November
23, 2010
Via
Edgar
Mr. John
Reynolds
Assistant
Director
Division
of Corporation Finance
United
States Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F
Street, N.E.
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended
December 31, 2009
Filed on March 2, 2010
File No. 001-34382
Dear Mr.
Reynolds:
We have
received your comments to the Form 10-K and Definitive Proxy Statement, filed by
Rocky Brands, Inc. (the “Company”), set forth in your letter dated November 10,
2010 (the “Comment Letter”). For your convenience, we have repeated
the text of your comments, followed by our response.
We
respectfully respond to the comments set out in the Comment Letter as
follows:
Form 10-K Filed on March 2,
2010
Business, page
3
1.
|
We
note the disclosure on page nine that you have one third-party
manufacturer that accounts for approximately 21% of net sales in
2009. Please confirm that in future filings you will provide
the name of the principal supplier, as required by Item 101(h)(4)(v) of
Regulation S-K. Also, please confirm in future filings you will
file any agreements with this supplier as
exhibits.
|
Response: In
future filings, we will provide the name of the principal supplier and will file
any material agreements with this supplier as exhibits.
2.
|
Please
confirm in future filings that you will disclose the duration of the
patents and licensing agreements. See Item 101(h)(4)(vii) of
Regulation S-K. In addition, please confirm in future filings
you will add disclosure to this section of the material terms of the
licensing agreement with W.L. Gore & Associates, as referenced on page
12.
|
Mr. John
Reynolds
Assistant
Director
Division
of Corporation Finance
United
States Securities and Exchange Commission
November
23, 2010
Page
2
Response: In
future filings, we will disclose the duration of the patents and licensing
agreements and a description of the material terms of the licensing agreement
with W.L. Gore & Associates to the extent material to an understanding of
our business.
3.
|
Please
confirm in future filings you will disclose the number of full time
employees, in addition to the total number of employees, as required by
Item 101(h)(4)(xii) of Regulation
S-K.
|
Response: In
future filings, we will disclose the number of full time employees, in addition
to the total number of employees.
Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, page
18
4.
|
The
Management’s Discussion and Analysis section is one of the most critical
aspects of your disclosure. Please confirm in future filings
you will revise this section to provide a more detailed executive overview
to discuss the events, trends, and uncertainties that management views as
most critical to your future revenues, financial position, liquidity, plan
of operations, and results of operations, to the extent known and
foreseeable. To assist you in this regard, please refer to the
Commission Guidance Regarding Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Release No. 33-8350
(December 19, 2003) at
http://www.sec.gov/rules/interp/33-8350.htm. This guidance is
intended to elicit more meaningful disclosure in MD&A in a number of
areas, including the overall presentation and focus of MD&A, with
general emphasis on the discussion and analysis of known trends, demands,
commitments, events and uncertainties, and specific guidance on
disclosures about liquidity, capital resources, and critical
accounting.
|
Response: In
future filings, we will revise the Management’s Discussion and Analysis section
to provide a more detailed executive overview to discuss the events, trends, and
uncertainties that management views as most critical to future revenues,
financial position, liquidity, plan of operations, and results of operations, to
the extent known and foreseeable. To assist in this regard, we will
refer to the Commission Guidance Regarding Management’s Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Exhibits, page
33
5.
|
We
note that Exhibits 10.19 and 10.20 are missing exhibits, schedules, or
attachments. We also note that Exhibit 10.1 to the Form 8-K
filed on January 12, 2005, Exhibit 10.1 to the Form 8-K filed July 5,
2006, Exhibit 10.1 to the Form 8-K filed on November 13, 2006, Exhibit
10.1 to the Form 10-Q filed May 9, 2007, and Exhibit 10.1 to the Form 8-K
filed October 21, 2010 were not filed in their entirety. We
also note that amendment number 2 to the loan and security agreement dated
April 30, 2006 does not appear to have been filed as an
exhibit. Please confirm that you will file these exhibits in
their entirety as required by Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K with you
next periodic report.
|
Mr. John
Reynolds
Assistant
Director
Division
of Corporation Finance
United
States Securities and Exchange Commission
November
23, 2010
Page
3
Response: We will
file the above-referenced exhibits in their entirety with our next periodic
report.
Definitive Proxy Statement
Filed on April 23, 2010
Election of Directors, page
2
6.
|
Please
confirm in future filings that you will briefly discuss the specific
experience, qualifications, attributes or skills that led to the
conclusion that your directors or nominees should serve on the board in
light of your business and structure. We note the mere listing
of your directors’ business experience is insufficient to meet the
requirements of item 401(e) of Regulation S-K. Please also
provide us with draft disclosure in a supplemental response
letter.
|
Response: In
future filings, we will discuss the specific experience, qualifications,
attributes or skills that led to the conclusion that our directors or nominees
should serve on the board in light of our business and
structure. Please see Exhibit A of this
letter under the heading “Elections of Directors, page
2” for draft disclosure regarding this comment.
Information Concerning the
Board of Directors and Corporate Governance, page 5
7.
|
We
note on page six of your proxy statement you disclose your nominating
committee reviews director candidates’ “character, judgment, and skills,
including financial literacy, and experience in the context of the needs
of the Board of Directors.” Please confirm in future filings
you will provide disclosure as to whether, and if so how, you consider
diversity in identifying nominees for director, as required by Item
407(c)(2)(vi) of Regulation S-K. Please also provide us with
draft disclosure in a supplemental response
letter.
|
Response: In
future filings, we will provide disclosure as to whether, and if so how, we
consider diversity in identifying nominees for director. Please see
Exhibit A of
this letter under the heading “Information Concerning the
Board of Directors and Corporate Governance, page 5” for draft disclosure
regarding this comment.
Mr. John
Reynolds
Assistant
Director
Division
of Corporation Finance
United
States Securities and Exchange Commission
November
23, 2010
Page
4
8.
|
Please
confirm in future filings you will provide the disclosure required by Item
407(h) of Regulation S-K. Please also provide us with draft
disclosure in a supplemental
letter.
|
Response: In
future filings, we will provide the disclosure required by Item 407(h) of
Regulation S-K. Please see Exhibit A of this
letter under the heading “Information Concerning the
Board of Directors and Corporate Governance, page 5” for draft disclosure
regarding this comment.
Executive Compensation, page
10
9.
|
We
note your disclosure on page 11 that your compensation committee typically
meets with “outside advisors.” Please confirm in future filings
you will provide the disclosure required by Item 407(e)(3)(iii) of
Regulation S-K to the extent compensation consultants were
utilized. Please also provide us with draft disclosure in a
supplemental response letter.
|
Response: In
future filings, we will provide the disclosure required by Item 407(e)(3)(iii)
of Regulation S-K to the extent compensation consultants are
utilized. During 2009, the compensation committee met with outside
advisors in the form of legal representatives of the Company, but did not use
compensation consultants. In future filings, we will clarify that
such outside advisors are not compensation consultants. We have not
provided draft disclosure with respect to compensation consultants because no
compensation consultants were used during 2009.
* * *
The
Company acknowledges that:
·
|
the
Company is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in
its filings with the Commission (the
“filings”);
|
·
|
staff
comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments do not
foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the
filings; and
|
·
|
the
Company may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding
initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities
laws of the United States.
|
Mr. John
Reynolds
Assistant
Director
Division
of Corporation Finance
United
States Securities and Exchange Commission
November
23, 2010
Page
5
If you
have any questions regarding any of the foregoing, please contact Erin F.
Siegfried, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP, 41 S. High Street, Columbus,
Ohio 43215, telephone (614) 227-2059, and fax (614) 227-2100.
Thank you
for your assistance.
Sincerely,
ROCKY
BRANDS, INC.
/s/ James
E. McDonald
James E.
McDonald
Executive
Vice President and
Chief
Financial Officer
cc: Edwin
Kim
Pamela Howell
Exhibit
A
Definitive Proxy Statement
Filed on April 23, 2010
Election of Directors, page
2
J.
Patrick Campbell has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Universal
Companies since January 1, 2009. Universal Companies is a leading
international distributor of products, equipment, and supplies to spas, skincare
professionals, and resort and destination properties. Mr. Campbell
serves on the board of directors of Universal Companies. From 2005 to
2008, Mr. Campbell served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of
Grantham Education Corporation. From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Campbell acted
as a consultant to various financial institutions and a variety of
corporations. Mr. Campbell also serves on the boards of directors of
various privately held corporations. Mr. Campbell retired as the
President of Nasdaq U.S. Markets in December 2001. From January 1997
to December 2001, he held various executive positions at the Nasdaq Stock
Market, including Chief Operating Officer for Nasdaq Inc. and Chairman of Nasdaq
Investment Products. Prior to joining Nasdaq, Mr. Campbell worked as
a Senior Executive Vice President for The Ohio Company from 1971 to 1996 and
served as a member of their board of directors from 1991 to
1996. Mr.
Campbell’s board member experience, business operations and management
experience in retail and distribution, and the skills and knowledge he acquired
with respect to finance and investments as President of Nasdaq U.S. Markets,
qualify him to continue serving as a member of the Board of
Directors.
Michael
L. Finn has served as President of Central Power Systems, a wholesale
distributor of outdoor power equipment in Columbus, Ohio, since 1985, and
President of Chesapeake Realty Co., a real estate development and management
company in Columbus, Ohio, since 1970. Mr. Finn has also served as
Chairman of the Board of Directors of Power Source Canada, a Canadian
corporation, since 2004, and as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Integrated
Distributors Network, LLC, a Wisconsin corporation, since 2004, both of which
market and distribute outdoor power equipment. Mr. Finn’s board member
experience, operations and management experience in retail and distribution, and
business management experience, including his service as a president of both a
distribution company and real estate development company, qualify him to
continue serving as a member of the Board of Directors.
G.
Courtney Haning has served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Peoples National Bank, a community bank in New Lexington, Ohio, since January
1991. Mr.
Haning’s business management experience in finance, corporate credit, and
community relations, including his service as a chief executive
officer, qualify him to continue serving as a member of the Board of
Directors.
Curtis A.
Loveland has served as Secretary of the Company since October 1992, of Five Star
and Lifestyle since December 1992, of Rocky Canada since July 2003, of Wholesale
and Lehigh since January 2005, and of International since October
2008. Mr. Loveland has been a practicing attorney for 37 years and
has been a partner in the law firm of Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP,
Columbus, Ohio since 1979. Mr. Loveland’s board member
experience and knowledge and skills with respect to corporate governance, public
company regulation, and general business law qualify him to continue serving as
a member of the Board of Directors.
Mike
Brooks has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and its
Subsidiaries since January 2005 and of International since October
2008. Prior to that he served as Chairman, President, and Chief
Executive Officer of the Company from August 1991 to January
2005. Mr. Brooks also has served Lifestyle as President since
November 1988 and as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since December 1992,
and Five Star as President since March 1987, as Chairman since August 1991, and
as Chief Executive Officer since December 1992. Mr. Brooks is a
pattern engineering and shoe design graduate of the Ars Sutoria in Milan,
Italy. After employment with U.S. Shoe Corporation and various
tanning companies, Mr. Brooks returned to the family shoe business in
Nelsonville, Ohio, in 1975, serving first as Manager of Product Development and
a national salesman and then, in 1984, becoming President. He has
been a director of American Apparel and Footwear Association (formerly Footwear
Industries of America) since April 1986 and currently serves on the Executive
Board. Mr.
Brooks’ education with respect to shoe design and business management experience
in product development and strategy development, including decades of service in
the footwear industry, qualify him to continue serving as a member of the Board
of Directors.
Glenn E.
Corlett has been a professor of accounting of the College of Business at Ohio
University, Athens, Ohio, since July 1997 and was Dean of the College from that
date until he retired on June 30, 2007. From 1993 to 1996, Mr.
Corlett was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of N.W. Ayer
& Partners, an international advertising agency, headquartered in New York,
New York. Mr. Corlett also served as Chief Financial Officer of N.W.
Ayer & Partners from 1990 to 1995. Prior to joining N.W. Ayer
& Partners, Mr. Corlett had a long history with PricewaterhouseCoopers where
he was partner-in-charge for mergers and acquisitions in New York from 1988 to
1990; tax partner-in-charge in Denver from 1984 to 1988 and in Cleveland from
1979 to 1984; and held partner and staff positions from 1971 to
1979. Mr. Corlett also serves on the board of directors of Preformed
Line Products Company, an international designer and manufacturer of products
and systems employed in the construction and maintenance of overhead and
underground networks for energy, communications and broadband network
companies. Mr. Corlett’s education and
business management experience in the areas of marketing, finance, treasury,
accounting, and tax, including the skills and knowledge he developed as an
accounting practitioner and educator, qualify him to continue serving as a
member of the Board of Directors.
Harley E.
Rouda, Jr. has served as Chief Executive Officer of Trident, Inc., an
independently-owned real estate brokerage and related services firm
headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, since February 2002. He also serves
as President of Real Living Real Estate, a national franchisor of real estate
services headquartered in Columbus, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois, since November
2009. He has also served as Chief Executive Officer and General
Counsel of HER Realtors, a Columbus based real estate firm, since May 1999 and
May 1997, respectively. Prior to serving as Chief Executive Officer,
Mr. Rouda served as President of HER Realtors from May 1996 until May
1999. Mr.
Rouda’s business management experience in marketing and operations, including
his service as a chief executive officer, qualify him to continue serving as a
member of the Board of Directors.
James L.
Stewart has served as the proprietor of Rising Wolf Ranch, Inc., East Glacier,
Montana, a summer resort and a winter rehabilitation center for teenage boys
involved with drug abuse. Mr. Stewart also consults for various
retail and catalog companies. Between 1984 and 1991, Mr. Stewart
served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Dunns Inc. and as the
Vice President and General Manager of Gander Mountain Inc. Before
that time, he served Sears Roebuck & Co. for 28 years in various management
capacities. Mr. Stewart’s business
management experience in retail sales and marketing, process management, and
corporate leadership qualify him to continue serving as a member of the Board of
Directors.
Information Concerning the
Board of Directors and Corporate Governance, page 5
The
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee has the responsibility to identify
and recommend individuals qualified to become directors. When
considering potential candidates, the Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee reviews the candidate’s character, judgment, and skills, including
financial literacy, and experience in the context of the needs of the Board of
Directors. When considering a nominee for board membership, the
Nominating and Governance Committee evaluates the entirety of the candidate’s
credentials, demonstrated integrity, executive leadership, and financial,
marketing or business knowledge and experience. Neither the Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee or the Board of Directors has a formal policy
with regard to the consideration of diversity in identifying director nominees;
however, how a specific nominee contributes to the diversity of the Board of
Directors is considered by both the Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee and the Board of Directors in determining candidates for the
Board. The Committee and the Board consider diversity by identifying
a nominee’s experience and background and determining how such experience and
background will complement the overall makeup of the Board. The
Committee and the Board prefer nominees who will contribute to a board that is
diverse in terms of business training, experience across a range of industries,
leadership, background, and education. The Company generally
does not pay any third parties to identify or evaluate, or assist in identifying
or evaluating, potential nominees.
Mr. Brooks serves as both
the principal executive officer and the Chairman of the Board of
Directors. Although the Board does not have a lead independent
director position, the Board believes that each incumbent director’s knowledge
of the Company and industry as a result of his years of service on the Board,
and the fact that each of the directors other than Mr. Brooks is independent,
allows the independent directors to provide appropriate independent oversight of
management and to hold management accountable for the execution of
strategy. The Board has determined that its leadership structure,
including each of the committees of the Board, is appropriate because it allows
for beneficial communication between the outside directors and the management of
the Company and effective management of the oversight tasks required of the
Board.
Our Chief Executive Officer
and Chairman is responsible for providing day-to-day leadership and establishing
the Company’s course of action for achieving performance goals, while the other
independent directors provide strategic guidance. The Board of
Directors believes that this structure helps facilitate the role of the
independent directors in the oversight of the Company and the active
participation of the independent directors in setting agendas and establishing
priorities and procedures that work for the Board of Directors. The
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman also acts as a key liaison between the
Board of Directors and management.
Our Chief Executive Officer
and senior management are responsible for the day-to-day management of the risks
we face. Our Board of Directors, as a whole and through its
committees, has responsibility for the oversight of risk management, including
general oversight of (i) the financial exposure of the Company, (ii) risk
exposure as related to the overall Company portfolio and impact on earnings,
(iii), oversight of information technology security and risk, and (iv) all
systems, processes, and organizational structures and people responsible for
finance and risk functions. Certain risks are overseen by committees
of the Board of Directors and these committees make reports to the full Board of
Directors, including reports on noteworthy risk management
issues. Financial risks are overseen by the Audit Committee which
meets with management to review the Company’s major financial risk exposure and
the steps management has taken to monitor and control such
exposures. Compensation risks are overseen by the Compensation
Committee.
Members of the Company’s
senior management report to the full Board of Directors about their areas of
responsibility, including reports regarding risk within such areas of
responsibility and the steps management has taken to monitor and control such
exposures. Additional review or reporting of risks is conducted as
needed or as requested by the Board of Directors or its
committees.
We believe that our board
leadership structure promotes effective oversight of the Company’s risk
management by providing unified leadership through a single person, while
allowing for contributions from our independent Board members, all of whom are
fully engaged in Board deliberations and decisions.