Furniture, Home Boost Big Lots' 1Q Sales

May 5, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on May 6, 2010 Closeout retailer Big Lots (NYSE: BIG) reported sales of $1.2 billion for the first quarter ended May 1, an 8.1 percent increase from $1.1 billion reported in the same quarter of last year.

The Columbus, Ohio-based retailer has beefed up its furniture offerings and carries pieces from Broyhill Furniture, and the company attributed its furniture and home offerings for helping to buoy sales.

"From a merchandising perspective, furniture and home were the leading categories with each comping up double digits," said Steve Fishman, chairman, chief executive officer, and president. "Hardlines, led by our electronics department, continues to be a growth category, and our seasonal business comped up mid-single digits despite unfavorable weather conditions across most of the country in the last two weeks of the quarter. In terms of inventory, we ended the first quarter in good position, the availability of branded merchandise remains strong and we continue to add more and more branded suppliers to our vendor base."

Same-store sales for stores opened at least two years at the beginning of the fiscal year increased 6 percent for the quarter, which is at the top of the company's previously announced guidance targeting increased comparable store sales in the range of 4 percent to 6 percent.

"I am very pleased with our first quarter comp of 6 percent and the continued momentum we are seeing in our business," Fishman said. "We delivered better quality merchandise at extreme values and the improvement in consumer discretionary spending trends, first recognized in the fall of 2009, continued through the first quarter of 2010. By offering a merchandising assortment that is highly discretionary in nature, we believe our business is uniquely positioned to benefit from an improving economy."

Big Lots expects to report comprehensive results for the first quarter May 27.