the blackstone investment represented approximately 13.5 % ownership of the company as of january 31 , 2014. we believe this investment provides an opportunity to drive shareholder value and refine the strategic direction of the business . 35 the series a preferred stock ranks senior to our common stock with respect to dividend rights and rights on liquidation , winding-up and dissolution . holders of series a preferred stock are entitled to cumulative dividends payable quarterly in cash at a rate of 6 % per annum as well as any dividends declared or paid on common stock and are entitled to vote together with the holders of common stock on an as-converted basis . pursuant to the investment agreement , the series a preferred stock is subject to several different conversion features as well as redemption rights , which are at the option of the holder , the company or contingent events . the conversion rate is subject to customary anti-dilution and other adjustments subject to certain share caps and other restrictions . as a condition of the investment agreement , blackstone received rights to designate two out of eight members of the board of directors . as a result , stephen cannon and jeffrey margolis have resigned from the company 's board and blackstone 's two nominees , prakash melwani and gregg ribatt , have been added to the board of directors . the board of directors will remain at eight members . mr. melwani is currently a senior managing director at blackstone and chief investment officer of the firm 's private equity group ; mr. ribatt most recently served as the president and chief executive officer of collective brands performance + lifestyle group . in addition , on december 27 , 2013 , john mccarvel resigned from his position as president , chief executive officer and director of the company effective upon the earlier to occur of ( i ) april 30 , 2014 or ( ii ) the board of director 's appointment of his successor as ceo . in connection with his resignation , we entered into a separation agreement that will pay mr. mccarvel $ 2.1 million within one year of the effectiveness of his resignation . mr. mccarvel has agreed to continue in a consulting capacity with the company through april 30 , 2014 if his successor is appointed prior to such date . the separation payments are conditioned upon the effectiveness of mr. mccarvel 's release of claims in favor of the company and his compliance with the non-competition , non-solicitation and confidentiality covenants contained in the separation agreement . pursuant to the terms of the investment agreement , as amended , the board of directors formed a special committee on january 24 , 2014 and has granted to such committee the sole power and authority to identify , consider , assess , evaluate , research , and recommend individual nominees for the position of ceo of the company to replace mr. mccarvel . any recommendation from the search committee with respect to a chief executive officer nominee requires the unanimous consent of the members of the special committee , and the board of directors may not appoint a new ceo without the recommendation of the committee . the board of directors has appointed thomas smach , ronald frasch , peter jacobi and prakash melwani as members of the committee . 2013 financial highlights our results for fiscal year 2013 demonstrated our overall focus on becoming the leading brand in casual lifestyle footwear and delivering shareholder value through the balanced global expansion of our direct-to-consumer markets and wholesale partners , innovative product development and strategic financial decisions . we are committed to delivering fun , colorful and comfortable products to the global marketplace through efficient distribution channels with an emphasis on customer service . despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges around the globe , we delivered record revenues and footwear unit sales . our revenues increased 6.2 % to $ 1.2 billion and footwear unit sales increased 8.8 % to 54.3 million pairs sold . we specifically experienced exceptional growth and exceeded expectations in our asia pacific segment and saw marked improvement in our europe segment partially due to slow signs of macroeconomic recovery from prior years . our asia pacific segment remains a key component of the business and a fundamental driver of our growth strategy as all revenue channels experienced double-digit growth within the region . our europe segment experienced drastic improvement in 2013 compared to the prior year as we achieved growth in all three revenue channels . in addition to our 36 positive results , we faced several challenges in the current year relating to our americas and japan segments . specific challenges in our americas segment include wholesale accounts remaining lean on inventory and weak consumer confidence in the region as lingering effects of recessionary traffic and spending continue to impact retail markets . on a constant-currency basis , our japan segment performed on-par with the prior year ; however , limited ability for growth due to macroeconomic turmoil presented a major challenge for us in 2013 as we saw the japanese yen decline approximately 18.0 % on a year-to-date average basis compared to 2012. based solely on currency factors , our year-over-year revenues in our japan segment decreased $ 30.2 million . globally , we continued to focus on and expand our direct-to-consumer channel . on a constant-currency basis , our direct-to-consumer channel sales grew 10.8 % primarily through the addition of 82 global retail locations ( net of store closures ) partially offset by a decrease in global comparable store sales of 2.7 % due to lingering recessionary effects and weak consumer confidence in select markets . the expansion of our retail footprint has led to increased gross margins in the u.s. and other markets around the globe . story_separator_special_tag in addition , we recorded $ 0.3 million of goodwill impairment during the year ended december 31 , 2013 related to our crocs benelux b.v. business , which we purchased in july 2012. foreign currency transaction losses . the line item entitled 'foreign currency transaction losses , net ' is comprised of foreign currency gains and losses from the re-measurement and settlement of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in non-functional currencies and the impact of certain foreign currency derivative instruments . during the year ended december 31 , 2013 , losses on foreign currency transactions increased $ 2.2 million , or 87.1 % , compared to 2012. this increase is primarily related to an $ 8.0 million increase in net losses associated with exposure from day-to-day business transactions in various foreign currencies compared to 2012. this difference was partially offset by a $ 5.8 million increase in net gains associated with our derivative instruments and our ability to hedge foreign currency fluctuations through undesignated forward instruments compared to 2012. income tax expense . during the year ended december 31 , 2013 , income tax expense increased $ 35.3 million resulting in a 72.9 % increase in effective tax rate compared to 2012 , which was primarily the result of valuation allowances being recorded on net deferred tax assets in tax jurisdictions where we believe it is not more likely than not that those benefits will be realized and tax associated with our cash repatriation activities . our effective tax rate of 82.6 % for the year ended december 31 , 2013 differs from the federal u.s. statutory rate primarily because the result of valuation allowances being recorded on net deferred tax assets in tax jurisdictions where we believe it is not more likely than not that those benefits will be realized and tax associated with our cash repatriation activities . 43 comparison of the years ended december 31 , 2012 and 2011 replace_table_token_12_th revenues . during the year ended december 31 , 2012 , revenues increased $ 122.4 million , or 12.2 % , compared to 2011 , primarily due to an increase of 2.2 million , or 4.6 % , in global footwear unit sales and an increase of $ 1.51 , or 7.5 % , in footwear average selling price . for the year ended december 31 , 2012 , revenues from our wholesale channel increased $ 47.5 million , or 7.9 % , which was primarily driven by increased wholesale sales in americas and asia . revenues from our retail channel increased $ 68.2 million , or 22.2 % , primarily driven by strong demand in all three reportable segments as well as the continued growth of our retail presence by opening 107 company-operated stores ( net of store closures ) during the year . we closed certain kiosks as branded stores allowed us to better merchandise the full breadth and depth of our product line . revenues from our internet channel increased $ 6.7 million , or 7.0 % , compared to 2011 primarily driven by increased brand awareness in the americas and asia operating segments and focus on improving our regional webstore presence . impact on revenues due to foreign exchange rate fluctuations . changes in average foreign currency exchange rates used to translate revenues from our functional currencies to our reporting currency during the year ended december 31 , 2012 decreased our revenues by $ 18.0 million compared to 2011. the majority of this decrease was related to the decrease in value of the euro and the brazilian real compared to the u.s. dollar due to the political and macroeconomic environments in europe and brazil . 44 the following table summarizes our total revenue by channel for the years ended december 31 , 2012 and 2011 : replace_table_token_13_th ( 1 ) reflects year-over-year change as if the current period results were in `` constant currency , `` which is a non-gaap financial measure . see `` non-gaap financial measures `` below for more information . the table below illustrates the overall growth in the number of our company-operated retail locations by type of store and reportable operating segment as of december 31 , 2012 and 2011 : replace_table_token_14_th 45 the table below sets forth our comparable store sales growth by reportable operating segment for the year ended december 31 , 2012 as compared to 2011 : replace_table_token_15_th ( 1 ) comparable store sales is determined on a monthly basis . comparable store sales begin in the thirteenth month of a store 's operation . stores in which selling square footage has changed more than 15 % as a result of a remodel , expansion or reduction are excluded until the thirteenth month in which they have comparable prior year sales . temporarily closed stores are excluded from the comparable store sales calculation during the month of closure . location closures in excess of three months are excluded until the thirteenth month post re-opening . comparable store sales growth is calculated on a currency neutral basis using historical annual average currency rates . ( 2 ) reflects year-over-year change as if the current period results were in `` constant currency , `` which is a non-gaap financial measure . see `` non-gaap financial measures `` below for more information . gross profit . during the year ended december 31 , 2012 , gross profit increased $ 71.6 million , or 13.3 % , compared to 2011 , which was primarily attributable to the 4.6 % increase in sales volume and a 7.5 % increase in footwear average selling price . higher prices and sales volume are the result of the continued growth and expansion of our retail and internet channels as the growth in combined sales from these channels began to outpace our wholesale channel . these drivers were offset by higher costs primarily from the expansion of our product offerings in 2012 which utilized traditional materials , such as textile fabric and leather ,

cash flows cash and cash equivalents at december 31 , 2013 increased 7.7 % to $ 317.1 million compared to $ 294.3 million at december 31 , 2012. the cash and cash equivalents balance has fluctuated throughout the year due in part to typical seasonal changes in working capital requirements . cash outflows consist of strategic reinvestments of excess cash into the business , including $ 68.8 million in net capital spending primarily related to our erp system implementation and global retail expansion and a $ 12.5 million repurchase of stock associated with board authorized repurchases ( further discussed below ) . cash inflows were primarily sourced from operating income and net proceeds from bank borrowings related to the implementation of our erp system . we anticipate that cash flows from operations will be sufficient to meet the ongoing needs of our business for the next twelve months . in order to provide additional liquidity in the future and to help support our strategic goals , we issued series a convertible preferred stock ( `` series a preferred stock '' ) to blackstone capital partners vi l.p. ( `` blackstone '' ) on january 27 , 2014 for net proceeds of approximately $ 182.2 million ( see sale of preferred stock below ) , we have a revolving credit facility with a syndicate of lenders , including pnc bank , national association ( `` pnc '' ) , which currently provides us with up to $ 100.0 million in borrowing capacity and matures in december 2017 ( see revolving credit facility below ) and we have the ability to finance portions of our erp system implementation through pnc equipment finance , llc ( `` pnc equipment '' ) ( see long term bank borrowings below ) . additional future financing may be necessary and there can be no assurance that , if needed , we will be able to secure additional debt or equity financing on terms acceptable to us or at all .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```cash flows cash and cash equivalents at december 31 , 2013 increased 7.7 % to $ 317.1 million compared to $ 294.3 million at december 31 , 2012. the cash and cash equivalents balance has fluctuated throughout the year due in part to typical seasonal changes in working capital requirements . cash outflows consist of strategic reinvestments of excess cash into the business , including $ 68.8 million in net capital spending primarily related to our erp system implementation and global retail expansion and a $ 12.5 million repurchase of stock associated with board authorized repurchases ( further discussed below ) . cash inflows were primarily sourced from operating income and net proceeds from bank borrowings related to the implementation of our erp system . we anticipate that cash flows from operations will be sufficient to meet the ongoing needs of our business for the next twelve months . in order to provide additional liquidity in the future and to help support our strategic goals , we issued series a convertible preferred stock ( `` series a preferred stock '' ) to blackstone capital partners vi l.p. ( `` blackstone '' ) on january 27 , 2014 for net proceeds of approximately $ 182.2 million ( see sale of preferred stock below ) , we have a revolving credit facility with a syndicate of lenders , including pnc bank , national association ( `` pnc '' ) , which currently provides us with up to $ 100.0 million in borrowing capacity and matures in december 2017 ( see revolving credit facility below ) and we have the ability to finance portions of our erp system implementation through pnc equipment finance , llc ( `` pnc equipment '' ) ( see long term bank borrowings below ) . additional future financing may be necessary and there can be no assurance that , if needed , we will be able to secure additional debt or equity financing on terms acceptable to us or at all .
```    
 Suspicious Activity Report : the blackstone investment represented approximately 13.5 % ownership of the company as of january 31 , 2014. we believe this investment provides an opportunity to drive shareholder value and refine the strategic direction of the business . 35 the series a preferred stock ranks senior to our common stock with respect to dividend rights and rights on liquidation , winding-up and dissolution . holders of series a preferred stock are entitled to cumulative dividends payable quarterly in cash at a rate of 6 % per annum as well as any dividends declared or paid on common stock and are entitled to vote together with the holders of common stock on an as-converted basis . pursuant to the investment agreement , the series a preferred stock is subject to several different conversion features as well as redemption rights , which are at the option of the holder , the company or contingent events . the conversion rate is subject to customary anti-dilution and other adjustments subject to certain share caps and other restrictions . as a condition of the investment agreement , blackstone received rights to designate two out of eight members of the board of directors . as a result , stephen cannon and jeffrey margolis have resigned from the company 's board and blackstone 's two nominees , prakash melwani and gregg ribatt , have been added to the board of directors . the board of directors will remain at eight members . mr. melwani is currently a senior managing director at blackstone and chief investment officer of the firm 's private equity group ; mr. ribatt most recently served as the president and chief executive officer of collective brands performance + lifestyle group . in addition , on december 27 , 2013 , john mccarvel resigned from his position as president , chief executive officer and director of the company effective upon the earlier to occur of ( i ) april 30 , 2014 or ( ii ) the board of director 's appointment of his successor as ceo . in connection with his resignation , we entered into a separation agreement that will pay mr. mccarvel $ 2.1 million within one year of the effectiveness of his resignation . mr. mccarvel has agreed to continue in a consulting capacity with the company through april 30 , 2014 if his successor is appointed prior to such date . the separation payments are conditioned upon the effectiveness of mr. mccarvel 's release of claims in favor of the company and his compliance with the non-competition , non-solicitation and confidentiality covenants contained in the separation agreement . pursuant to the terms of the investment agreement , as amended , the board of directors formed a special committee on january 24 , 2014 and has granted to such committee the sole power and authority to identify , consider , assess , evaluate , research , and recommend individual nominees for the position of ceo of the company to replace mr. mccarvel . any recommendation from the search committee with respect to a chief executive officer nominee requires the unanimous consent of the members of the special committee , and the board of directors may not appoint a new ceo without the recommendation of the committee . the board of directors has appointed thomas smach , ronald frasch , peter jacobi and prakash melwani as members of the committee . 2013 financial highlights our results for fiscal year 2013 demonstrated our overall focus on becoming the leading brand in casual lifestyle footwear and delivering shareholder value through the balanced global expansion of our direct-to-consumer markets and wholesale partners , innovative product development and strategic financial decisions . we are committed to delivering fun , colorful and comfortable products to the global marketplace through efficient distribution channels with an emphasis on customer service . despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges around the globe , we delivered record revenues and footwear unit sales . our revenues increased 6.2 % to $ 1.2 billion and footwear unit sales increased 8.8 % to 54.3 million pairs sold . we specifically experienced exceptional growth and exceeded expectations in our asia pacific segment and saw marked improvement in our europe segment partially due to slow signs of macroeconomic recovery from prior years . our asia pacific segment remains a key component of the business and a fundamental driver of our growth strategy as all revenue channels experienced double-digit growth within the region . our europe segment experienced drastic improvement in 2013 compared to the prior year as we achieved growth in all three revenue channels . in addition to our 36 positive results , we faced several challenges in the current year relating to our americas and japan segments . specific challenges in our americas segment include wholesale accounts remaining lean on inventory and weak consumer confidence in the region as lingering effects of recessionary traffic and spending continue to impact retail markets . on a constant-currency basis , our japan segment performed on-par with the prior year ; however , limited ability for growth due to macroeconomic turmoil presented a major challenge for us in 2013 as we saw the japanese yen decline approximately 18.0 % on a year-to-date average basis compared to 2012. based solely on currency factors , our year-over-year revenues in our japan segment decreased $ 30.2 million . globally , we continued to focus on and expand our direct-to-consumer channel . on a constant-currency basis , our direct-to-consumer channel sales grew 10.8 % primarily through the addition of 82 global retail locations ( net of store closures ) partially offset by a decrease in global comparable store sales of 2.7 % due to lingering recessionary effects and weak consumer confidence in select markets . the expansion of our retail footprint has led to increased gross margins in the u.s. and other markets around the globe . story_separator_special_tag in addition , we recorded $ 0.3 million of goodwill impairment during the year ended december 31 , 2013 related to our crocs benelux b.v. business , which we purchased in july 2012. foreign currency transaction losses . the line item entitled 'foreign currency transaction losses , net ' is comprised of foreign currency gains and losses from the re-measurement and settlement of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in non-functional currencies and the impact of certain foreign currency derivative instruments . during the year ended december 31 , 2013 , losses on foreign currency transactions increased $ 2.2 million , or 87.1 % , compared to 2012. this increase is primarily related to an $ 8.0 million increase in net losses associated with exposure from day-to-day business transactions in various foreign currencies compared to 2012. this difference was partially offset by a $ 5.8 million increase in net gains associated with our derivative instruments and our ability to hedge foreign currency fluctuations through undesignated forward instruments compared to 2012. income tax expense . during the year ended december 31 , 2013 , income tax expense increased $ 35.3 million resulting in a 72.9 % increase in effective tax rate compared to 2012 , which was primarily the result of valuation allowances being recorded on net deferred tax assets in tax jurisdictions where we believe it is not more likely than not that those benefits will be realized and tax associated with our cash repatriation activities . our effective tax rate of 82.6 % for the year ended december 31 , 2013 differs from the federal u.s. statutory rate primarily because the result of valuation allowances being recorded on net deferred tax assets in tax jurisdictions where we believe it is not more likely than not that those benefits will be realized and tax associated with our cash repatriation activities . 43 comparison of the years ended december 31 , 2012 and 2011 replace_table_token_12_th revenues . during the year ended december 31 , 2012 , revenues increased $ 122.4 million , or 12.2 % , compared to 2011 , primarily due to an increase of 2.2 million , or 4.6 % , in global footwear unit sales and an increase of $ 1.51 , or 7.5 % , in footwear average selling price . for the year ended december 31 , 2012 , revenues from our wholesale channel increased $ 47.5 million , or 7.9 % , which was primarily driven by increased wholesale sales in americas and asia . revenues from our retail channel increased $ 68.2 million , or 22.2 % , primarily driven by strong demand in all three reportable segments as well as the continued growth of our retail presence by opening 107 company-operated stores ( net of store closures ) during the year . we closed certain kiosks as branded stores allowed us to better merchandise the full breadth and depth of our product line . revenues from our internet channel increased $ 6.7 million , or 7.0 % , compared to 2011 primarily driven by increased brand awareness in the americas and asia operating segments and focus on improving our regional webstore presence . impact on revenues due to foreign exchange rate fluctuations . changes in average foreign currency exchange rates used to translate revenues from our functional currencies to our reporting currency during the year ended december 31 , 2012 decreased our revenues by $ 18.0 million compared to 2011. the majority of this decrease was related to the decrease in value of the euro and the brazilian real compared to the u.s. dollar due to the political and macroeconomic environments in europe and brazil . 44 the following table summarizes our total revenue by channel for the years ended december 31 , 2012 and 2011 : replace_table_token_13_th ( 1 ) reflects year-over-year change as if the current period results were in `` constant currency , `` which is a non-gaap financial measure . see `` non-gaap financial measures `` below for more information . the table below illustrates the overall growth in the number of our company-operated retail locations by type of store and reportable operating segment as of december 31 , 2012 and 2011 : replace_table_token_14_th 45 the table below sets forth our comparable store sales growth by reportable operating segment for the year ended december 31 , 2012 as compared to 2011 : replace_table_token_15_th ( 1 ) comparable store sales is determined on a monthly basis . comparable store sales begin in the thirteenth month of a store 's operation . stores in which selling square footage has changed more than 15 % as a result of a remodel , expansion or reduction are excluded until the thirteenth month in which they have comparable prior year sales . temporarily closed stores are excluded from the comparable store sales calculation during the month of closure . location closures in excess of three months are excluded until the thirteenth month post re-opening . comparable store sales growth is calculated on a currency neutral basis using historical annual average currency rates . ( 2 ) reflects year-over-year change as if the current period results were in `` constant currency , `` which is a non-gaap financial measure . see `` non-gaap financial measures `` below for more information . gross profit . during the year ended december 31 , 2012 , gross profit increased $ 71.6 million , or 13.3 % , compared to 2011 , which was primarily attributable to the 4.6 % increase in sales volume and a 7.5 % increase in footwear average selling price . higher prices and sales volume are the result of the continued growth and expansion of our retail and internet channels as the growth in combined sales from these channels began to outpace our wholesale channel . these drivers were offset by higher costs primarily from the expansion of our product offerings in 2012 which utilized traditional materials , such as textile fabric and leather ,

