Housing Slowdown Trims Havertys’ Sales

March 7, 2007  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on March 2007 Sales at 121 Havertys furniture stores were down 10.9 percent during February, the Atlanta-based company reported Wednesday. President and CEO Clarence Smith attributed the decline to “a general softening of demand” due to a slowdown in home sales.

Sales for the month totaled $60.1 million, and same-store sales declined 12.9 percent. Sales for the first two months of 2007 declined 7 percent to $125 million.

“There does not appear to be any near-term catalyst in the housing markets to improve this trend, so we presume business will remain demanding for the next several month,” Smith said, according to a written statement. “We are focused on reaching our target customer with an emphasis on our strong values for quality merchandise. Where possible, we are reducing our overhead costs to reflect the lower sales activity.”