Hooker Shutting Last U.S. Wood Factory

January 17, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Case Goods on January 2007 Hooker Furniture, Martinsville, Va., is shutting its last remaining wood furniture factory by the end of March to focus on stronger-selling imports, Chairman and CEO Paul Toms announced Wednesday.

The company, which has closed a plant each year since 2003, said sales of products the 82-year-old factory has been producing have been declining while sales of imported wood and metal furniture have been increasing. Closing the plant will reduce fixed operating expenses by $2.8 million to $3.5 million per year. About 280 people work in the factory that will close by the end of March.

“While we come to the close of one era, we see a bright future as we embark on a new era in our history,” Toms said, according to the company’s written announcement.

The company will maintain its headquarters and central distribution in Martinsville. Hooker’s Bradington-Young Subsidiary operates two upholstery assembly factories and two upholstery supply facilities in North Carolina. Company officials said affected employees will receive a severance package and are eligible for placement counseling under Trade Act programs. Hooker, one of the nation’s 10 largest publicly traded furniture companies, will record restructuring and related asset impairment charges of $7 million to $7.8 million on a pretax basis in connection with the closing.