Certain factors may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, in addition to other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and future prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business.

Risks Related to Our Business

We have experienced significant fluctuation in the growth rate of our business during the last several years, and high levels of growth may not be achieved in future periods and may not generate a corresponding improvement in our results of operations.

We have experienced significant fluctuation in the growth rate of our business during the last several years. We may continue to experience wide fluctuations in quarter-to-quarter performance, not only because the rate of sales growth in some quarters may be slower than in prior periods but also because we may experience some quarters that have growth rates that are higher than prior periods. We are currently engaged in a number of initiatives to support the growth and transformation of our business, including investments to elevate the customer experience, which includes architecting a new fully integrated back-end operating platform, inclusive of the supply chain network, the home delivery experience as well as a new metric driven quality system and company-wide decision data , the transition from a promotional to a membership model, and a more aggressive approach to rationalizing our SKU count and optimizing inventory including through selling slower moving, discontinued and other inventory through markdowns and our outlet channel. While we anticipate that these initiatives will suppo rt the growth of our business, costs and timing issues associated with pursuing these initiatives can negatively affect our gross margins in the short term and may amplify fluctuations in our growth rate from quarter to quarter depending on the timing and extent of our realization of the costs and benefits of such initiatives.

We attribute recent negative impacts on our sales and earnings during fiscal 2016 to several temporal issues, including the costs related to the launch of RH Modern; the timing of recognizing membership revenues related to the transition from a promotional to a membership model; efforts to reduce inventories and rationalize our SKU count; and the decision to push our 2016 Source Book mailing from the Spring to the Fall. We are seeking to address the impact of all of these temporal factors on our business, and while we are optimistic that we can move beyond these temporal issues during fiscal 2017 we can provide no assurances as to the exact degree of any success that we may have with t hese initiatives. In addition, some of the efforts to address these issues may continue to have an impact on financial results. For example, efforts to sell slower moving, discontinued and other inventory through markdowns and our outlet channel may drive higher sales and lower margins and earnings during some periods during fiscal 2017 as we expect these initiatives to continue during fiscal 2017.

Some factors affecting our business are not within our control including macroeconomic conditions. In prior pe riods, our results of operations have been adversely affected by weakness in the overall economic environment including during periods of economic recession as well as slowdowns in the housing market. Our business performance is also linked to the overall strength of luxury consumer spending in markets in which we operate. Economic conditions affecting selected markets in which we operate can have an impact on the strength of our business in those local markets. As an example, during recent periods in which the price for oil declined rapidly, we experienced a slowing in our business in some regions where the economy is linked to energy exploration and production including Texas and Canada.

In addition, our rates of revenue growth and comparable brand revenue growth have sharply fluctuated from quarter to quarter over the last three years and we expect volatility in the rates of our growth to continue in future quarterly periods. Unique factors in any given quarter may affect period-to-period comparisons such as promotional events, store openings, shifts in the timing of holidays and the timing of Source Book releases, among other things. The results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of the results that we may achieve for a full fiscal year. Our results of operations may also vary relative to corresponding periods in prior years. We may take certain pricing, merchandising or marketing actions that could have a disproportionate effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations in a particular quarter or selling season, and as a result we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations are not necessarily meaningful and cannot be relied upon as indicators of future performance.

Numerous other factors affect period-to-period comparisons in our revenue and comparable brand revenue growth, including:

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Other future developments in our business could also result in material changes in our operating costs, including increased merchandise inventory costs and costs for paper and postage associated with the mailing and shipping of Source Books and products. We cannot assure you that we will succeed in offsetting any such expenses with increased efficiency or that cost increases associated with our business will not have an adverse effect on our financial results.

We are undertaking a large number of business initiatives at the same time, including exploring opportunities to expand into new categories and complementary businesses. If these initiatives are not successful, they may have a negative impact on our results of operations.

We are undertaking a large number of new business initiatives in order to support our future growth. For example, we have developed and continue to refine and enhance our Gallery format, which involves larger store square footage. We also continue to add new product categories and to expand product assortments. For example, in fiscal 2015 we introduced our new RH Modern and RH Teen categories. We are currently contemplating other new product lines and extensions and complementary brand-enhancing businesses, such as the expansion of our product sales to international markets and providing brand-enhancing offerings in hospitality including an integrated food and beverage experience. For example, in fiscal 2015 we unveiled our initial foray into hospitality at RH Chicago, The Gallery at the Three Arts Club, offering the 3Arts Club Café, the 3Arts Club Wine Vault & Tasting Room, and the 3Arts Club Panty & Expresso Bar. We plan t o provide integrated food and beverage offerings in several of the new Gallery locations that we anticipate opening in the next several years. If we are not successful in managing the large number of new initiatives that are underway, we might experience an adverse impact on our financial performance and results of operations.

Furthermore, we can provide no assurances that customers will respond favorably to our new product offerings, Galleries or complementary businesses or that we will successfully execute on such business initiatives. Such new business opportunities may not achieve market acceptance or may only achieve market acceptance in limited geographic areas or at certain Design Galleries. In addition, developing and testing new and multiple business opportunities and strategies often requires knowledge in areas of expertise that may be new to our organization and may require significant time of our management and resources. For example, the brand-enhancing offerings in hospitality that we are pursuing represent areas where we have limited or no prior operating or management experience. We can provide no assurances that we will be successful in expanding our operations into any new businesses and product lines.

Any new businesses we enter may also expose us to additional laws, regulations and risks, including the risk that we may incur ongoing operating expenses in such businesses in excess of revenues, which could harm our results of operations and financial condition. The financial profile of any such new businesses may be different than our current financial profile, which could affect our financial performance and the market price for our common stock. For example, new hospitality concepts that we are pursuing could expose us to new risks related to consumer litigation and longer lease terms.

We often have in the past, and may in the future, incur significant costs for any new initiative before we realize any corresponding revenue with respect to such initiative. In addition, we may incur costs as we revise, restructure or discontinue existing product categories or business offerings in favor of pursuing new initiatives or retail concepts. For example, as we continue to open larger format Design Galleries in select major metropolitan markets, we expect to close a number of legacy Galleries and replace them with our next generation Design Gallery format. The introduction of integrated food and beverage offerings at our new Gallery locations often requires significant investments by us before the locati on is open to customers and able to generate revenues and we anticipate that a number of Galleries to be opened during the next several years will require this form of upfront investment before they generate revenue from the food and beverage offerings. In addition, during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, we initiated and executed a plan to integrate the RH Contemporary Art (“RHCA”) product line into the broader RH platform and we no longer operate RHCA as a separate division, and as a result we incurred restructuring related costs. To the extent that these new business opportunities do not generate sufficient revenue to recoup the cost of developing and operating such new concepts, our results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

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In addit ion, we are continuing a number of new initiatives to improve the operations of our business, including elevating the customer experience which includes architecting a new fully integrated back-end operating platform, inclusive of the supply chain network, the home delivery experience as well as a new metric driven quality system and company-wide decision data , transitioning from a promotional to a membership model, rationalizing our SKU count and optimizing inventory which includes selling slower moving, discontinued and other inventory through markdowns and our outlet channel, enhancing and optimizing our product sourcing capabilities, improving our distribution and delivery of products to our customers, including architecting a new fully integrated back- end operating platform, and adding new management information systems. For example, in the early part of fiscal 2016, we introduced the RH Members Program, which provides a range of benefits to our customers in return for payment of an annual membership fe e. We have introduced the RH Members Program, an alternative to prior practices involving numerous event-driven promotional programs. The RH Members Program is new to our business and has not been tested prior to its introduction. Given that this concept i s new and untested, there can be no certainty as to exactly how our customers may react to this program over time or how the RH Members Programs’ rollout will affect our financial results from quarter to quarter .

All of the foregoing risks may be compounded due to various factors including any economic downturn. If we fail to achieve the intended results of our current business initiatives, or if the implementation of these initiatives is delayed or abandoned, diverts management’s attention or resources from other aspects of our business or costs more than anticipated, we may experience inadequate return on investment for some or all such business initiatives, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

We may be unsuccessful in identifying attractive acquisition opportunities or, to the extent that we pursue attractive acquisition opportunities, we may be unsuccessful in realizing the expected benefits of such acquisitions.

As part of exploring growth opportunities, we may acquire from time to time value-creating, add-on businesses that broaden our existing position and market reach. For example, in fiscal 2016, we acquired a controlling interest in Waterworks. However, there can be no assurance that in the future we will be able to find suitable businesses to purchase, that we will be able to acquire such businesses on acceptable terms, or that we will be successful in realizing the benefits of any acquisition we pursue. If we are unsuccessful in our acquisition efforts, then our ability to continue to grow at rates we anticipate could be adversely affected. In addition, we face the risk that an acquired business may not be successful on the RH platform and may underperform relative to expectations. We may be unable to achieve syn ergies originally anticipated, we may be exposed to unexpected liabilities or we may be unable to sufficiently integrate completed acquisitions into our current business model and platform. The success of any completed acquisition will depend on our abilit y to effectively manage the business after the acquisition . The process of maintaining the right incentives for management of acquired businesses and integrating the acquired businesses may involve unforeseen difficulties and may require a disproportionate amount of our managerial and financial resources. Our failure to incorporate acquired businesses into our existing operations successfully or to minimize any unforeseen operational difficulties could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Further, if we fail to allocate our capital appropriately, in respect of either our acquisitions or organic growth in our operations, we could be overexposed in certain markets and geographies and unable to expand into adjacent products or markets.

Changes in consumer spending and factors that influence spending of the specific consumers we target, including the health of the high-end housing market, may significantly impact our revenue and results of operations.

We target consumers of high-end home furnishings as customers for our products. As a result, we believe that our sales are sensitive to a number of factors that influence consumer spending generally, but are particularly affected by the health of the higher end customer and demand levels from that customer demographic. In addition, not all macroeconomic factors are highly correlated in their impact on lower end housing versus the higher end customer. Demand for lower priced homes and first time home buying may be influenced by factors such as employment levels, interest rates, demographics of new household formation and the affordability of homes for the first time home buyer. The higher end of the housing market may be disproportionately influenced by other factors including the number of foreign buyers in higher end real estate markets in the U.S., the number of second and third homes being sold, stock market prices and volatility and the perceived prospect for capital appreciation in higher end real estate. Although employment levels in the U.S. were reasonably strong at the beginning of 2017, there can be no assurance that some of the other macroeconomic factors described above will not adversely affect the higher end consumer that we believe makes up the bulk of our customer demand.

We believe that a number of these factors have in the past had, and may in the future have, an adverse impact on the high-end retail home furnishings sector, and have also affected our business and results. These factors may make it difficult for us to accurately predict our operating and financial results for future periods and some of these factors could contribute to a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

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If we are unable to maintain and enhance our brand or market our product offerings, we may be unable to attract a sufficient number of customers or sell sufficient quantities of our products.

Our business depends in part on a strong brand image, and we continue to invest in the development of our brand and the marketing of our business. We believe that the brand image we have developed, and the lifestyle image associated with our brand, have contributed significantly to the success of our business to date. We also believe that maintaining and enhancing our brand is integral to the future of our business and to the implementation of our strategies for expanding our business. This will require us to continue to make investments in areas such as marketing and advertising, as well as the day-to-day investments required for store operations, Source Book mailings, website operations and employee training. Our brand image may be diminished if new products, services or other businesses, including our food and beverage operations at the 3 Arts Club Café in the RH Gallery in Chicago, and Ma(i)sonry in Yountville, California, fail to maintain or enhance our distinctive brand image.

Additionally, our reputation could be jeopardized if we fail to maintain high standards for merchandise and service quality. With the growth in importance and the impact of social media over the last few years, any negative publicity from product defects, recalls or failures in service may be magnified and reach a large portion of our customer base in a very short period of time, which could harm the value of our brand and, consequently, our financial performance could suffer. We may also suffer reputational harm if we fail to maintain high ethical, social and environmental standards for all of our operations and activities, if we fail to comply with local laws and regulations or if we experience other negative events that affect our image or reputation. Any failure to maintain a strong brand image could have an adverse effect on our sales and results of operations.

Our failure to successfully manage the strategy and costs of our Source Book mailings or other promotional programs and costs could have a negative impact on our business.

Source Book mailings are an important component of our business. We continue to adjust and refine our Source Book mailing strategy and we expect to do so in the future. For example, in fiscal 2014 and fiscal 2015, we reduced the number of Source Books circulated, and in fiscal 2016, we decided to move the mailing of our annual Source Books to the Fall, whereas our Source Books were circulated in the Spring in the prior years. We intend to continue adjusting our Source Book circulation strategy based on a variety of factors, including the success of the various changes that we adopt. We can provide no assurances as to the success of any Source Book strategy we pursue. Increased expenditures on our catalog strategy may result in the production of too many Source Books, which could negatively affect our operating margins. Reducing expenditures on our catalog strategy, however, could overly restrict catalog circulation and have a negative effect on our revenues. Additionally, due to the size of our Source Books we have in the past received negative publicity from environmental groups. If we fail to adequately adjust our catalog strategy to meet our goals, or if our catalog strategy is unsuccessful, our results of operations could be negatively impacted.

We also rely on customary discounts from the basic shipping rate structure that are available for our catalog mailings, which could be changed or discontinued at any time, and we are subject to fluctuations in the market price for paper, which has historically fluctuated significantly and may continue to fluctuate in the future. Future increases in shipping rates, paper costs or printing costs would have a negative impact on our results of operations to the extent that we are unable to offset such increases through increased sales or by raising prices, by implementing more efficient printing, mailing, delivery and order fulfillment systems, or by using alternative direct-mail formats.

We have historically experienced fluctuations in customer response to our Source Books. Customer response depends substantially on product assortment, product availability and creative presentation, the selection of customers to whom the catalogs are mailed, changes in mailing strategies, page size, page count, frequency and timing of delivery of catalogs, as well as the general retail sales environment and current domestic and global economic conditions. The failure to effectively produce or distribute our catalogs could affect the timing of catalog delivery. The timing of catalog delivery has also been and can be affected by shipping service delays. Any delays in the timing of catalog delivery could cause customers to forgo or defer purchases. If the performance of our catalogs declines, if we misjudge the correlation between our catalog circulation and net revenues, or if our catalog circulation optimization strategy is not successful, our results of operations could be negatively impacted.

Competition in the home furnishings sector of the retail market may adversely affect our future financial performance.

The home furnishings sector within the retail market is highly competitive. We compete with the interior design trade and specialty stores, as well as antique dealers and other merchants that provide unique items and custom-designed product offerings at higher price points. We also compete with national and regional home furnishing retailers and department stores. In addition, we compete with mail order catalogs and online retailers focused on home furnishings.

We compete generally with these other retailers for customers, suitable retail locations, vendors, qualified employees and management personnel. As we have traditionally been a leader in the home furnishings sector, some of our competitors have also

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attemp ted to imitate our product offerings and business initiatives from time to time in the past. However, many of our competitors have significantly greater financial, marketing and other resources than we do and therefore may be able to devote greater resourc es to the marketing and sale of their products, generate greater national brand recognition or adopt more aggressive pricing policies than we can. In addition, such competitors may also be able to adapt to changes in customer preferences more quickly than we can due to their greater financial or marketing resources. Further, increased catalog mailings by our competitors may adversely affect response rates to our own Source Book mailings. There can be no assurance that such competitors will not be more succe ssful than us, based on imitation or otherwise, or that we will be able to continue to maintain a leadership position in style and innovation in the future.

Increased competition also has resulted, and may in the future result, in potential or actual litigation between us and our competitors related to a variety of activities, including hiring practices. If we are not successful in such litigation, our business could be harmed.

If we fail to successfully anticipate consumer preferences and demand our results of operations may be adversely affected.

We are vulnerable to customer preferences and demand. Our success depends in large part on our ability to originate and define home product trends, as well as to anticipate, gauge and react to changing consumer demands in a timely manner. Our products must appeal to a range of consumers whose preferences cannot always be predicted with certainty. We cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to develop products that customers positively respond to or that we will successfully meet consumer demands in the future. Any failure on our part to anticipate, identify or respond effectively to consumer preferences and demand could adversely affect sales of our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to successfully and timely deliver merchandise to our customers and manage our supply chain commensurate with demand, our results of operations may be adversely affected.

We must successfully manage our supply chain and vendors in order to produce sufficient quantities of products that our customers wish to purchase in a timely manner. We must manage our supply chain and inventory levels, including predicting the appropriate levels and type of inventory to stock within each of our distribution centers, such that our “in stock” position in merchandise correlate well to consumer demand and expected delivery times. Because much of our merchandise requires that we provide vendors with significant ordering lead times, frequently before market factors are known, we may not be able to source sufficient inventory to meet demand if our products prove more popular than anticipated. In addition, our current initiatives to streamline and optimize our inventory levels may not be successful. From time to time, we have experienced periods in which some of our vendors were not able to meet customer demand levels for certain products resulting in significant back orders for goods, higher rates of cancellation on orders in process and, in some instances, the loss of customer sales when orders could not be completed in a timely manner. Further, the seasonal nature of some of our products requires us to carry a significant amount of inventory prior to certain selling seasons. If we are unable to accurately predict and track demand, we may be required to mark down the price of certain products in order to sell excess inventory or we may be required to sell such inventory through our outlet stores or warehouse sales. For these reasons, our results of operations in any given quarterly period may be adversely affected. We expect these factors to continue from time to time as we add new product assortments and new merchandise categories into our business.

We are subject to risks associated with our dependence on foreign manufacturing and imports for our merchandise.

Based on total volume dollar purchases, in fiscal 2016 we sourced approximately 88% of our merchandise from outside the United States, including 78% from Asia, the majority of which originated from China. In addition, some of the merchandise we purchase from vendors in the United States also depends, in whole or in part, on vendors located outside the United States. As a result, our business highly depends on global trade, as well as trade and cost factors that impact the specific countries where our vendors are located, particularly Asia. Our future success will depend in large part upon our ability to maintain our existing foreign vendor relationships and to develop new ones as well as the ability of our vendors to scale their operations commensurate with demand from our customers, which in some cases will require substantial ongoing investments to support additional capacity. While we rely on our long-term relationships with our foreign vendors, we have no long-term contracts with them and transact business on an order-by-order basis.

Recent events, including the U.S. presidential election and Brexit in the U.K., have resulted in substantial regulatory uncertainty regarding international trade and trade policy. For example, President Trump and members of the U.S. Congress have called for substantial changes to tax policies, including the possible implementation of a border tax. The Trump administration has also raised the possibility of other initiatives that may affect importation of goods including renegotiation of trade agreements with other countries and the possible introduction of import duties or tariffs. Many of our imported products are subject to existing duties, tariffs, anti-dumping duties and quotas that may limit the quantity of some types of goods that we import into the United States. The possible implementation of a border tax or tariff could materially increase our cost of goods sold with respect to merchandise that we purchase from vendors who manufacture products outside the United States, which could in turn require us to increase our prices and, in the event consumer demand declines as a result, negatively impact our financial performance. Furthermore, certain of our competitors may be better positioned than us

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to withstand or react to border taxes, tariffs or other restrictions on global trade and as a result we may lose market share to such competitors. Due to broad uncertainty regarding the timing, content and extent of any regulatory changes in the U.S. or abroad, we cannot predict the impact, if any, that these changes could have to our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our dependence on foreign imports also makes us vulnerable to risks associated with products manufactured abroad, including, among other things, risks of damage, destruction or confiscation of products while in transit to our distribution centers located in the United States, charges on or assessment of additional import duties, tariffs, anti-dumping duties and quotas, loss of “most favored nation” trading status by the United States in relation to a particular foreign country, work stoppages, including without limitation as a result of events such as longshoremen strikes, transportation and other delays in shipments, including without limitation as a result of heightened security screening and inspection processes or other port-of-entry limitations or restrictions in the United States, freight cost increases, economic uncertainties, including inflation, foreign government regulations, trade restrictions, including the United States retaliating against protectionist foreign trade practices and political unrest, increased labor costs and other similar factors that might affect the operations of our vendors in specific countries such as China.

An interruption or delay in supply from our foreign sources, or the imposition of additional duties, taxes or other charges on these imports, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations unless and until alternative supply arrangements are secured.

In addition, there is a risk that compliance lapses by our vendors could occur, which could lead to investigations by U.S. government agencies responsible for international trade compliance. Any resulting penalty or enforcement action could delay future imports/exports or otherwise negatively impact our business. In addition, there can be no assurance that our vendors outside the United States will adhere to applicable legal requirements or our global compliance standards such as fair labor standards, prohibitions on child labor and other product safety or manufacturing safety standards. The violation of applicable legal requirements by any of our vendors or the failure to adhere to labor, manufacturing safety and other laws by any of our vendors, or the divergence of the labor practices followed by any of our vendors from those generally accepted in the United States, could disrupt our supply of products from our vendors or the shipment of products to us, result in potential liability to us and harm our reputation and brand and subject us to boycotts by our customers or activist groups, any of which could negatively affect our business and results of operations.

Our growth strategy and performance depend on our ability to purchase quality merchandise in sufficient quantities at competitive prices, including products that are produced by artisans and specialty vendors. Any disruptions we experience in our ability to obtain quality products in a timely fashion or in the quantities required could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We purchase substantially all of our merchandise from a number of third party vendors. Many such vendors are the sole sources for particular products, and we generally transact business with such vendors on an order-by-order basis without any long-term or other contractual assurances of continued supply, pricing or access to new products with our vendors. Therefore, we may be dependent on particular vendors that produce popular items, and any vendor could discontinue selling to us at any time. In the event that one or more of our vendors is unable or unwilling to meet the quantity or quality of our product requirements, we may not be able to develop relationships with new vendors in a manner that is sufficient to supply the shortfall. Even if we do identify such new vendors, we may experience product shortages and customer backorders as we transition our product requirements to incorporate alternative suppliers. Our relationship with any new vendor would be subject to the same or similar risks as those of our existing suppliers.

Furthermore, our growth strategy includes expanding our product assortment, and our performance depends on our ability to purchase our merchandise in sufficient quantities at competitive prices. However, many of our key products are produced by artisans, specialty vendors and other vendors that are small, undercapitalized or that may have limited production capacity, and we have from time to time in prior periods experienced supply constraints that have affected our ability to supply high demand items or new products due to such capacity and other limits in our vendor base.

A number of our vendors, particularly our artisan vendors, may have limited financial or other resources and operating histories and may receive various forms of credit from us, including with respect to payment terms or other arrangements. In some cases, we have advanced payments to vendors in order to assist a vendor in funding additional merchandise production to meet our orders. We may advance a portion of the payments to be made to some vendors under our purchase orders prior to the delivery of the ordered products. These advance payments are normally unsecured. Vendors may become insolvent and their failure to repay our advances, and any failure to deliver products to us, could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. There can be no assurance that the capacity of any particular vendor will continue to be able to meet our supply requirements in the future, as our vendors may be susceptible to production difficulties or other factors that negatively affect the quantity or quality of their production during future periods. A disruption in the ability of our significant vendors to access liquidity could also cause serious disruptions or an overall deterioration of their businesses, which could lead to a significant reduction in their ability to manufacture or ship products to us. Any difficulties that we experience in our ability to obtain products in sufficient quality and quantity from our vendors could have a material adverse effect on our business.

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Our vendors may sell similar or identical products to our competitors or on their own, which could harm our business.

Because the arrangements with our vendors are generally not exclusive, many of our vendors might be able to sell similar or identical products to our competitors. Our competitors may enter into arrangements with suppliers that could impair our ability to sell those suppliers’ products, including by requiring suppliers to enter into exclusive arrangements, which could limit our ability to enter into arrangements with such suppliers or otherwise access their products. Such competitors may also purchase products in significantly greater volume that we do, which may enable them to sell the products at reduced cost or flood the market with similar products.

Our vendors could also initiate or expand sales of their products through vendor-owned stores or through the Internet to the retail market and therefore directly compete with us or sell their products through outlet centers or discount stores, increasing the competitive pricing pressure we face.

Any of the above factors could negatively affect our business and results of operations.

Defective merchandise purchased from our vendors could damage our reputation and brand image and harm our business, and we may not have adequate remedies against our vendors for defective merchandise.

We are engaged in a number of initiatives to enhance the quality of our customers’ experience, which we expect will require significant expenditures in the near term and which are expected to include increasingly significant operational and other changes in the near term, such as increased attention to the quality of the products that we sell. From time to time we have recalled products from the market due to quality or other issues. Despite our ongoing efforts to improve customers’ satisfaction with their experience at RH, we may fail to maintain the necessary level of quality for some of our products in order to satisfy our customers. For example, our vendors may not be able to continuously adhere to our quality control standards, and we might not identify a quality deficiency before merchandise ships to our stores or customers. Our failure to supply high quality merchandise in a timely and effective manner to our customers could damage our reputation and brand image, and could lead to an increase in product returns or exchanges or customer litigation against us and a corresponding increase in our routine and non-routine litigation costs. Further, any merchandise that does not meet our quality standards or applicable government requirements could trigger high rates of customer complaints or returns or could become subject to a product recall, which could in turn damage our reputation and brand image, result in consumer litigation (including class-action lawsuits), and harm our business.

Even if we detect that merchandise is defective before such merchandise is shipped to our customers, we may not be able to return such products to the vendor, obtain a refund of our purchase price from the vendor or obtain other indemnification from the vendor. The limited capacities of certain of our vendors may constrain the ability of such vendors to replace any defective merchandise in a timely manner. Similarly, the limited capitalization and liquidity of certain of our vendors may result in such vendors being unable to refund our purchase price or pay applicable penalties or damages associated with any such defects.

Our results may be adversely affected by fluctuations in raw materials, energy costs and currency exchange rates.

Increases in the prices of the components and raw materials used in our products could negatively affect the sales of our merchandise and our product margins. Alternatively, the strength of the U.S. dollar may negatively impact the ability of some of our customers to purchase our goods. We believe some portion of our business depends on non US consumers including sales in our stores in Canada and Waterworks showrooms in the U.K. as well as sales in some of our U.S. based stores which have a high degree of visitors from other countries who purchase goods from us while visiting the United States.

Changes in prices for raw materials and fluctuations in exchange rates are dependent on a number of factors beyond our control, including macroeconomic factors which may affect commodity prices (including prices for oil, lumber and cotton); changes in supply and demand; general economic conditions; labor costs; competition; import duties, tariffs, anti-dumping duties and other similar costs; currency exchange rates and government regulation. In addition, energy costs have fluctuated dramatically in the past. Depending on the nature of changes in these different factors that affect our business, we may experience an adverse impact on our business for different reasons including increased costs of operation or lower demand for our products. We may experience slower demand from customers in markets that depend upon energy prices for a portion of their economic activity.

Changes in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies, including the Chinese Yuan, may increase our vendors’ cost of business and ultimately our cost of goods sold and our selling, general and administrative costs. If we are unable to pass such cost increases on to our customers or the higher cost of the products results in decreased demand for our products, our results of operations would be harmed.

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We are subject to risks associated with occupying substantial amounts of space, including future increases in occupancy costs. We own certain properties, and we may choose in the future to acquire further properties, including store locations, which subject us to additional risks.

We lease all but two of our retail store locations and we also lease our outlet stores, our corporate headquarters and other storage and office space, and our distribution and home delivery facilities. The initial lease term of our retail stores generally ranges from ten to fifteen years, and certain leases contain renewal options for anywhere from ten to twenty-five years. The initial lease term for one of our next generation Design Galleries is forty-one years, and contains renewal options for five years. Most leases for our retail stores provide for a minimum rent, typically including escalating rent amounts, plus a percentage rent based upon sales after certain minimum thresholds are achieved, as well as common area maintenance charges, real property insurance and real estate taxes. We purchased the building and land for our store in San Francisco and one of our Toronto store locations, and we own two properties in Yountville, California, one is the location of our wine tasting room and the other is expected to become the location of a Design Gallery in the future. We previously entered into a real estate joint venture transaction related to the development of our Patterson distribution center. As we develop new stores, new store formats and other new strategic initiatives in the future, we may explore other models for our real estate, which could include further purchases of, or joint ventures or other forms of equity ownership in, real estate interests associated with new sites and buildings. These approaches might include complicated real estate transactions and require additional capital investment and could present different risks related to the ownership and developments of real estate compared to those risks associated with a traditional store lease with a landlord, including greater financial exposure if our plans for the relevant real estate are not as successful as we originally anticipate or if the value of the real estate we acquire subsequently decreases.

If we decide to close an existing or future store, we may nonetheless have continuing obligations with respect to that property pursuant to the applicable lease or ownership arrangements, including, among other things, paying the base rent for the balance of the lease term. Our ability to re-negotiate favorable terms on an expiring lease, to arrange for the sale of an owned property or to negotiate favorable terms for a suitable alternate location could depend on conditions in the real estate market, competition for desirable properties, our relationships with current and prospective landlords and other factors that are not within our control. Our inability to enter into new leases or renew existing leases on terms acceptable to us or be released from our obligations under leases or other obligations for stores that we close could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.

A number of factors that affect our ability to successfully open new stores within the time frames we initially target or optimize our store footprint are beyond our control, and these factors may harm our ability to execute our strategy of sizing stores to the potential of the market, which may negatively affect our results of operations.

We are focused on sizing our assortments and our stores to the potential of the market by adjusting the square footage and number of stores on a geographic market-by-market basis. We plan to optimize our real estate by continuing to open larger square footage Galleries in key markets and relocating or closing selected stores in these or adjacent markets. When we address the introduction of new stores in a particular market or changes to, or closure of, existing stores, we must make a series of decisions regarding the size and location of new stores (or the existing stores slated to undergo changes or closure) and the impact on our other existing stores in the area or being without presence or “out of the market”.

Our ability to maximize the productivity of our retail store base, depends on many factors, including, among others, our ability to:

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We have experienced delays in opening some new stores within the time frames we initially targeted, and may experience such delays again in the future. Any of the above challenges or other similar challenges could delay or prevent us from completing store openings or the additional remodeling of existing stores or hinder the operations of stores we open or remodel. If any of these challenges delays the opening of a store, our results of operations will be negatively affected as we will incur leasing and other costs during the delay without associated store revenue at such location. New or remodeled stores may also not be profitable or achieve our target return on investment. Unfavorable economic and business conditions and other events could also interfere with our plans to expand or modify store footprints. Our failure to effectively address challenges such as those listed above could adversely affect our ability to successfully open new stores or change our store footprint in a timely and cost-effective manner and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Reductions in the volume of mall and other in-store traffic or the closing of shopping malls as a result of changing demographic patterns could significantly reduce our sales.

Although many of the new Design Galleries that we have opened are being developed outside of the shopping mall setting, a significant portion of our existing footprint of legacy Galleries is currently located in shopping malls. Sales at stores located in malls are derived, in part, from the volume of traffic in those malls. These stores benefit from the ability of the malls to generate consumer traffic in the vicinity of our stores and the continuing popularity of the malls as shopping destinations and positive experiences.

However, in recent years there has been a shift in consumer preferences to purchasing certain products online rather than in stores. This shift, particularly when coupled with past unfavorable economic conditions in certain regions, has adversely affected mall traffic in some regions and has threatened the viability of certain commercial real estate firms that operate major shopping malls. A continuation of such trend, could adversely impact the sales generated by our stores currently located in shopping malls.

If we are unable to successfully optimize and operate our distribution centers, furniture home delivery hubs and customer service centers, as well as fulfill orders and deliver our merchandise to our customers in a timely manner, our business and results of operations will be harmed.

Our business depends upon the successful operation of our distribution centers, furniture home delivery hubs and customer service centers, as well as upon our order management and fulfillment services and the re-stocking of inventories within our stores. The efficient flow of our merchandise requires that our facilities have adequate capacity to support our current level of operations and any anticipated increased levels that may follow from any growth of our business.

We are currently engaged in efforts to improve the quality of our customer experience, which includes making changes to the way in which we operate our distributions centers, furniture home delivery hubs and customer service centers. Additionally, we plan to invest significant time architecting a new fully integrated back-end operating platform, inclusive of the supply chain network, the home delivery experience as well as a new metric driven quality system and company-wide decision data. Some of these efforts may require us to make significant expenditures in periods in the near term, which may also have a negative effect on our results of operations if there is no associated increase in revenues or decrease in returns or if any such effect is less than anticipated. There can be no assurance however that any of these efforts will be successful or that we will not encounter additional difficulties in achieving higher levels of customer satisfaction.

We are also engaged in initiatives to rationalize our SKU count, and in order to realize the anticipated benefits of such initiatives, including through lower inventories and reduced working capital, we are currently focused on optimizing the use of our current distribution centers over opening new distribution centers as well as potentially consolidating our existing distribution centers. While we believe that optimizing and potentially consolidating our distribution centers will allow us to more efficiently manage our inventory and optimize our uses of capital, in the short term such strategy may result in additional costs, including increased freight costs and lease early termination fees. Furthermore, in the past, during periods of significant customer growth and demand, we have found that our distribution centers often run at capacity. If we fail to accurately anticipate the future capacity requirements of our distribution centers, we may experience delays and difficulties in fulfilling orders and delivering merchandise to customers in a timely manner. Furthermore, we may be unable to remedy such issues quickly as opening additional distribution and home delivery facilities can face operational difficulties, such as disruptions in transitioning fulfillment orders to the new distribution facilities and problems associated with operating new facilities or reducing the size and changing functions of existing facilities. These difficulties can result in a negative experience for our customers. Any delays in fulfilling orders and delivering merchandise to customers, or related negative experience of our customers, could harm our results of operations.

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We currently rely upon independent third-party transportation providers for the majority of our product shipments, which subjects us to certain risks.

We currently rely upon independent third-party transportation providers for product shipments from our vendors to our stores and to our customers outside of certain areas. Our utilization of third-party delivery services for shipments is subject to risks, including increases in fuel prices, which would increase our shipping costs, as well as strikes, work stoppages and inclement weather, which may impact shipping companies’ abilities to provide delivery services that adequately meet our shipping needs. For example, strikes or even threat of strikes involving longshoreman and clerical workers at ports in the past few years have completely shut down such ports for periods of time, impacting retail and other industries. If we change shipping companies, we could face logistical difficulties that could adversely affect deliveries and we would incur costs and expend resources in connection with such change. Moreover, we may not be able to obtain terms as favorable as those received from the third-party transportation providers we currently use, which in turn would increase our costs.

Our operations have significant liquidity and capital requirements and depend on the availability of adequate financing on reasonable terms. If we are unable to borrow sufficient capital when needed, it could have a significant negative effect on our ability to grow our business.

We have historically relied on the availability of some amount of debt financing. Although currently there are no amounts outstanding under Restoration Hardware, Inc.’s revolving line of credit, we completed debt financings in fiscal 2014 and fiscal 2015 through the issuance of two series of convertible senior notes for an aggregate principal amount of $650 million. As a result of the availability under our revolving line of credit and the proceeds we received from our convertible senior note financings, we currently have sufficient capital for the operation of our business in the near term.

On the other hand, we may expend some significant portion of our capital on investments in our business, the acquisition of new businesses and our significant number of concurrent initiatives. In addition, our capital needs may change in the future due to changes in our business or new opportunities that we choose to pursue. We have invested significant capital expenditures in remodeling and opening new Galleries, and these capital expenditures have increased in the past and may continue to increase in future periods as we open additional next generation Design Galleries, which may require us to undertake upgrades to historical buildings or construction of new buildings. During fiscal 2016, we spent $157.6 million for capital expenditures. Additionally, we made payments of $23.4 million in fiscal 2016 to escrow accounts for future construction of next generation Design Galleries. We anticipate our gross capital expenditures to be approximately $140 million to $160 million for fiscal 2017. We expect our fiscal 2017 capital expenditures will be offset by proceeds from sales of assets of approximately $15 million to $25 million. We plan to continue opening next generation Design Galleries in select major metropolitan markets, pursuing category extensions of our brand, and exploring new business areas. We own the building and land for our Gallery in San Francisco and for one of our Toronto Galleries, as well as the location of our wine tasting room in Yountville, California, which is expected to be the location of a Design Gallery in the future, but to date we have principally relied upon leases with landlords for our other locations. As we develop new Galleries, as well as potentially other strategic initiatives in the future like our integrated hospitality experience; we may explore other models for our real estate, which could include longer lease terms or further purchases of, or joint ventures or other forms of equity ownership in, real estate interests associated with new sites and buildings. These approaches might require greater capital investment than a traditional store lease with a landlord. In the event that such capital and other expenditures require us to pursue additional funding sources, we can provide no assurances that we will be successful in securing additional funding on attractive terms or at all.  

In certain circumstances, we may be required to repay the two series of convertible senior notes that we issued in fiscal 2014 and fiscal 2015 with cash payments. See Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Convertible Senior Notes . Additionally, at the time the notes become due, the trading price of our common stock may be such that we may find it necessary to settle the notes in cash.

There can be no assurance that we will have sufficient financial resources, or will be able to arrange financing, to pay the amount of cash due if holders surrender their notes for conversion. In addition, agreements governing any debt may restrict our ability to make each of the required cash payments even if we have sufficient funds to make them. Furthermore, our ability to purchase the notes or to pay cash upon the conversion of the notes may be limited by law or regulatory authority. In addition, if we fail to purchase the notes, to pay special interest, if any, due on the notes, or to pay the amount of cash due upon conversion, we will be in default under the respective indentures governing the notes, which in turn may result in the acceleration of other indebtedness we may then have. If the repayment of the other indebtedness were to be accelerated, we may not have sufficient funds to repay that indebtedness and to purchase the notes or to pay the amount of cash due upon conversion.

The need to repay such convertible senior notes could cause us to incur additional borrowings or the sale of additional notes to investors. We may also experience cash flow shortfalls in the future, and we may otherwise require additional external funding, or we may need to raise funds to take advantage of unanticipated opportunities, to make acquisitions of other businesses or companies or to

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respond to changing business conditi ons or unanticipated competitive pressures. Any weakening of, or other adverse developments in, the U.S. or global credit markets could affect our ability to manage our debt obligations and our ability to access future debt. We cannot assure you that we wi ll be able to raise necessary funds on favorable terms, if at all, or that future financing requirements would not be dilutive to holders of our capital stock. If we fail to raise sufficient additional funds, we may be required to delay or abandon some of our planned future expenditures or aspects of our current operations.

If we lose key personnel or are unable to hire additional qualified personnel, our business may be harmed.

The success of our business depends upon the continued service of our key personnel, including our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Gary Friedman, as well as other members of our senior management responsible for merchandise assortment and other business operations. The loss of the services of our key personnel could make it more difficult to successfully operate our business and achieve our business goals. Our key officers and directors periodically travel together while on company business. We do not have a policy that prohibits key officers and directors from flying together, whether flying commercially or in our corporate aircraft. In addition, we do not maintain key man life insurance policies on any of our key personnel. As a result, we may not be able to cover the financial loss we may incur in losing the services of any of our key personnel.

Competition for qualified employees and personnel in the retail industry is intense, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area where our headquarters are located, and we may be unable to retain personnel that are important to our business or hire additional qualified personnel. The process of identifying personnel with the combination of skills and attributes required to carry out our goals is often lengthy. Our success depends to a significant degree upon our ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified management, marketing and sales personnel, and store managers, and upon the continued contributions of these people. In addition, our complex operations require the services of qualified and experience management personnel, with expertise in the areas including information technology and supply chain management. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in attracting and retaining qualified executives and personnel.

In addition, our success depends in part upon our ability to attract, motivate and retain a sufficient number of store employees who understand and appreciate our corporate culture and customers. Turnover in the retail industry and food and beverage industry is generally high. Excessive employee turnover will result in higher employee costs associated with finding, hiring and training new store employees. If we are unable to hire and retain store personnel capable of consistently providing a high level of customer service, our ability to open new stores and to expand our food and beverage business may be impaired, the performance of our existing and new stores could be materially adversely affected and our brand image may be negatively impacted.

Material damage to, or interruptions in, our information systems as a result of external factors, staffing shortages and difficulties in updating our existing software or developing or implementing new software could have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations, and we may be exposed to risks and costs associated with protecting the integrity and security of our customers’ information.

We depend largely upon our information technology systems in the conduct of all aspects of our operations, many of which we have only adopted and implemented within the past several years or are in the midst of implementing in connection with rebuilding our supply chain and infrastructure. Our operations are also dependent on the information technology systems of our third party vendors. Such systems are subject to damage or interruption from power outages, computer and telecommunications failures, computer viruses, security breaches and natural disasters. In addition, damage or interruption can also occur as a result of non-technical issues, including vandalism, catastrophic events, and human error. If a computer hacker or other third party is able to circumvent our security measures, he or she could destroy or steal valuable information or disrupt our operations. Because techniques used to obtain unauthorized access or to sabotage systems change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. Damage or interruption to our information systems may require a significant investment to fix or replace the affected system, and we may suffer interruptions in our operations in the interim. Any material interruptions or failures in our systems or the systems of our third party vendors may have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations.

Additionally, in order for our business to function successfully, we and other market participants must be able to handle and transmit confidential and personal information securely, including in customer orders placed through our website. That information may include data about our customers, including personally identifiable information and credit card information, as well as sensitive information about our vendors and workforce, including social security numbers and bank account information. If our systems are damaged, interrupted or subject to unauthorized access, information about our customers, vendors or workforce could be stolen or misused. Any security breach could expose us to risks of data loss, fines, litigation and liability and could seriously disrupt our operations and harm our reputation, any of which could adversely affect our business. We may be subject to one or more claims or lawsuits related to the intentional or unintentional release of confidential or personal information, including personally identifiable information about our customers, vendors or workforce. In addition to the possibility of fines, lawsuits and other claims, we could be

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required to expend significant resources to chang e our business practices or modify our service offerings in connection with the protection of personally identifiable information, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Any breach could also cause consumers to lose confidence in the s ecurity of our website and choose not to purchase from us.

We are also subject to payment card association rules and network operating rules, including data security rules, certification requirements and rules governing electronic funds transfers, which could change over time. For example, we are subject to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (“PCI DSS”), which contain compliance guidelines and standards with regard to our security surrounding the physical and electronic storage, processing and transmission of individual cardholder data. As of October 1, 2015, the payment card industry shifted the liability of certain credit card transactions to retailers who are not able to process Europay, MasterCard, Visa (“EMV”) chip enabled card transactions. As a result, before our implementation of the EVM technology is complete, we may be liable for costs incurred by payment card issuing banks or other third parties for fraudulent transactions initiated through EMV chip enabled cards before our implementation of EMV chip technology. In addition, if our internal systems are breached or compromised, we may be liable for card re-issuance costs, subject to fines and higher transaction fees and lose our ability to accept credit and/or debit card payments from our members, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.

States and the federal government have enacted additional laws and regulations to protect consumers against identity theft, including laws governing treatment of personally identifiable information. These laws have increased the costs of doing business and, if we fail to implement appropriate safeguards or we fail to detect and provide prompt notice of unauthorized access as required by some of these laws, we could be subject to potential claims for damages and other remedies. If we were required to pay any significant amount in satisfaction of claims under these laws, or if we were forced to cease our business operations for any length of time as a result of our inability to comply fully with any such law, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. We may also incur legal costs if we are required to defend our methods of collection, processing and storage of personal data. Investigations, lawsuits, or adverse publicity relating to our methods of handling personal data could result in increased costs and negative market reaction.

Furthermore, data security breaches suffered by well-known companies and institutions have attracted a substantial amount of media attention, prompting additional state and federal proposals addressing data privacy and security. As the data privacy and security laws and regulations evolve, we may be subject to more extensive requirements to protect the customer information that we process in connection with the purchases of our products. Our failure to successfully respond to these risks and uncertainties could reduce website sales and have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations.

We currently maintain insurance to protect against cybersecurity risks and incidents. However, there can be no assurance that such insurance coverage will be available in the future on commercially reasonable terms or at commercially reasonable rates. In addition, insurance coverage may be insufficient or may not cover certain cybersecurity losses and liability.

We face product liability risks and certain of our products may be subject to recalls or other actions by regulatory authorities, and any such recalls or similar actions could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We face product liability, product safety and product compliance risks relating to the design, manufacturing, raw material sourcing, testing, contents, importation, sale, use and performance of some of our products. The products we sell must be designed and manufactured to be safe for their intended purposes. Some of our products must comply with certain federal and state laws and regulations. For example, some of our products are subject to the Consumer Product Safety Act, the Federal Hazardous Substances Act and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, or the “CPSIA”, which empower the Consumer Product Safety Commission, or the “CPSC”, to establish product bans, substance bans, substance limits, performance requirements, test methods and other compliance verification processes. The CPSC is empowered to take action against hazards presented by consumer products, up to and including product recalls. We are required to report certain incidents related to the safety and compliance of our products to the CPSC, and failure to do so could result in a civil penalty. The CPSC is particularly active in regulation and enforcement activities related to the kinds of children’s products sold in our RH Baby & Child division. Certain of the products we sell are subject to the Lacey Act, prohibiting the importation and sale of products containing illegally harvested wood, among other things. Likewise, many of our products are subject to the regulations of the California Air Resources Board, or the “CARB”, regarding formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products (e.g., plywood and medium density fiberboard).

If we experience negative publicity, regardless of any factual basis, customer complaints or litigation alleging illness or injury, related to our products, or if there are allegations of failure to comply with applicable regulations, our brand reputation would be harmed.

We maintain a product safety and compliance program to help ensure our products are safe, legal and made consistently in compliance with our values. Nevertheless, our products have, from time to time, been subject to recall for product safety and compliance reasons, and concerns of product safety and compliance could result in future voluntary or involuntary removal of products, product recalls, other actions by applicable government authorities or product liability, personal injury or property damage claims.

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Federal, state, provincial and local legislators and regulators in the United States, Canada and the U.K., where our products are sold, continue to adopt new product laws and regulations. These new laws and regulations have increased or likely will significantly increase the regulatory requirements governing the manufactu re and sale of certain of our products as well as the potential penalties for noncompliance with applicable regulations . In addition, product recalls, removal of products, product compliance enforcement actions and defending product liability claims can re sult in, among other things, lost sales, diverted resources, potential harm to our reputation and increased customer service costs, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

There are claims made against us and/or our management from time to time that can result in litigation or regulatory proceedings, which could distract management from our business activities and result in significant liability.

From time to time, we and/or our management are involved in litigation, claims and other proceedings relating to the conduct of our business, including purported class action litigation. Such legal proceedings may include claims related to our employment practices, claims of intellectual property infringement, including with respect to trademarks and trade dress, claims asserting unfair competition and unfair business practices, claims with respect to our collection and sale of reproduction products, consumer class action claims relating to our consumer practices including the collection of zip code or other information from customers, and claims alleging securities fraud. In addition, from time to time, we are subject to product liability and personal injury claims for the products that we sell and the stores we operate. Subject to certain exceptions, our purchase orders generally require the vendor to indemnify us against any product liability claims; however, if the vendor does not have insurance or becomes insolvent, we may not be indemnified. In addition, we could face a wide variety of employee claims against us, including general discrimination, privacy, labor and employment, ERISA and disability claims. Any claims could result in litigation against us and could also result in regulatory proceedings being brought against us by various federal and state agencies that regulate our business, including the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Often these cases raise complex factual and legal issues, which are subject to risks and uncertainties and which could require significant management time . Litigation and other claims and regulatory proceedings against our management or us could result in unexpected expenses and liability and could also materially adversely affect our operations and our reputation.

Intellectual property claims by third parties or our failure or inability to protect our intellectual property rights could diminish the value of our brand and weaken our competitive position.

Third parties have and may in the future assert intellectual property claims against us, particularly as we expand our business to include new products and product categories and move into other geographic markets. Our defense of any claim, regardless of its merit, could be expensive and time consuming and could divert management resources. Successful infringement claims against us could result in significant monetary liability and prevent us from selling some of our products. In addition, resolution of claims may require us to redesign our products, license rights from third parties or cease using those rights altogether, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We currently rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, patent, trade dress and unfair competition laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and licensing arrangements, to establish and protect our intellectual property rights. We believe that our trademarks and other proprietary rights have significant value and are important to identifying and differentiating certain of our products and brand from those of our competitors and creating and sustaining demand for certain of our products. We have from time to time encountered other retailers selling products substantially similar to our products or misrepresenting that the products such retailers were selling were our products. We cannot assure you that the steps taken by us to protect our intellectual property rights will be adequate to prevent infringement of our rights by others, including imitation of our products and misappropriation of our brand. The costs of defending and enforcing our intellectual property assets may incur significant time and legal expense, and we may not be entirely successful in protecting our assets and enforcing our rights. If we are unable to protect and maintain our intellectual property rights, the value of our brand could be diminished and our competitive position could suffer.

Compliance with laws, including laws relating to our business activities outside of the United States, may be costly, and changes in laws could make conducting our business more expensive or otherwise change the way we do business.

We are subject to numerous regulations, including labor and employment, customs, truth-in-advertising, consumer protection, e-commerce, privacy, safety, real estate, environmental and zoning and occupancy laws, and other laws and regulations that regulate retailers generally or govern our business. If these regulations were to change or were violated by us or our vendors or buying agents, the costs of certain goods could increase, or we could experience delays in shipments of our goods, be subject to fines or penalties, or suffer reputational harm, which could reduce demand for our products and harm our business and results of operations.

In addition to increased regulatory compliance requirements, changes in laws could make ordinary conduct of our business more expensive or require us to change the way we do business. For example, as a retail business, changes in laws related to employee

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benefits and treatment of employees, including laws related to limitations on employee hours, supervisory status, leaves of absence, mandated health benefits or overtime pay, could negatively impact us by increasing compe nsation and benefits costs for overtime and medical expenses. In addition, relatively new United States health care laws and potential global and domestic greenhouse gas emission requirements and other environmental legislation and regulations could result in increased direct compliance costs for us (or may cause our vendors to raise the prices they charge us in order to maintain profitable operations because of increased compliance costs), increased transportation costs or reduced availability of raw mater ials.

In fiscal 2016 we sourced 88% of our products from outside the United States, and we are increasing the level of our international sourcing activities in an effort to obtain more of our products directly from vendors located outside the United States. Additionally, we have expanded our business-to-business sales. The foreign and U.S. laws and regulations that are applicable to our operations are complex and may increase the costs of regulatory compliance, or limit or restrict the products or services we sell or subject our business to the possibility of regulatory actions or proceedings. The United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other similar laws and regulations, generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign governmental officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. While our policies mandate compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including anti-bribery laws and other anti-corruption laws, we cannot assure you that we will be successful in preventing our employees or other agents from taking actions in violation of these laws or regulations. Such violations, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Labor organizing and other activities could negatively impact us.

Currently, none of our employees are represented by a union. However, our employees have the right at any time to form or affiliate with a union, and union organizational activities have occurred from time to time. We cannot predict the negative effects that any future organizing activities will have on our business and operations. If we were to become subject to work stoppages, we could experience disruption in our operations and increases in our labor costs, either of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

In addition, several of our retail stores are currently under construction. If the contractors we hire to perform the construction work do not employ union labor, our locations may be subject to picketing and other labor actions that could discourage our customers from entering our stores, which could adversely affect our business at those locations and our results of operations, including our same-store sales metrics.

Fluctuations in our tax obligations and effective tax rate and realization of our deferred tax assets, including net operating loss carryforwards, may result in volatility of our results of operations.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions. We record income tax expense based on our estimates of future payments, which include reserves for uncertain tax positions in multiple tax jurisdictions, and valuation allowances related to certain net deferred tax assets, including net operating loss carryforwards. At any one time, many tax years are subject to audit by various taxing jurisdictions. The results of these audits and negotiations with taxing authorities may affect the ultimate settlement of these issues. Under United States federal and state income tax laws, if over a rolling three-year period, the cumulative change in our ownership exceeds 50%, our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income may be limited. Changes in ownership can occur due to transactions in our stock or the issuance of additional shares of our common stock or, in certain circumstances, securities convertible into our common stock. It is possible that transactions in our stock that may not be within our control may cause us to exceed the 50% cumulative change threshold and may impose a limitation on the utilization of our net operating loss carryforwards in the future. Any such limitation on the timing of utilizing our net operating loss carryforwards would increase the use of cash to settle our tax obligations. We expect that throughout the year there could be ongoing variability in our quarterly tax rates as events occur and exposures are evaluated.

In addition, our effective tax rate in a given financial statement period may be materially impacted by changes in the mix and level of earnings, timing of the utilization of net operating loss carryforwards, changes in the valuation allowance for deferred taxes or by changes to existing accounting rules or regulations. Further, tax legislation may be enacted in the future that could negatively impact our current or future tax structure and effective tax rates.

Changes to accounting rules or regulations may adversely affect our results of operations.

New accounting rules or regulations and varying interpretations of existing accounting rules or regulations have occurred and may occur in the future. A change in accounting rules or regulations may even affect our reporting of transactions completed before the change is effective, and future changes to accounting rules or regulations or the questioning of current accounting practices may adversely affect our results of operations.

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Our total assets include intangible assets with an indefinite life, goodwill and trademarks, and substantial amounts of long-lived assets, principally property and equipment. Changes to estimates or projections used to assess the fai r value of these assets, or results of operations that are lower than our current estimates at certain store locations, may cause us to incur impairment charges that could adversely affect our results of operations.

Our total assets include intangible assets with an indefinite life, goodwill and trademarks, and substantial amounts of property and equipment. We make certain estimates and projections in connection with impairment analyses for these long-lived assets. We also review the carrying value of these assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable. We will record an impairment loss when the carrying value of the underlying asset, asset group or reporting unit exceeds its fair value. These calculations require us to make a number of estimates and projections of future results. If these estimates or projections change, we may be required to record additional impairment charges on certain of these assets. If these impairment charges were significant, our results of operations would be adversely affected. In fiscal 2016, we recorded impairment charges on long-lived assets of $5.5 million due to the decisions made to integrate the RHCA product line into the broader RH platform and of $4.8 million due to the decision to sell an aircraft. No such related charges were recorded in fiscal 2015 or fiscal 2014.

If we are unable to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, the accuracy and timeliness of our financial reporting may be adversely affected.

We are subject to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), which requires us to maintain internal control over financial reporting and to report any material weaknesses in such internal control. We have in the past periodically experienced deficiencies in our internal controls that have been identified during the audit process or at other times. Management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of January 28, 2017. However, if we identify in the future one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we will be unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm is required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Therefore, even if our management concludes in the future that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is qualified if they are not satisfied with our controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated, or reviewed. Material weaknesses and significant deficiencies may be identified during the audit process or at other times.

Our reporting obligations as a public company place a significant strain on our management and our operational and financial resources and systems and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. If we fail to timely achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to produce reliable financial reports. Our failure to achieve and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could prevent us from filing our periodic reports on a timely basis, which could result in the loss of investor confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, harm our business, and negatively impact the trading price of our common stock.

Our operations are subject to risks of natural disasters, acts of war, terrorism or widespread illness, any one of which could result in a business stoppage and negatively affect our results of operations.

Our business operations depend on our ability to maintain and protect our facilities, computer systems and personnel. Our operations and consumer spending may be affected by natural disasters or other similar events, including floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, widespread illness or fires. In particular, our corporate headquarters is located in Northern California, certain of our distribution centers are located in California and other parts of our operations are located in Northern and Southern California, each of which is vulnerable to the effects of disasters, including fires and earthquakes that could disrupt our operations and affect our results of operations. Many of our vendors are also located in areas that may be affected by such events. Moreover, geopolitical or public safety conditions which affect consumer behavior and spending may impact our business. Terrorist attacks in the United States or threats of terrorist attacks in the United States in the future, as well as future events occurring in response to or in connection with them, could again result in reduced levels of consumer spending. Any of these occurrences could have a significant impact on our results of operations, revenue and costs.

If we encounter difficulties associated with any of our facilities or if any of our facilities were to shut down for any reason, including as a result of a natural disaster, we could face shortages of inventory resulting in backorders, significantly higher costs and longer lead times associated with distributing our products to both our stores and online customers and the inability to process orders in a timely manner or ship goods to our customers. Further, any significant interruption in the operation of our customer service centers could also reduce our ability to receive and process orders and provide products and services to our stores and customers, which could result in lost sales, cancelled sales and a loss of loyalty to our brand and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

Our common stock price may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance.

The market price for our common stock has in the past been, and may in the future be volatile. As a retailer, our results are significantly affected by factors outside our control, particularly consumer spending and consumer confidence, which can significantly affect our stock price. In addition, the market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of other factors, including those described elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section, as well as the following:

In addition, stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many retail companies. Stockholders can institute securities class action litigation following periods of market volatility, and we are currently subject to such a class action securities lawsuit. Such securities litigation can incur substantial costs and our resources and the attention of management could be diverted from our business.

We cannot guarantee that our share repurchase program will be successful or enhance stockholder value, and our share repurchase program may negatively affect the volatility of our common stock price.

On February 21, 2017, our Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $300 million. Such repurchase program may be implemented through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or other means, including through Rule 10b5-1 trading plans or through the use of other techniques such as accelerated share repurchases. We can provide no assurances of the exact impact of any share repurchases on our business. The use of capital to repurchase shares may yield beneficial impact on earnings per share but may divert capital from other purposes including other investments that we might undertake with respect to the business.

The repurchase program has no expiration date, does not require the purchase of any minimum number of shares and may be suspended, modified or discontinued at any time without prior notice. Any such suspension, modification or discontinuance of our stock repurchase program could result in a decrease in the trading price of our common stock. In addition, the existence of the repurchase program, repurchases of our common stock pursuant to such program, or a decision not to purchase shares under such program could affect the trading price of our common stock or increase its volatility. For example, the existence of a share repurchase program could cause our stock price to be higher than it would be in the absence of such a program and could potentially reduce the market liquidity for our common stock. Conversely, a prolonged delay in repurchasing shares under the authorized stock repurchase program could negatively impact our reputation and investor confidence in us and may negatively impact our stock price.

In addition, although our stock repurchase program is intended to enhance long-term stockholder value by representing an attractive investment and use of capital by the Company, there can be no assurance that any stock repurchases under the program will in fact enhance stockholder value. For example, the market price of our common stock may subsequently decline below the levels at

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which any repurchases are made. Short-term fluctuations in the market price of our common stock could reduce the program’s effectiveness. Furthermore, any strategy of this kind regarding capital allocation may have unanticipated ef fects on our business and financial results. While we will seek to target capital toward investments that we believe will achieve good returns for our shareholders, these decisions involve a significant amount of judgment regarding the availability of capi tal and the anticipated growth of the business in both revenue and earnings in future periods.

Although our Board of Directors has approved the share repurchase program, we are not obligated to repurchase any specific dollar amount or to acquire any specific number of shares. In addition, although we are not obligated to repurchase any shares under our existing program, we may decide to pursue additional repurchase programs in the future. We may incur debt in connection with our business in the event that we use other cash resources to purchase shares, which may affect the financial performance of our business during future periods or our liquidity and the availability of capital for other needs of the business.

Substantial future sales of our common stock, or the perception in the public markets that these sales may occur, may depress our stock price.

In the future, we may also issue our securities in connection with a capital raise or acquisitions. The amount of shares of our common stock issued in connection with a capital raise or acquisition could constitute a material portion of our then-outstanding shares of our common stock, which would result in dilution.

In addition, sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional shares.

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law might discourage or delay acquisition attempts for us that you might consider favorable.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of our Company more difficult without the approval of our board of directors. These provisions:

Our certificate of incorporation also contains a provision that provides us with protections similar to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), and prevents us from engaging in a business combination with a person who acquires at least 15% of our common stock for a period of three years from the date such person acquired such common stock unless board or stockholder approval is obtained prior to the acquisition, subject to certain exceptions. These anti-takeover provisions and other provisions under Delaware law could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our Company, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing and to cause us to take other corporate actions you desire.

We do not expect to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future.

We do not anticipate that we will pay any cash dividends on shares of our common stock for the foreseeable future. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our board of directors deems relevant. Accordingly, realization of a gain on your investment will depend on the appreciation of the price of our common stock, which may never occur. Investors seeking cash dividends in the foreseeable future should not purchase our common stock.

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We expec t that our common stock may experience increased trading volatility in connection with our Convertible Notes Financings.

In June 2015, we issued $250 million of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2020 and, on July 2, 2015, we issued an additional $50 million pursuant to the exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the initial purchasers as part of the June 2015 offering (collectively, the “2020 Notes”). In June 2014, we issued $300 million of 0.00% convertible senior notes due 2019 and, on June 24, 2014, we issued an additional $50 million pursuant to the exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the initial purchasers as part of the June 2014 offering (the “2019 Notes” and, together with the 2020 Notes, the “Notes”). In connection with each offering of the Notes, we entered into convertible note hedge transactions with certain counterparties (the “Bond Hedge”) and warrant transactions (the “Warrants” and together with the Notes and the Bond Hedge, the “Convertible Notes Financings”) with the same counterparties (the “hedge counterparties”).

We have been advised that, in connection with establishing their initial hedge positions with respect to the Bond Hedge and Warrants, the hedge counterparties and/or their affiliates would likely purchase shares of our common stock or enter into various derivative transactions with respect to our common stock concurrently with, or shortly after, the pricing of the Notes, including with certain investors in the Notes. These hedging activities could increase (or reduce the size of any decrease in) the market price of our common stock or the Notes.

In addition, we expect that many investors in, including future purchasers of, the Notes may employ, or seek to employ, a convertible arbitrage strategy with respect to the Notes. Investors would typically implement such a strategy by selling short the common stock underlying the Notes and dynamically adjusting their short position while continuing to hold the Notes. Investors may also implement this type of strategy by entering into swaps on our common stock in lieu of or in addition to short selling the common stock.

Further, investors in the Notes may periodically modify their arbitrage strategies with respect to the Notes or modify their hedge positions with respect to the Notes from time to time. The hedge counterparties and/or their respective affiliates also may periodically modify their hedge positions from time to time (and are likely to do so during the conversion period relating to any conversion of the Notes or following any repurchase of Notes by us on any fundamental repurchase date or otherwise). Such modifications may be implemented by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our common stock, and/or by purchasing or selling shares of our common stock or other securities of the Company in secondary market transactions and/or open market transactions. The effect, if any, of these transactions and activities on the market price of our common stock or the trading prices of the Notes (which could affect a noteholder’s ability to convert the Notes or the amount and value of the consideration received upon conversion of the Notes) will depend in part on market conditions and cannot be ascertained at this time. Any of these activities, however, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

It is not possible to predict the effect that these hedging or arbitrage strategies adopted by holders of the Notes or counterparties to the Bond Hedge and Warrants will have on the market price of our common stock. For example, the SEC and other regulatory and self-regulatory authorities have implemented various rules and taken certain actions, and may in the future adopt additional rules and take other actions, that may impact those engaging in short selling activity involving equity securities (including our common stock). Such rules and actions include Rule 201 of SEC Regulation SHO, the adoption by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. of a “Limit Up-Limit Down” program, the imposition of market-wide circuit breakers that halt trading of securities for certain periods following specific market declines, and the implementation of certain regulatory reforms required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Any changes in government regulations or other factors that affect the manner in which third parties can engage in hedging strategies, including entering into short sales or swaps on our common stock, could adversely affect the trading prices and the liquidity of the Notes and/or our common stock.

Taken together, the Bond Hedge and Warrants are intended, but not guaranteed, to offset any actual earnings dilution that could occur upon delivery of shares of common stock to satisfy to our conversion obligation under the Notes. For the 2020 Notes, the corresponding Bond Hedge and Warrants are intended to limit the earnings dilution that our stockholders would experience until the Company’s common stock is above approximately $189.00 per share, the strike price of the 2020 Notes warrant transactions, which represented a 100% premium over the closing price of our common stock at the time we entered into the Bond Hedge and Warrants related to the 2020 Notes. For the 2019 Notes, the corresponding Bond Hedge and Warrants are intended to limit the earnings dilution that our stockholders would experience until the Company’s common stock is above approximately $171.98 per share, the strike price of the 2019 Notes warrant transactions, which represented a 100% premium over the closing price of our common stock at the time we entered into the Bond Hedge and Warrants related to the 2019 Notes. However, these transactions are complex, and there can be no assurance that they will operate as planned.

We do not make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any potential effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our common stock. In addition, we do not make any representation that the counterparties to

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those transaction s will engage in these transactions or activities or that these transactions and activities, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice; the counterparties or their affiliates may choose to engage in, or discontinue engaging in, any of these t ransactions or activities with or without notice at any time, and their decisions will be in their sole discretion and not within our control .

We may issue additional shares of our common stock or instruments convertible into shares of our common stock, including in connection with the conversion of the Notes, and thereby materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock and the trading prices of the Notes.

We are not restricted from issuing additional shares of our common stock or other instruments convertible into, or exchangeable or exercisable for, shares of our common stock during the life of each of the Notes. If we issue additional shares of our common stock or instruments convertible into shares of our common stock, it may materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock and, in turn, the trading prices of the Notes. In addition, the conversion of some or all of the Notes may dilute the ownership interests of existing holders of our common stock, and any sales in the public market of any shares of our common stock issuable upon such conversion of the Notes could adversely affect prevailing market prices of our common stock. In addition, the anticipated conversion of the Notes could depress the market price of our common stock.

The fundamental change provisions of the Notes and the terms of the Bond Hedge and Warrants may delay or hinder an otherwise beneficial takeover attempt of us.

The fundamental change purchase rights allow holders of Notes to require us to purchase all or a portion of their Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change. The provisions of the indenture governing the Notes requiring an increase to the conversion rate for conversions in connection with a make-whole fundamental change, including certain corporate transactions such as a change in control, may result in a change in the value of the Notes. Additionally, upon certain change of control transactions, the offsetting Bond Hedge and Warrants that we entered into at the time we issued the Notes may be exercised and/or terminated early. As a result of these provisions, we may be required to make payments to, or renegotiate terms with, holders of the Notes and/or the hedge counterparties.

These features of the Notes and the Bond Hedge and Warrants, including the financial implications of any renegotiation of the above-mentioned provisions, could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control, whether or not it is desired by, or beneficial to, our stockholders, and may result in the acquisition of us being on terms less favorable to our stockholders than it would otherwise be, or could require us to pay a portion of the consideration available in such a transaction to holders of the Notes or Warrants or the counterparties to the Bond Hedge.