Overview
Pacific Ventures Group, Inc. (the "Company" or "Pacific Ventures") was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware on October 3, 1986, under the name AOA Corporation. On November 12, 1991, the Company changed its name to American Eagle Group, Inc. On October 22, 2012, the Company changed its name to Pacific Ventures Group, Inc.
On August 14, 2015, Pacific Ventures Group, Inc. and its stockholders entered into a share exchange agreement with Snöbar Holdings, Inc. ("Snöbar Holdings"), pursuant to which Pacific Ventures acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Snöbar Holdings' Class A and Class B common stock in exchange for 22,500,000 restricted shares of Pacific Ventures' common stock while simultaneously issuing 2,500,000 shares of Pacific Ventures' restricted common stock to certain other persons.
The Share Exchange represents a change in control of the Company and a change in business operations. The business operations will change to that of Snöbar Holdings.
Snöbar Holdings, Inc. ("Snöbar Holdings") was formed in the State of Delaware on January 7, 2013. Snöbar Holdings is the trustor and sole beneficiary of Snobar Trust, a California trust ("Trust"), which was formed in June 1, 2013. The current trustee that holds legal title to the Trust is Clark Rutledge, who is the father of Shannon Masjedi, who controls Snöbar Holdings. The Trust owns 100% of the shares of International Production Impex Corporation, a California corporation ("IPIC"), which was formed on August 2, 2001. IPIC is in the business of selling alcohol-infused ice cream and ice-pops, and holds all of the rights to the liquor licenses to sell such products and trade names "SnöBar". As such, the Trust holds all ownership interest of IPIC and its liquor licenses, permitting IPIC to sell its product to distributors, with all income, expense, gains and losses rolling up to the Trust, of which Snöbar Holdings is the sole beneficiary. Snöbar Holdings also owns 99.9% of the shares of MAS Global Distributors, Inc., a California corporation ("MGD"). MGD is in the business of selling and leasing freezers and providing marketing services. As a result of the foregoing, Snöbar Holdings is the primary beneficiary of all assets, liabilities and any income received from the business of the Trust and IPIC through the Trust and is the parent company of MGD.
The Trust and IPIC are considered variable interest entities ("VIEs") and Snöbar Holdings is identified as the primary beneficiary of the Trust and IPIC. Under ASC 810, Snöbar Holdings performs ongoing reassessments of whether it is the primary beneficiary of a VIE. As the assessment of Snöbar Holdings' management is that Snöbar Holdings has the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's activities (it is responsible for establishing and operating IPIC), and the obligation to absorb losses of the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE and the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE's economic performance, it was therefore concluded by management that Snöbar Holdings is the primary beneficiary of the Trust and IPIC. As such, the Trust and IPIC were consolidated in the financial statements of Snöbar Holdings since the inception of the Trust, in the case of the Trust, and since the inception of Snöbar Holdings, in the case of IPIC.
Our principal executive office is located at 117 West 9th Street, Suite 316, Los Angeles, California. Our main telephone number is (310) 392-5606.
Operations
Description of Snöbar Holdings, Inc.
GENERAL
Snöbar Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("Snöbar Holdings"), was incorporated in the state of Delaware on January 7, 2013. Snöbar Holdings is the trustor and sole beneficiary of Snobar Trust, a California trust ("Trust"), which was formed in June 1, 2013. The trustee that holds legal title to the Trust is Clark Rutledge, who is the father of Shannon Masjedi. The Trust owns 100% of the shares of International Production Impex Corporation, a California corporation ("IPIC"), which was formed on August 2, 2001. IPIC is the owner of liquor licenses and the trade name "SnöBar" and is in the business of selling and distributing alcohol-infused ice creams and ice-pops through its distributors. Snöbar Holdings also owns 99.9% of the shares of MAS Global Distributors, Inc., a California corporation ("MGD"). MGD is in the business of selling and leasing freezers and providing marketing services. As a matter of law, IPIC may not be engaged in any business similar to MGD. As a result of the foregoing, Snöbar Holdings is the beneficiary of all assets, liabilities and any income received from the business of IPIC through the Trust and is the parent company of MGD.
IPIC is a food and beverage, alcohol distribution company, that is initially marketing two products: SnöBar alcohol infused ice pops, and SnöBar alcohol infused ice cream and sorbet.
SnöBar ice pops are original frozen alcohol beverage bars, similar to popsicles on a stick, but made with premium liquor such as premium tequila and vodka and are currently manufactured in three flavors, Margarita, Cosmopolitan and Mojito. The alcohol freezing technology used to produce these beverage bars can be applied to almost any alcohol type and mixture, presenting significant market potential and an almost unlimited variety of flavors and employment of premium brands. Each ice pop is the equivalent of a full cocktail.
SnöBar ice cream is an additional innovative product that the company is marketing using proprietary formulas and technology. These products are premium ice cream and sorbets that are distilled spirit cocktails containing up to 20% quality liqueurs and liquors. Currently, there are four flavors available: Brandy Alexander; Brandy Alexander with chocolate chips; Grasshopper; and Pink Squirrel. There are also numerous different liquor ice cream flavors in development in classic ice cream drink styles such as Coffee Liqueur Ice Cream, Piña Colada Sorbet, Sherry Ice Cream, and Strawberry Margarita Sorbet. The product contains ultra premium dairy and the highest quality of ingredients.
What makes the SnöBar products unique is the proprietary formulation and method of manufacturing. SnöBar ice pops and SnöBar ice cream use a system to stabilize the alcohol molecule, whereby the alcohol content, quality and flavor is not degraded during the production process. The technology is also applicable to other food and beverage products such as yogurt, water ice creations and alcohol based goods. IPIC has begun the process of obtaining trade secret and other intellectual property protections as to these unique technologies. The SnöBar brand is fully trademarked within the USA and is currently seeking worldwide trademark rights.
SnöBar brand products have been through extensive consumer testing across all age groups and sexes over 21 years of age. According to the results of the consumer testing, there is a large untapped market potential for frozen alcohol desserts. Market research shows that there are very few alcohol infused ice-creams and ice pops available in the U.S. markets and the few that are out there are of lower quality ingredients and are not mass produced. IPIC holds several Federal and State granted liquor licenses. These licenses allow the SnöBar product line to be introduced and distributed in 95% of the United States. IPIC desires to be the first to mass market the SnöBar alcohol-infused products in this untapped and sizeable market segment and capitalize on these two exclusive products. IPIC only uses the finest of ingredients and dairy to produce SnöBar products and strives to achieve the highest quality of texture and taste for all of the SnöBar products. IPIC believes that the SnöBar brand has the potential to scale on a national and international level with worldwide distribution capabilities.
MARKET
The alcohol and distilled spirits market, and ice cream markets have consistently exhibited year-over-year growth, and are projected to continue this positive trend. Not only are these products a part of an expanding market segment, but they have been received by a wide range of consumers who find them entertaining and enjoyable to consume. The alcohol beverage and dessert industries are extremely innovative and continuously add new and original products. IPIC has determined that capturing even a small portion of these markets would surpass the initial production capabilities of the SnöBar products and provide a platform for exponential growth nationally and internationally.
In 2012, the SnöBar brand was introduced in the USA in the state of Arizona. The brand was extremely well received and was immediately placed in the top chain stores and restaurants, resorts including Total Wine and the Bevmo Chains. Due to its multiple applications and uses, the SnöBar alcohol infusing technology is used to create exotic and innovative cocktails and the most unique and delicious desserts. SnöBar is one of the only few spirit brands that can offer incremental revenues and not compete with other spirits currently on the market.
In 2013, the SnöBar brand was launched in Nevada. Immediately, the SnöBar products were in demand in all the major casinos and resorts. The SnöBar brand joined forces with reputable hotels and resorts, including, but not limited to, the Bellagio, Golden Nugget, Rio, Wynn, Encore, TAO, Caesars Palace, Hilton, The M and MGM. In Nevada, IPIC's focus is to place the SnöBar brand within all the venues of the hotels including catering and banquets, room service, retail outlets and nightclubs.
Immediately following Nevada, the SnöBar brand was launched in the state of Florida, in cities including Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and the panhandle. This expansion resulted in SnöBar products being offered by reputable hotels and resorts, including, but not limited to, Ritz Carlton Hotel, Fountainbleau, Hilton, Waldorf Astoria and The Breakers Resort.
In 2014, the SnöBar brand was launched in California. Over 100 accounts with retailers for SnöBar products were established in the 90 day period following the launch in California. The focus in California has been ensuring that the accounts are reordering product and being serviced and supported properly. Currently, SnöBar products are being offered by Gelson's Markets and there has also been interest from other chains such as Ralph's (Kroger) and Costco.
Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, approved the SnöBar brand to be test marketed in a few stores in the Florida market. The first store sold out of more than 10 cases of SnöBar products within the first two weeks prompting an 85 case reorder. After a three month trial period, Walmart approved the expansion of SnöBar products in to more stores in the Florida market.
In 2015, the SnöBar brand was launched in North Carolina and South Carolina teaming up with a distributor who is well known in the market place. The brand has been very well received within the market.
In the first two months of 2015, IPIC restructured its approach to distribution of SnöBar products and scaled back the operating expenditures by reducing its expenses. Most notably, SnöBar products are now distributed by a local Nestle Distributor in the California markets resulting in almost a 50% decrease in distribution expenses to IPIC.
IPIC has recently entered into contracts with three international distributors pursuant to which IPIC has licensed to the international distributors a right to distribute SnöBar products to certain international destinations. One of the contracts provides for a non-exclusive right to distribute for a minimum term of three years with an aggregate of $725,000 worth of SnöBar products for distribution in Grand Cayman Island, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Cuba, if and when trade is permissible with Cuba. Another contract provides for an exclusive right to distribute for a minimum term of two years with an aggregate of $700,000 worth of SnöBar products for distribution in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Panama. The last contract provides for an exclusive right to distribute for a minimum term of two years with an aggregate of $700,000 worth of SnöBar products for the first year and $300,000 worth of SnöBar products for each year thereafter for distribution in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand. IPIC has already received the initial orders from these international distributors.
IPIC is also in negotiations with other international distributors for exportation of SnöBar products to territories, including Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
IPIC has recently entered into a contract with a distributor in the United States pursuant to which IPIC has licensed to the domestic distributor an exclusive right to distribute SnöBar products. The contract provides for a minimum of two years with an aggregate of $500,000 worth of SnöBar products for distribution in North Carolina and South Carolina.
IPIC is also in negotiations with other domestic distributors for distribution of SnöBar products to Texas, where a large retail chain named Spec's has approved of offering SnöBar products for sale, as well as Alabama.
Ice Cream and Ice Pops
While the majority of ice cream sales have long been regular-fat products, ice cream manufacturers continue to diversify their lines of frozen desserts in order to fit into various lifestyles. However, most consumers are looking for an indulgence when eating ice creams, which makes these products well situated with its ideal formula of two enjoyable products, ice cream and alcohol in an affordable combination.
Alcohol
The second ingredient in SnöBar ice cream and SnöBar ice pops is alcohol. The U.S. beverage alcohol market is over $400 billion according to The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States ("DISCUS"). The SnöBar alcohol-infused ice cream and ice pop products take advantage of the success of the thriving frozen desserts industry and the successful alcohol beverage industry, making SnöBar ice cream and ice pop products a hybrid of uniqueness conducive to the consumer markets.
OPPORTUNITY
IPIC has created a proprietary formula and the methodology and manufacturing technique to mass produce alcohol-infused ice cream leveraging production facilities, warehousing, distribution, and merchandising methods currently used for ice cream. Specifically, the proprietary formulation and manufacturing method stabilize the alcohol molecules from interacting with ice crystals and milk proteins making it possible to mass-produce a solid alcohol-infused ice cream that has a flavoring system of up to 20% distilled spirits. To date, SnöBar ice cream is one of the only products of its kind in the U.S.
The original invention of these frozen alcohol desserts follows the same recipes used by America's finest bars and restaurants. The SnöBar products are distilled spirit cocktails that contain up to 20% quality liqueurs and liquors. What makes liquor ice cream and sorbet different is that the product is solid just like regular ice cream, not semi-soft or in a milk shake consistency like one would find at bars and restaurants: These products are ready-to-eat solid or can be blended into a cocktail. While SnöBar products look like ice cream and frozen popsicles, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF") and Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") have classified SnöBar ice cream and SnöBar pops as distilled spirits due to the alcohol content.
This formulation positions these two products in a unique market opportunity taking advantage of the $26 billion a year frozen dessert market and the over $400 billion a year alcohol beverage market. A 5 ounce serving represents a significant consumer value when compared to the cost of a traditional drink. Additionally, the concept of a frozen alcohol dessert product is seen by female consumers in our studies as being "innovative" and "fun".
Female consumers have generally been high consumers of the dessert market; consequently, males have been the greater consumer of alcohol. The primary target market for these two products is adult women 21 to 65. An alcoholic-infused ice cream drink would appear to combine the best of both worlds for the female consumer. Of course, to a large degree the market for frozen alcohol desserts includes all adults, excluding those who have dietary, medical, or social/religious concerns. This presents an opportunity for a new innovative product that specifically addresses both females and males.
IPIC will market and promote the SnöBar brand utilizing a proprietary manufacturing and freezing method where the alcohol content and flavor is not degraded during the production process. SnöBar ice pops are frozen beverage alcohol bars, similar to a popsicle on a stick, and are currently manufactured in three flavors; Margarita, Cosmopolitan, and Mojito. Both recipes include premium liquors of blue agave tequila and vodka, however, the alcohol freezing technology can be applied to almost any alcohol type and mixture, presenting significant market potential and an almost unlimited variety of flavors and employment of premium brands.
While SnöBar popsicles are included in the frozen dessert and alcohol beverage category, initially sales are expected to be driven mostly by on-premise accounts. The spirits category represents over 650,000 licensed retail accounts absorbing sales of over 175 million x 9 liter equivalent cases annually. IPIC can viably reach 30% of this market, approximately 195,000 outlets, accounting for 52.5 million equivalent cases. While a core-target audience of females 21 to 65 years old have been highly accepting and positive regarding the product, our market studies show that the actual acceptance band of the product is much wider, and that if cost is not a purchase condition, most people of drinking age will try one or more.
With a confidential/proprietary formula and exclusive manufacturing process, coupled with a focused launch and national distribution network, IPIC strives to be the first to market in this unique segment and capitalize on a revolutionary product.
STRATEGY
The International Dairy Food Association ("IDFA") reported that approximately 86% of packaged ice cream retail sales occur in supermarkets. Convenience store sales represented 11.4%, drug stores were at nearly 2%, while 0.6% occurred at other locations.
The current marketing strategy is to sell products to high-end restaurants, resorts, cruise lines and hotels. Additionally, various celebrity branding and product endorsements are currently being explored. Initially, IPIC will focus on major accounts in four core markets consisting of Southern California, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Miami. The larger vision is to sell products in grocery stores such as Kroger, Wal-Mart and others, and thereafter to begin a national marketing program to all U.S. retailers. It is essentially a top down marketing plan where products are placed with the largest retailer then trickle down to the smallest seller in each market area.
The fact that SnöBar products are unique and exclusive, allows SnöBar to bring new consumers and revenue to our vendors, hence creating incremental growth in their overall sales. A national direct mail campaign to liquor retailers and leading food service operators will support these efforts. By SnöBar creating a new vehicle for distilled spirits, many consumers will be tasting liqueurs and liquors for the first time, and in the very favorable mixed medium of premium ice cream.
The initial target market for SnöBar popsicles consists of bars, night clubs, restaurants, resorts, hotels, event banquet and catering firms, and cruise lines. Negotiations are currently underway with several more Las Vegas resorts and a major cruise line to initially launch the SnöBar products. Heavy attention will also be given to consumer and trade shows in the beverage industry to provide exposure and sampling as well as to enlist new accounts. IPIC intends to provide SnöBar products to more major groceries stores at a later date.
At the outset, the target consumer is 21 to 34 year olds, predominately females that frequent restaurants, bars, and events on a regular basis. While the consumer demographic is predominantly female, the slight majority of the purchasers are male for female consumption. Our marketing studies and strategy have identified these trends and structured promotional efforts accordingly. IPIC will coordinate and oversee all out-sourced brand awareness and public relations activities. Many of the strategies used will be replications of the past successes experienced by management and other similar demographically-oriented products.
MAS Global Distributors, Inc., a California corporation ("MGD"), formed in December 14, 2010, a majority owned subsidiary of Snöbar Holdings, is the sole marketer for SnöBar ice cream and SnöBar ice pops. MGD handles all the marketing and promotional aspect for the SnöBar product line.
Seasonality
While it is anticipated that SnöBar ice cream will be consumed year round with special holiday flavors and promotions planned, it is anticipated that SnöBar consumption will be strong in warm climates, specialty venues, cruise lines, resorts, and of course seasonal occasions.
Raw Materials and Other Supplies
The principal raw materials for the production, storage and aging of distilled products are primarily corn and other grains for whiskies and other spirits, agave for tequila, molasses for rum, grapes for cognac, sticks for the popsicles and milk and other dairy products for the ice cream. IPIC does not currently have any long-term supply agreements with third-party suppliers for the purchase of any of raw materials used in our products. From time to time, these raw materials are affected by weather and other forces that may impact production and quality, and, ultimately, their price.
Manufacturing
Due to the confidentiality of the SnöBar ice cream and SnöBar formulas and manufacturing processes, IPIC has established a manufacturing agreement with a large frozen dessert manufacturer and packer in Southern California that is large enough to meet initial and all anticipated future demand for the SnöBar brands. The co-packing facility can scale to handle worldwide demand of the SnöBar products. The co-packing facility currently manufactures for such retailers as Trader Joes and Whole Foods.
Inventory
IPIC maintains inventory of SnöBar products with the third-party manufacturer/co-packer of its ice-pops and ice creams, as well as with third-party distributors of its products . IPIC's products that are in inventory may be subject to spoliation, theft, or other hazards that could adversely affect the financial condition, results of operations or business of IPIC. While IPIC tries to take precautions to prevent such occurrences, the ice pops, in particular, require refrigeration to a certain temperature that if not maintained can cause the degradation in the products consistency. Ultimate end consumers may not maintain their freezers at the required temperatures which may cause them to believe that there ice-pops have partially melted and therefore they may return the ice-pops, requiring IPIC to reimburse its distributors and take such product back in to inventory for possible disposal. No assurance can be given that individual consumers will be educated in the proper freezing requirements of the SnöBar products.
Distribution
In order to scale distribution, SnöBar will partner with more food, beverage and alcohol distributors. The SnöBar products are primarily sold through direct sales forces to distributors. The product delivery will occur through frozen distribution channels. Transportation of the product from the manufacturing facility to customers will be handled by third parties contracted by IPIC. IPIC is utilizing frozen warehouse facilities in Los Angeles and Phoenix, and accounts in Las Vegas and Miami will be shipped directly to the distributor.
In addition, IPIC may sell the SnöBar products through joint ventures with and global or regional duty free customers. IPIC may also sell the SnöBar products through governmental liquor authorities in jurisdictions where aspects of the purchase and distribution of products that contain alcohol are under government control. Examples of such authorities are the eighteen "control" states (and one county) in the United States and the Liquor Control Boards in Canada.
TRADEMARKS
IPIC sells the SnöBar products under a number of trademarks, brand names and trade names that are important to its continued success. The SnöBar brand is fully trademarked within the USA and is currently seeking worldwide trademark rights. IPIC's business could be adversely affected by the loss of any major brand or by material infringement of its intellectual property rights. The SnöBar products are also subject to intellectual property risks because existing trademark laws offer only limited protection, and the laws of some countries in which the SnöBar products are or may be developed, manufactured or sold may not fully protect the SnöBar products from infringement by others.
COMPETITION
The global distilled spirits industry is very competitive and the dessert industry is very competitive. The SnöBar products compete on the basis of product quality, brand image, price, service and innovation in response to consumer preferences. While the industry is highly fragmented, major competitors on the alcohol-side of the business include Brown-Forman Corporation, Diageo PLC, Beam, Inc, Pernod Ricard S.A., Bacardi Limited, Davide Campari Milano-S.P .A., Remy Cointreau S.A., and Constellation Brands, Inc. and major competitors on the dessert-side of the business include such premium brands as Haagen Dazs and Dreyer's, which are owned by Nestle's and Ben and Jerry's which is owned by Unilever.
REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT
The production, storage, transportation, distribution and sale of the SnöBar products are subject to regulation by federal, state, local and foreign authorities. Various countries and local jurisdictions prohibit or restrict the marketing or sale of products containing alcohol in whole or in part.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regulates the U.S. spirits industry with respect to production, blending, bottling, sales, advertising, and transportation of industry products. Also, each state in the United States regulates the advertising, promotion, transportation, sale, and distribution of such products. Many of the key markets for IPIC's business, distilled spirits are subject to federal excise taxes and/or customs duties, as well as state/provincial, local and other taxes. Sales of products containing alcohol could be adversely impacted by increases to excise tax rates, which are considered from time to time by U.S. states and municipalities and in other key markets for IPIC's business. The effect of any future excise tax increases in any jurisdiction cannot be determined, but it is possible that any future excise tax increases could have an adverse effect on IPIC's business, financial condition and results of operations.
ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS
IPIC is subject to both U.S. and international laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment. In the U.S., the laws and regulations include the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Superfund (the environmental program established in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act to address abandoned hazardous waste sites), which imposes joint and severable liability on each potentially responsible party.
EMPLOYEES
As of December 31, 2015, Snöbar Holdings does not have any employees. IPIC, a
consolidated variable interest entity of
Snöbar Holdings, which conducts the operations of
producing, selling and distributing alcohol-infused ice creams and ice-pops
, has five (5) employees as of December 31, 2015.
An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below and the other information in this report before making a decision to invest in our common stock. If any of the following risks and uncertainties develop into actual events, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. In those cases, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you may lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry
We are seeking to market and advertise alcohol infused frozen products, and may not be able to accomplish our goal.
A key feature of our growth strategy is to engage in the marketing and advertising of alcohol infused frozen products. Doing so presents significant challenges and subjects our business to significant risks. For example, we face substantial competition in these areas, and do not have as extensive a history of operating in these areas as some of our competitors. If we are unsuccessful in marketing and advertising alcohol infused frozen products, our ability to grow our business could be significantly limited.
The alcohol and dessert industries are highly competitive and if we are unable to compete successfully, our business will be harmed.
The alcoholic beverage industry and the dessert industry are extremely competitive. If we are unable to compete successfully against current or future competitors in such industries, our revenues, margins and market share could be adversely affected, any of which could significantly harm our business, operating results or financial condition.
Our success depends on certain key personnel.
Our performance to date has been and will continue to be largely dependent on the talents, efforts and performance of our senior management and key technical personnel. It is anticipated that our executive officers will enter into employment agreements. However, while it is customary to use employment agreements as a method of retaining the services of key personnel, these agreements do not guarantee us the continued services of such employees. In addition, we have not entered into employment agreements with most of our key personnel. The loss of our executive officers or our other key personnel, particularly with little or no notice, could cause delays on projects and could have an adverse impact on our client and industry relationships, our business, operating results or financial condition.
We rely on highly skilled and qualified personnel, and if we are unable to continue to attract and retain such qualified personnel it will adversely affect our businesses.
Our success depends to a significant extent on our ability to identify, attract, hire, train and retain qualified creative, technical and managerial personnel. We expect competition for personnel with the specialized creative and technical skills needed to create our products and provide our services will continue to intensify. We often hire individuals on a project-by-project basis, and individuals who work on one or more projects for us may not be available to work on future projects. If we have difficulty identifying, attracting, hiring, training and retaining such qualified personnel, or incur significant costs in order to do so, our business and financial results could be negatively impacted.
Risks associated with commodity price volatility and energy availability could adversely affect our business.
We are exposed to risks associated with commodity price volatility arising from supply conditions, geopolitical and economic variables, weather, and other unpredictable external factors. We buy commodities such as corn and other grains, molasses, grapes, sticks and plastic for the production, packaging and distribution of our products. Availability, increases and volatility in the prices of these commodities, as well as products sourced from third parties and energy used in making, distributing and transporting our products, could increase the manufacturing and distribution costs of our products. While in the past we have been able to mitigate the impact of these cost increases through productivity improvements and pricing adjustments, there is no assurance that we will be able to offset such cost increases in the future.
We rely on the performance of wholesale distributors and other marketing arrangements and could be adversely affected by consolidation, poor performance or other disruptions in our distribution channels and customers.
Our alcohol-infused popsicles and ice cream products are sold principally through wholesale distributors for resale to retail outlets. The replacement, poor performance or financial default of a major distributor or one of its major customers could adversely affect our business. Industry consolidation could also adversely affect our margins and profitability. Though large customers can offer efficiencies and unique opportunities, they can also seek to make significant changes in their volume of purchases, represent a large number of competing products, negotiate more favorable terms and seek price reductions, which could negatively impact our financial results.
Our operations may be adversely affected by failure to maintain or renegotiate distribution, supply, manufacturing or license agreements on favorable terms.
We have a number of distribution, supply, manufacturing and license agreements for our supplies and products. These agreements vary depending on the particular supply and/or product, but tend to be for a fixed number of years. There can be no assurance that we will be able to renew these agreements on favorable terms or that these agreements will not be terminated. Termination of these agreements or failure to renew these agreements on favorable terms could have a negative effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
If we are unable to effectively manage organizational productivity and global supply chain efficiency and flexibility, then our business could be adversely affected.
We need to continually evaluate our organizational productivity and supply chains and assess opportunities to reduce costs. We must also enhance quality, speed and flexibility to meet changing and uncertain market conditions. Our success also depends in part on refining our cost structure and supply chains so that we have flexibility and are able to respond to market pressures to protect profitability and cash flow or ramp up quickly and effectively to meet demand. Failure to achieve the desired level of quality, capacity or cost reductions could adversely affect our financial results. Despite our efforts to control costs and increase efficiency in our facilities, increased competition could still cause us to realize lower operating margins and profitability.
Our operating results may fluctuate significantly, which may cause the market price of our common stock to decrease significantly.
Our operating results may fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, many of which are outside of our control. As a result of these fluctuations, financial planning and forecasting may be more difficult and comparisons of our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not necessarily be meaningful. Accordingly, you should not rely on our annual and quarterly results of operations as any indication of future performance. Each of the risk factors described in this "Risks Related to Our Business" section, and the following factors, may affect our operating results:
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our ability to continue to attract clients for our services and products;
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the amount and timing of operating costs and capital expenditures related to the maintenance and expansion of our businesses, operations and infrastructure;
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our focus on long-term goals over short-term results;
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the results of our investments in high risk products;
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general economic conditions and those economic conditions specific to our industries;
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changes in business cycles that affect the markets in which we sell our products and services; and
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geopolitical events such as war, threat of war or terrorist actions.
In response to these fluctuations, the value of our common stock could decrease significantly in spite of our operating performance. In addition, our business, and the alcoholic beverage business, has historically been cyclical and seasonal in nature, reflecting overall economic conditions as well as client budgeting and buying patterns.
The cyclicality and seasonality in our business could become more pronounced and may cause our operating results to fluctuate more widely.
We have a history of losses, have generated limited revenue to date, and may continue to suffer losses in the future.
We have a history of losses and have generated limited revenue to date. We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future. If we cannot become profitable, our financial condition will deteriorate, and we may be unable to achieve our business objectives, including without limitation, having to cease operations due to a lack of capital.
Our accountants have raised substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern.
As noted in our consolidated financial statements, we had an accumulated stockholders' deficit of approximately $ 4,891,353 and recurring losses from operations as of December 31, 2015. We also had a working capital deficit of approximately $2,045,677 as of December 31, 2015. We intend to fund operations through raising additional capital through debt financing and equity issuances and increased lending activities which may be insufficient to fund our capital expenditures, working capital or other cash requirements for the year ending December 31, 2015. We are continuing to seek additional funds to finance our immediate and long term operations. The successful outcome of future financing activities cannot be determined at this time and there is no assurance that if achieved, we will have sufficient funds to execute our intended business plan or generate positive operating results. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The audit report for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 contain a paragraph that emphasizes the substantial doubt as to our continuance as a going concern. This is a significant risk that we may not be able to remain operational for an indefinite period of time.
We will require substantial additional funding, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all, and, if not available may require us to delay, scale back or cease our marketing or product development activities and operations.
We will require substantial additional capital in order to continue the marketing of our existing products and complete the development of our contemplated products. Raising funds in the current economic climate may be difficult and additional funding may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all.
The amount and timing of our future funding requirements, both near- and long-term, will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:
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the number and characteristics of product candidates that we pursue, including our product candidates in development;
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our need to expand our research and development activities, including the hiring of additional employees;
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the costs of licensing, acquiring or investing in complimentary businesses, products, product candidates and technologies;
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our ability to maintain, expand and defend the scope of our intellectual product portfolio, including the amount and timing of any payments we may be required to make, or that we may receive, in connection with the licensing, filing, prosecution, defense and enforcement of any intellectual property rights;
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the effect of any competing technological or market developments;
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the need to implement additional internal systems and infrastructure, including financial and reporting systems;
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obtaining market acceptance of our alcohol-infused popsicles and ice cream; and
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the economic and other terms, timing of and success of our co-branding, licensing, collaboration or marketing relationships into which we have entered or may enter in the future.
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Some of these factors are outside of our control. It is currently anticipated that we will require an additional capital infusion in order to expand the marketing of our alcohol-infused popsicles and ice cream to all 50 states. Such additional fundraising efforts may divert our management from our day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and market our alcohol-infused products. In addition, we cannot guarantee that future financing will be available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, we may be required to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or marketing of one or more of our products or product candidates or curtail our operations, which will have a Material Adverse Effect on our business, operating results and prospects.
We may sell additional equity or debt securities or enter into other arrangements to fund our operations, which may result in dilution to our stockholders and impose restrictions or limitations on our business.
We may seek additional funding through a combination of equity offerings, debt-financings, or other third party funding or other collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements. These financing activities may have an adverse impact on our stockholders' rights as well as our operations. For instance, any debt financing may impose restrictive covenants on our operations or otherwise adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our stockholders. In addition, if we seek funds through arrangements with partners, these arrangements may require us to relinquish rights to some of our technologies, products or product candidates or otherwise agree to terms unfavorable to us.
Acquisitions we pursue in our industry and related industries could result in operating difficulties, dilution to our stockholders and other consequences harmful to our business.
As part of our growth strategy, we may selectively pursue strategic acquisitions in our industry and related industries. We may not be able to consummate such acquisitions, which could adversely impact our growth. If we do consummate acquisitions, integrating an acquired company, business or technology may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures, including:
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increased expenses due to transaction and integration costs;
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potential liabilities of the acquired businesses;
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potential adverse tax and accounting effects of the acquisitions;
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diversion of capital and other resources from our existing businesses;
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diversion of our management's attention during the acquisition process and any transition periods;
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loss of key employees of the acquired businesses following the acquisition; and
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inaccurate budgets and projected financial statements due to inaccurate valuation assessments of the acquired businesses.
Foreign acquisitions also involve unique risks related to integration of operations across different cultures and languages, currency risks and the particular economic, political and regulatory risks associated with specific countries.
Our evaluations of potential acquisitions may not accurately assess the value or prospects of acquisition candidates, and the anticipated benefits from our future acquisitions may not materialize. In addition, future acquisitions or dispositions could result in potentially dilutive issuances of our equity securities, including our common stock, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities or amortization expenses, or write-offs of goodwill, any of which could harm our financial condition.
Interruption or failure of our information technology systems could impair our ability to effectively and timely provide our services and products, which could damage our reputation and have an adverse impact on our operating results.
Our systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from earthquakes, hurricanes, terrorist attacks, floods, fires, power loss, telecommunications failures, computer viruses or other attempts to harm our systems, and similar events. Our facilities are located in areas with a high risk of major earthquakes and are also subject to break-ins, sabotage and intentional acts of vandalism. Some of our systems are not fully redundant, and our disaster recovery planning cannot account for all eventualities. The occurrence of a natural disaster or other unanticipated problems at our Santa Monica, California facility or manufacturing facility located in Orange County, California could result in lengthy interruptions in our projects and our ability to deliver services. An error or defect in the software, a failure in the hardware, a failure of our backup facilities could delay our delivery of products and services and could result in significantly increased production costs, hinder our ability to retain and attract clients and damage our brand if clients believe we are unreliable. Given our reliance on our industry relationships, it could also result in a decrease in our revenues and otherwise adversely affect our business and operating results.
We cannot predict the effect that rapid changes in consumer taste may have on our business or industry.
The alcoholic beverage and dessert industries are rapidly evolving, primarily due to changing consumer preferences and technological developments. The rapid growth of technology and shifting consumer tastes prevent us from being able to accurately predict the overall effect that changing consumer preferences may have on our potential revenue and profitability. If we are unable to develop and effectively market new products that adequately or competitively address the needs of these changing consumer preferences, it could have an adverse effect on our business and growth prospects.
Changes in regulatory standards could adversely affect our business.
Our business is subject to extensive domestic and international regulatory requirements regarding distribution, production, labeling, and marketing. Changes to regulation of the alcohol industry could include increased limitations on advertising and promotional activities or other non-tariff measures that could adversely impact our business. In addition, we face government regulations pertaining to the health and safety of our employees and our consumers as well as regulations addressing the impact of our business on the environment, domestically as well as internationally. Compliance with these health, safety and environmental regulations may require us to alter our manufacturing processes and our sourcing. Such actions could adversely impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition, and our inability to effectively and timely comply with such regulations could adversely impact our competitive position.
Changes in excise taxes, incentives and customs duties related to products containing alcohol could adversely affect our business.
Products containing alcohol are subject to excise taxation in many markets at the federal, state and/or local level. Any increase in federal, state or local excise taxes could have an adverse effect on our business by increasing prices and reducing demand, particularly if excise tax levels increase substantially relative to those for beer and wine. In addition, products containing alcohol are the subject of customs duties in many countries around the world. An unanticipated increase in customs duties in the markets where we may sell our products could also adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows.
Our insurance policies are expensive and only protect us from some business risks, which will leave us exposed to significant uninsured liabilities.
We do not carry insurance for all categories of risk that our business may encounter. Some of the policies that we generally maintain include general liability, automobile and property insurance. We do not know, however, if we will be able to maintain insurance with adequate levels of coverage. In addition, we do not know if we will be able to obtain and maintain coverage for the business in which we engage. No assurance can be given that an insurance carrier will not seek to cancel or deny coverage after a claim has occurred. Any significant uninsured liability may require us to pay substantial amounts, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition and business results.
We face potential product liability and, if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability costs. If the use of our products harms customers or third parties, or is perceived to harm such persons even when such harm is unrelated to our products, our regulatory approvals could be revoked or otherwise negatively impacted and we could be subject to costly and damaging product liability claims.
The sale and use of our products exposes us to the risks of product liability claims. Product liability claims may be brought against us by consumers or other third parties. In addition, there is a risk that the use of our products could cause our customers to have an adverse health event. If we cannot successfully defend our product liability claims, we could incur substantial liability and costs. In addition, regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in: impairment of our business reputation; costs due to related litigation; distraction of management's attention from our primary business; substantial monetary awards to customers or other claimants; the inability to commercialize our products; and/or decreased demand for our products.
We carry product liability insurance supplemented by an umbrella insurance policy of $3,000,000 million per occurrence and $5,000,000 million aggregate limit. We believe our product liability insurance coverage as supplemented by our umbrella insurance policy is sufficient in light of our current financial condition; however, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses due to liability.
Our revenue may be adversely affected if we fail to protect our proprietary technology or fail to enhance or develop new technology.
We depend on our proprietary technology to develop and produce all of our products. With respect to our proprietary technology, we rely on a combination of copyright and trade secret protection and non-disclosure agreements to establish and protect our proprietary rights. The efforts we have taken to protect our proprietary rights may not be sufficient or effective. Any significant impairment of our intellectual property rights could harm our business or our ability to compete.
We generally enter into non-disclosure or license agreements with our employees, consultants and vendors, and generally control access to and distribution of our software, technology and other proprietary information. Despite these precautions, it may be possible for a third party to copy or otherwise obtain and use our software, technology and other proprietary information, without authorization, or to develop similar or superior technology independently. The steps we take may not prevent misappropriation of our technology, and our non-disclosure and license agreements may not be enforceable.
In addition, we may be required to litigate in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others or to defend against claims of infringement or invalidity. Any such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could have an adverse effect on our business and/or our operating results.
We rely on a third party co-packer, with whom we co-developed our proprietary freezing technology, to manufacture our alcohol infused frozen products.
The Company developed its proprietary technology with a third party who is also solely responsible for manufacturing all of our products. The Company is subject to all of the risks inherent in relying upon a third party for all of its products, including the fact that the manufacturer only has facilities in Southern California and is subject to the risk of earthquakes and other disasters. We do not have any other supplier for our products and if anything were to happen to this supplier, including such supplier's business failure, our own business could be materially adversely affected.
Our business is subject to the risks of earthquakes, fires, floods, power outages and other catastrophic events, and to interruption by manmade problems such as terrorism. A disruption at our production facility could adversely impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
All of our products are produced in one location, which is located in Southern California. A significant natural disaster, such as an earthquake, fire or a flood or a significant power outage could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or operating results. If there were a catastrophic failure at our major production facility, our business would be adversely affected. The loss of a substantial amount of inventory – through fire, other natural or man-made disaster, contamination, or otherwise – could result in a significant reduction in supply of the affected product or products. Similarly, if we experienced a disruption in the supply of our products, our business could suffer. A consequence of any of these supply disruptions could be our inability to meet consumer demand for the affected products for a period of time. In addition, there can be no assurance that insurance proceeds would cover the replacement value of our products or other assets if they were to be lost. In addition, if a catastrophe such as an earthquake, fire, flood or power loss should affect one of the third parties on which we rely, our business prospects could be harmed. Moreover, acts of terrorism could cause disruptions in our business or the business of our third-party service providers, partners, customers or the economy as a whole.
Third-party technology licenses may not continue to be available to us in the future.
We also rely on certain technology that we license from third parties, including software that is integrated and used with internally developed software. These third-party technology licenses may not in the future be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. The loss of any of these technology licenses could result in delays in performance of work until we identify, license and integrate equivalent technology, and we may not be able to identify, license or integrate any such equivalent technology in a timely manner or at all. Any resulting delays in our performance could damage our reputation and result in a decrease in our revenues during the period of delay, either of which could materially adversely affect our business, operating results and/or financial condition.
Others may assert intellectual property infringement claims against us.
We use alcohol products from other companies in the making of our alcohol infused frozen desserts. Infringement or misappropriation claims (or claims for indemnification resulting from such claims) against us may be asserted or prosecuted, regardless of their merit, and any such assertions or prosecutions may adversely affect our business and/or our operating results. Irrespective of the validity or the successful assertion of such claims, we would incur significant costs and diversion of resources relating to the defense of such claims, which could have an adverse effect on our business and/or our operating results. If any claims or actions are asserted against us, we may seek to obtain a license of a third-party's intellectual property rights; however, under such circumstances such a license may not be available on reasonable terms or at all.
The inability to successfully manage the growth of our business may have an adverse effect on our operating results.
We expect to experience growth in the number of employees and the scope of our operations. Such growth will result in increased responsibilities for our management. If our management is unable to successfully manage expenses in a manner that allows us to both improve operations and at the same time pursue potential market opportunities, the growth of our business could be adversely impacted, which may, in turn, negatively affect our operating results or financial condition. In addition, we believe that a critical contributor to our success has been our creative culture. As we attempt to grow, we may find it difficult to maintain important aspects of our corporate culture, which could negatively affect our future success.
We operate in a highly regulated area.
The alcohol industry is highly regulated on the national and state levels. These regulations are highly complex and, at times, may even be contradictory. Our failure to comply with these overlapping regulatory structures could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operation.
Changes in U.S., regional or global economic conditions could adversely affect our profitability.
A decline in economic conditions in the United States or in other regions of the world could lead to a decrease in discretionary consumer spending, which in turn could adversely affect alcoholic type products. In addition, an increase in price levels generally, or in price levels in a particular sector such as the energy sector, could result in a shift in consumer demand away from alcohol type products.
Current global economic challenges may continue and a recovery may be slow or reverse, adversely impacting our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Stable economic conditions globally, including strong employment, consumer confidence and credit availability, are important not only to the basic health of our consumer markets, but also to our own financial condition. There are presently significant challenges in the global economy, including high unemployment rates, low consumer confidence, record budget deficits and levels of government debt, and fragile credit and housing markets. In addition, instability in the global credit markets, including the recent European economic and financial turmoil related to sovereign debt issues in certain countries, the instability in the geopolitical environment in many parts of the world and other disruptions, may continue to put pressure on global economic conditions. As a result, consumers' increased price consciousness may endure, which may affect consumers' willingness to pay for premium brands as well as the overall level of consumption of products containing alcohol, particularly in bars, restaurants, nightclubs and other public environments where consumers drink spirits. Furthermore, our suppliers and customers could experience cash flow problems, increased costs or reduced availability of financing, credit defaults, and other financial hardships. These factors may increase our bad debt expense, cause us to reduce the levels of unsecured credit that we may provide to customers and otherwise adversely impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. A prolonged global economic stagnation may impact our access to capital markets, result in increased interest rates on debt that we may take on to expand operations, and weaken operating cash flow and liquidity. Decreased cash flow and liquidity could potentially impact our ability to finance operations.
Demand for our alcohol-infused products may be adversely affected by many factors, including changes in consumer preferences and trends.
Consumer preferences may shift due to a variety of factors including changes in demographic and social trends, public health initiatives, product innovations, changes in travel, vacation or leisure activity patterns and a downturn in economic conditions, which may reduce consumers' willingness to purchase products that contain alcohol or cause a shift in consumer preferences toward non-alcoholic alternatives. In addition, concerns about health issues relating to alcohol consumption, dietary effects, regulatory action or any litigation against companies in the industry may have an adverse effect on our business. Our success depends in part on fulfilling available opportunities to meet consumer needs and anticipating changes in consumer preferences with successful new products and product innovations. While we devote significant focus to the development of new products, we may not be successful in their development or these new products may not be commercially successful. In addition, global economic conditions or market trends could cause consumer preferences to trend away from our premium alcohol-infused popsicles and ice cream alternatives, which may also adversely impact our results of operations and cash flows.
We face substantial competition in our industry and many factors may prevent us from competing successfully.
We compete on the basis of product taste and quality, brand image, price, service and ability to innovate in response to consumer preferences. It is possible that our competitors may either respond to industry conditions or consumer trends more rapidly or effectively or resort to price competition to sustain market share, both of which could adversely affect our sales and profitability. Further, while we believe that our scale, portfolio breadth and entrepreneurial organization relative to that of our competitors gives us the ability to outperform our market, we nevertheless face a risk that a continuing consolidation of the large distilled spirits companies could cause us to experience competitive disadvantages. Our inability to manage these and other competitive factors successfully could adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
Future tax law changes and/or interpretation of existing tax laws may adversely affect our effective income tax rate and the resolution of unrecognized tax benefits.
We are subject to income taxation in the U.S. It is possible that future income tax legislation may be enacted that could have a material impact on our income tax provision. We believe that our tax estimates are reasonable and appropriate, however, there are inherent uncertainties in these estimates. As a result, the ultimate outcome from any potential audit could be materially different from amounts reflected in our income tax provisions and accruals. Future settlements of income tax audits may have a material effect on earnings between the period of initial recognition of tax estimates in the financial statements and the timing of ultimate tax audit settlement.
Some provisions of our charter documents and Delaware law may have anti-takeover effects that could discourage an acquisition of us by others, even if an acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders.
Provisions in our charter documents, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could make it more difficult for a third-party to acquire us, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders.
Potential liabilities and costs from litigation and other legal proceedings could adversely affect our business.
From time to time we may be subject to various lawsuits, claims, disputes and investigations in the normal conduct of our operations. These include, but are not limited to, commercial disputes, including purported class actions, employment claims, actions by tax and customs authorities, and environmental matters. Some of these legal proceedings may include claims for substantial or unspecified damages. It is possible that some of the actions could be decided unfavorably and could adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows or financial condition. In addition, because litigation and other legal proceedings can be costly to defend, even actions that are ultimately decided in our favor could have a negative impact on our results of operations and cash flows.
Historical financial statements may not be reflective of our future results of operations, cash flows, and financial condition.
Although we believe that you have been provided access to all material information necessary to make an informed assessment of our assets and liabilities, financial position, profits and losses and prospects, historical financial statements do not represent what our results of operations, cash flows, or financial position will be in the future.
Risks Related to the Common Stock of Pacific Ventures Group, Inc.
There currently is only a minimal public market for our common stock. Failure to develop or maintain a trading market could negatively affect the value of our common stock and make it difficult or impossible for you to sell your shares.
There currently is only a minimal public market for shares of our common stock and an active market may never develop. Our common stock is quoted on the OTCQB operated by the OTC Market's Group, Inc. under the symbol "PACV". We may not ever be able to satisfy the listing requirements for our common stock to be listed on any stock exchange, including the trading platforms of the NASDAQ Stock Market which are often more widely-traded and liquid markets. Some, but not all, of the factors which may delay or prevent the listing of our common stock on a more widely-traded and liquid market include the following: our stockholders' equity may be insufficient; the market value of our outstanding securities may be too low; our net income from operations may be too low; our common stock may not be sufficiently widely held; we may not be able to secure market makers for our common stock; and we may fail to meet the rules and requirements mandated by, any of the several exchanges and markets to have our common stock listed.
The market price for our common stock is particularly volatile given our status as a relatively unknown company with a small and thinly traded public float, limited operating history and lack of profits which could lead to wide fluctuations in our share price. You may be unable to sell your common stock at or above your conversion price, which may result in substantial losses to you.
The market for our common stock is characterized by significant price volatility when compared to seasoned issuers, and we expect that our share price will continue to be more volatile than a seasoned issuer for the indefinite future. The volatility in our share price is attributable to a number of factors. First, as noted above, our common stock are sporadically and thinly traded. As a consequence of this lack of liquidity, the trading of relatively small quantities of shares by our shareholders may disproportionately influence the price of those shares in either direction. The price for our shares could, for example, decline precipitously in the event that a large number of our common stock are sold on the market without commensurate demand, as compared to a seasoned issuer which could better absorb those sales without adverse impact on its share price. Secondly, we are a speculative or "risky" investment due to our limited operating history and lack of profits to date, and uncertainty of future market acceptance for our potential products and services. As a consequence of this enhanced risk, more risk-adverse investors may, under the fear of losing all or most of their investment in the event of negative news or lack of progress, be more inclined to sell their shares on the market more quickly and at greater discounts than would be the case with the stock of a seasoned issuer. Many of these factors are beyond our control and may decrease the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance. We cannot make any predictions or projections as to what the prevailing market price for our common stock will be at any time, including as to whether our common stock will sustain their current market prices, or as to what effect that the sale of shares or the availability of common stock for sale at any time will have on the prevailing market price.
The application of the "penny stock" rules could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and increase your transaction costs to sell those shares.
The SEC has adopted rule 3a51-1 which establishes the definition of a "penny stock," for the purposes relevant to us, as any equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or with an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, Rule 15g-9 requires:
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that a broker or dealer approve a person's account for transactions in penny stocks, and
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the broker or dealer receives from the investor a written agreement to the transaction, setting forth the identity and quantity of the penny stock to be purchased.
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In order to approve a person's account for transactions in penny stocks, the broker or dealer must:
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obtain financial information and investment experience objectives of the person, and
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make a reasonable determination that the transactions in penny stocks are suitable for that person and the person has sufficient knowledge and experience in financial matters to be capable of evaluating the risks of transactions in penny stocks.
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The broker or dealer must also deliver, prior to any transaction in a penny stock, a disclosure schedule prescribed by the SEC relating to the penny stock market, which, in highlight form:
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sets forth the basis on which the broker or dealer made the suitability determination, and
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that the broker or dealer received a signed, written agreement from the investor prior to the transaction.
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Generally, brokers may be less willing to execute transactions in securities subject to the "penny stock" rules. This may make it more difficult for investors to dispose of our common stock and cause a decline in the market value of our stock.
The application of Rule 144 creates some investment risk to potential investors; for example, existing shareholders may be able to rely on Rule 144 to sell some of their holdings, driving down the price of the shares you purchased.
The SEC adopted amendments to Rule 144 which became effective on February 15, 2008 that apply to securities acquired both before and after that date. Under these amendments, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that: (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding a sale, (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least 90 days before the sale and (iii) if the sale occurs prior to satisfaction of a one-year holding period, we provide current information at the time of sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of either of the following:
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1% of the total number of securities of the same class then outstanding (253,580 shares of common stock as of the date of this Report); or
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the average weekly trading volume of such securities during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale;
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provided, in each case, that we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale. Such sales by affiliates must also comply with the manner of sale, current public information and notice provisions of Rule 144.
Shannon Masjedi, our principal stockholder, director and executive officer, owns a large percentage of our voting stock, which allows her to exercise significant influence over matters subject to stockholder approval.
Shannon Masjedi, our principal stockholder, director and executive officer, will
have substantial influence over the outcome of corporate actions requiring shareholder approval, including the election of directors, any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets or any other significant corporate transaction. In particular, because a certain officer, Shannon Masjedi, who owns 15,864,639 shares of our Common Stock and 1,000,000 shares of Series E Preferred Stock (with 10 votes per share), she will be assured of such control. This shareholder may also delay or prevent a change of control or otherwise discourage a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of us, even if such a change of control would benefit our other shareholders. This significant concentration of stock and voting ownership may adversely affect the value of our common stock due to investors' perception that conflicts of interest may exist or arise.
We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock.
We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We currently anticipate that we will retain all of our available cash, if any, for use as working capital and for other general corporate purposes. Any payment of future dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon, among other things, our earnings, financial condition, capital requirements, level of indebtedness, statutory and contractual restrictions applying to the payment of dividends and other considerations that the Board of Directors deems relevant. Investors must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize a return on their investment. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Included in this annual report are "forward-looking" statements, as well as historical information. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including matters described in the section titled "Risk Factors." Forward-looking statements include those that use forward-looking terminology, such as the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "project," "plan," "will," "shall," "should" and similar expressions, including when used in the negative. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable and achievable, these statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Actual results may be materially different than those described in this annual report. Important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ from these forward-looking statements include the factors described in the "Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in this annual report.
All forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by these and other factors. Except as required by federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect events or circumstances after the date initially filed or published, to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or otherwise.