Ethan Allen Hosting Investors Conference

September 24, 2006  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on September 2006 Ethan Allen is forecasting sales for the quarter ending Saturday to fall between $240 million to $245 million.

Farooq Kathwari, chairman and chief executive officer, issued a statement in advance of its investor conference the company is hosting Tuesday.

“As previously indicated, sales in recent months have slowed as consumer confidence has remained weak,” Kathwari said. “In addition, we find ourselves up against tough comparable results for the prior year quarter during which time we experienced a 9 percent increase in sales and a 15 percent increase in comparable retail written sales. The prior year quarter also marked the first phase of our initiative to reduce the lead time in filling customer orders. The faster backlog turnover afforded by this initiative reduces the forward visibility of delivered sales, subjecting our business to more volatility as demand levels fluctuate. We currently anticipate that revenues for the quarter ending September 30, 2006, will total $240 to $245 million.”

Kathwari said the continued implementation of its “Everyday Best Pricing” plan has consumers making purchases when its convenient for them. “We know that the summer months present numerous other actiivites adn commitments,” he said. “We have seen some positive trends in September and, should those trends continue, we could benefit in the second quarter.”

The company recently held its international convention with more than 800 of its associates attending. At the meeting, Ethan Allen introduced two collections—Modern Glamour and Horizons Studio. Both will arrive in stores in the spring.

Tomorrow’s investor conference begins at 10:15 a.m., and management’s presentations and the Q&A session will be webcast live at www.ethanallen.com/investors.