively more or less attractive than our competitors' product offerings. We cannot currently predict whether any such legislation will be enacted, what any such legislation's specific terms and conditions would encompass, how any such legislation would impact the competitive landscape within our markets, or how, if at all, any such legislation might ultimately affect customer demand for our products or our operating results.

We operate in many different jurisdictions and we could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-corruption laws.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-corruption laws generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making certain improper payments for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. The continued expansion of our international operations could increase the risk of violations of these laws in the future. Significant violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could harm our reputation, could disrupt our business, and could result in significant fines and penalties that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.

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We are required to comply with the "conflict minerals" rules promulgated by the SEC, which impose costs on us and could raise reputational and other risks.

As required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the SEC adopted rules regarding disclosure of the use of certain minerals, known as "conflict minerals," which are mined from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries, as well as procedures regarding manufacturers' efforts to discover the origin of such minerals and metals produced from those minerals. These conflict minerals are commonly referred to as "3TG" and include tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold. We have, and we expect that we will continue to, incur additional costs and expenses, which may be significant in order to comply with these rules, including for (i) due diligence to determine whether conflict minerals are necessary to the functionality or production of any of our products and, if so, verify the sources of such conflict minerals; and (ii) any changes that we may desire to make to our products, processes, or sources of supply as a result of such diligence and verification activities. Since our supply chain is complex, ultimately we may not be able to sufficiently verify the origin of the conflict minerals used in our products through the due diligence procedures that we implement, which may adversely affect our reputation with our customers, shareholders, and other stakeholders. In such event, we may also face difficulties in satisfying customers who require that all of our products are certified as conflict mineral free. If we are not able to meet such requirements, customers may choose not to purchase our products, which could adversely affect our sales and the value of portions of our inventory. Further, there may be only a limited number of suppliers offering conflict free minerals and, as a result, we cannot be sure that we will be able to obtain metals, if necessary, from such suppliers in sufficient quantities or at competitive prices. Any one or a combination of these various factors could harm our business, reduce market demand for our products, and adversely affect our profit margins, net sales, and overall financial results.

We are subject to product liability claims, product quality issues, and other litigation from time to time that could adversely affect our business, reputation, operating results or financial condition.

The manufacture, sale, and use of our products expose us to significant risks associated with product liability claims. If a product liability claim or series of claims is brought against us for uninsured liabilities or in excess of our insurance coverage, and it is ultimately determined that we are liable, our business could suffer. While we believe that we appropriately instruct our customers on the proper usage of our products, we cannot ensure that they will implement our instructions accurately or completely. If our products are defective or used incorrectly by our customers, injury may result and this could give rise to product liability claims against us or adversely affect our brand image or reputation. Any losses that we may suffer from any liability claims, and the effect that any product liability litigation may have upon the reputation and marketability of our products, may have a negative impact on our business, reputation, and operating results. Product defects can occur through our own product development, design, and manufacturing processes or through our reliance on third parties for certain component design and manufacturing activities. Some of our products or product improvements were developed relatively recently and defects or risks that we have not yet identified, such as unanticipated use of our products, may give rise to product liability claims. Additionally, we could experience a material design, testing, or manufacturing failure in our products, a quality system failure, failures in our products and other challenges that are associated with our inability to properly manage changes in the suppliers and components that we use in our products, insufficient testing procedures, other safety issues, or heightened regulatory scrutiny that could warrant a recall of some of our products. A recall of some of our products could also result in increased product liability claims. Unforeseen product quality problems in the development and production of new and existing products could also result in loss of market share, reduced sales, rework costs, and higher warranty expense.

We are also subject to other litigation from time to time that could adversely affect our business, reputation, operating results or financial condition.

If we are unable to retain our executive officers or other key employees, attract and retain other qualified personnel, or successfully implement executive officer, key employee or other personnel transitions, we may not be able to meet strategic objectives and our business could suffer.

Our ability to meet our strategic objectives and otherwise grow our business will depend to a significant extent on the continued contributions of our leadership team. Our future success will also depend in large part on our ability to identify, attract, and retain other highly qualified managerial, technical, sales and marketing, operations, and customer service personnel. Competition for these individuals is intense, and we may not succeed in identifying, attracting, or retaining qualified personnel. The loss or interruption of services of any of our executive officers or other key employees, the inability to identify, attract, or retain qualified personnel in the future, the inability to successfully implement executive officer, key employee or other personnel transitions, delays in hiring qualified personnel, or any employee work slowdowns, strikes, or similar actions could make it difficult for us to conduct and manage our business and meet key objectives, which could harm our business, financial condition, and operating results.

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As a result of our Red Iron financing joint venture with TCFIF, we are dependent upon the joint venture to provide competitive inventory financing programs to certain distributors and dealers of our products. Any material change in the availability or terms of credit offered to our customers by the joint venture, challenges or delays in transferring new distributors and dealers from any business we might acquire or otherwise to this financing platform, any termination or disruption of our joint venture relationship or any delay in securing replacement credit sources could adversely affect our net sales and operating results.

We are a party to a financing joint venture with TCFIF for the primary purpose of providing reliable, competitive financing to certain of our distributors and dealers in the U.S. to support their businesses and increase our net sales, as well as to free up our working capital for our other strategic purposes. As a result, we are dependent upon the joint venture for our inventory financing programs. Additionally, we are dependent upon TCFCFC to provide inventory financing to dealers of our products in Canada.

The availability of financing from our joint venture or otherwise will be affected by many factors, including, among others, the overall credit markets, the credit worthiness of our dealers and distributors, and regulations that may affect TCFIF, as the majority owner of the joint venture and a subsidiary of TCF National Bank, a national banking association. Any material change in the availability or terms of credit offered to our customers by the joint venture, challenges or delays in transferring new distributors and dealers from any business we might acquire or otherwise to this financing platform, any termination or disruption of our joint venture relationship or any delay in securing replacement credit sources could adversely affect our sales and operating results.

The terms of our credit arrangements and the indentures governing our senior notes and debentures could limit our ability to conduct our business, take advantage of business opportunities and respond to changing business, market, and economic conditions. Additionally, we are subject to counterparty risk in our credit arrangements.

Our credit arrangements and the indentures governing our 6.625% senior notes and 7.800% debentures include a number of financial and operating restrictions. For example, our credit arrangements contain financial covenants that, among other things, require us to maintain a minimum interest coverage ratio and a maximum debt to earnings ratio. Our credit arrangements and/or indentures also contain provisions that restrict our ability, subject to specified exceptions, to, among other things:

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make loans and investments, including acquisitions and transactions with affiliates;

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create liens or other encumbrances on our assets;

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dispose of assets;

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enter into contingent obligations;

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engage in mergers or consolidations; and

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pay dividends that are significantly higher than those currently being paid, make other distributions to our shareholders, or redeem shares of our common stock.

These provisions may limit our ability to conduct our business, take advantage of business opportunities, and respond to changing business, market, and economic conditions. In addition, they may place us at a competitive disadvantage relative to other companies that may be subject to fewer, if any, restrictions or may otherwise adversely affect our business. Transactions that we may view as important opportunities, such as significant acquisitions, may be subject to the consent of the lenders under our credit arrangements, which consent may be withheld or granted subject to conditions specified at the time that may affect the attractiveness or viability of the transaction.

Although we have in place a $150 million revolving credit facility that does not expire until October 2019, market deterioration or other factors could jeopardize the counterparty obligations of one or more of the banks participating in our revolving credit facility, which could have an adverse effect on our business if we are not able to replace such revolving credit facility or find other sources of liquidity on acceptable terms.

If we are unable to comply with the terms of our credit arrangements and indentures, especially the financial covenants, our credit arrangements could be terminated and our senior notes, debentures, term loan, and any amounts outstanding under our revolving credit facility could become due and payable.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to comply with all of the terms of our credit arrangements and indentures, especially the financial covenants. Our ability to comply with such terms depends on the success of our business and our operating results. Various risks, uncertainties, and events beyond our control could affect our ability to comply with the terms of our credit arrangements and/or indentures. If we were out of compliance with any covenant required by our credit arrangements following any applicable cure periods, the banks could terminate their commitments unless we could negotiate a covenant waiver. The banks could condition such waiver on amendments to the terms of our credit arrangements that may be unfavorable to us. In addition, our 6.625% senior notes, 7.800% debentures, term loan, and any amounts outstanding under our revolving credit facility could become due and payable if we were unable to obtain a covenant waiver or refinance our medium-term debt under our credit arrangements. If our credit rating falls below investment grade and/or our debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization ("EBITDA") ratio rises above 1.50, the interest rate we currently pay on outstanding debt under our credit arrangements would increase, which could adversely affect our operating results.

We are expanding and renovating our corporate facilities and could experience disruptions to our operations in connection with such efforts.

We are expanding and renovating our corporate facilities, driven by our need to expand the space available for our product

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development and test capacities, as well as our need for additional information technology and office space. These expansion efforts included the construction of a new corporate facility that was completed in fiscal 2014, and we are renovating our corporate facilities located in Bloomington, Minnesota to accommodate expansion needs of our product development, test, and business capacities. We financed, and expect to continue to finance, such efforts with cash on hand and cash from operating activities. The expansion and renovation of our corporate facilities entail risks that could cause disruption in the operations of our business. Such risks include potential interruption in data flow; unforeseen construction, scheduling, engineering, environmental, or geological problems; and unanticipated cost increases.

Our business is subject to a number of other miscellaneous risks that may adversely affect our operating results, financial condition, or business.

Other miscellaneous risks that could affect our operating results, financial condition, or business include:

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our ability to achieve the revenue growth, operating earnings, and working capital goals of our "Destination PRIME" initiative or any quarterly financial guidance;

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natural or man-made disasters or global pandemics, which may result in shortages of raw materials and components, higher fuel and commodity costs, delays in shipments to customers, and increases in insurance premiums;

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financial viability of distributors and dealers, changes in distributor ownership, changes in channel distribution of our products, relationships with our distribution channel partners, our success in partnering with new dealers and our customers' ability to pay amounts owed to us;

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a decline in retail sales or financial difficulties of our distributors or dealers, which could cause us to repurchase financed product;

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new or revised accounting standards; and

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the threat of terrorist acts and war, which may result in heightened security and higher costs for import and export shipments of components or finished goods, reduced leisure travel, and contraction of the U.S. and worldwide economies.