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Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
July 6,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on July 7, 2011
Bassett Furniture Inds. (NASDAQ: BSET) reported second-quarter 2011 sales of $66.3 million, a 15 percent increase over the prior-year period.
The company attributed the sales increase to a 25 percent jump in sales at retail due primarily to additional company-owned stores and a 4 percent increase in comparable store sales, coupled with a 6.8 percent increase in wholesale sales.
Net income for the period ended May 28 increased 94.4 percent over second-quarter 2010 to $62.5 million. Bassett received cash proceeds of $67.8 million during the quarter from the sale of IHFC. As a result, the company has elected to retire certain debt and other long-term obligations, settle various obligations related to closed stores and idle facilities, and resume paying a quarterly dividend and buying back stock. In addition Bassett also might use its strengthened cash position to meet future working capital needs and making modest investments in new or repositioned company-owned stores.
Year to date, Bassett's sales of $130.5 million are up 17.9 percent from the same point last year. Net income stands at $54.3 million, compared with a loss of $1.6 million through the first half of 2010.
"Our second quarter featured several significant developments that will positively impact the company's future," said Robert H. Spilman Jr., president and CEO of Bassett, Bassett, Va. "Most notable, of course, was the closing of the IHFC transaction. As a result, we initiated a series of actions that included store closings, licensee takeovers, and debt settlements that will put an end to the past few years of dealing with these issues. By the end of the third quarter, the Company will operate over 50 percent of all Bassett Home Furnishings stores, and the remaining licensee fleet is a much healthier network than we have been working with since the housing bubble burst in 2007-2008. In light of the progress that we are making in our corporate retail division, our team is excited to be able to focus its full attention on improving performance of the remaining stores and to adding new ones to the group."
Currently, there are 90 Bassett Furniture Direct stores, 46 corporate-owned. Eleven locations have closed since November 27, 2010.
Click here for the complete release from Bassett Furniture.
July 6,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Store Openings on July 7, 2011
An Ashley Furniture Homestore has opened in Eatontown, N.J., bringing the store network's total count to 425.
A ribbon-cutting is set for Friday at the new store, located at 175 Route 35 North in a former Levitz location.
The Eatontown store is owned and operated by Will Schafer, Ashley Furniture HomeStore licensee.
Will Schafer, owner and operator of Ashley Furniture HomeStores in Linden, North Brunswick
and Woodbridge, is proud to bring a fourth store to the central New Jersey area. "We are excited to continue growing our business in such a tough economic time," Schafer said. "Eatontown is a close-knit community and we are thrilled to bring our locally owned business into the market.
In 2007, Schafer's family-owned group of HomeStores was awarded the "Best Manufacturers Retailer Store Award" by the Metro Furnishings Association of New Jersey.
July 6,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on July 7, 2011
Furniture retailing blood runs deep through the veins of Kent Munro and Gregg Munro, two brothers who opened a two-store retail operation in Long Beach, Calif.
The Munros, who grew up in their father's retail operation Munro's Furniture, are now the proprietors of
House to Home Furniture with more than 40,000 square feet of showroom space.
The stores feature Amish furniture along with other brands. House to Home Furniture is the authorized Stressless dealer for the Long Beach, Calif., area.
The stores are entering into the grand opening phase that will last through the summer and into Labor Day. During this time House to Home Furniture plans to have a number of sales.
We're really excited about the summer, said Gregg Munro. One of the things we're doing for our customers involves a $45,000.00 furniture giveaway. Each week from now until Sept. 5, we will hold a drawing. The winner of each drawing will have their purchase paid for by House to Home Furniture, up to $5,000.00.
House to Home is also offering other specials from their new Web site such as coupons, manager specials and more.
July 6,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on July 7, 2011
Haverty Furniture Cos. (
NYSE: HVT and
HVT.A) reported sales of $143.1 million for the second quarter 2011 ended June 30, a 1.4 percent decrease from sales of $145.1 million in the second quarter of last year.
Same-store sales for the quarter dropped 1.4 percent. Sales for the first six months of 2011 totaled $297.3 million, compared with $301.1 million in 2010, representing a decrease of 1.3 percent. On a comparable store basis, sales decreased 1.0 percent for the first six months.
"Our first and second quarter 2011 sales faced tough matchups to the double-digit comp-store increases in the first half of 2010 as housing activity had been stimulated by the home buyer tax credits," said Clarence H. Smith, president and chief executive officer. "The second half of the year is usually stronger than the first and our sales comparisons to the 3.0 percent comp-store increases for the last six months of 2010 will not be as challenging. Our written sales for early July, including the important Independence Day weekend, were up modestly over the same period last year which had also generated an increase. We remain cautious as consumer spending for home furnishings is reflective of housing values and activity which persist at extraordinarily low levels. Our focus is on providing merchandise with exceptional quality and value, continuing to invest in our store base, and executing other key elements of our strategy for long-term growth."
Havertys operates 118 showrooms in 17 states.
July 6,
2011 by in UnCategorized
By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on July 7, 2011
Costco Wholesale Corp. (
NASDAQ: COST) reported net sales of $8.69 billion for the month of June, the five-week period ended July 3, an increase of 18 percent from $7.33 billion during the same period last year.
This year's five-week period included 34 days in the U.S. (U.S. warehouses closed Memorial Day) versus 33 days last year (U.S. warehouses closed Memorial Day and Independence Day). The calendar shift positively impacted this year's total and comparable sales by about two to three percent (three percent in the U.S.). Also, this year's five-week period included sales from the company's Mexico joint venture; otherwise the net sales increase would have been 15 percent.
For the 44 weeks ended July 3, the retailer reported net sales of $73.44 billion, an increase of 14 percent from $64.51 billion during the similar period last year; excluding Mexico sales, the increase would have been 11 percent.
Costco currently operates 584 warehouses, including 427 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 81 in Canada, 32 in Mexico, 22 in the United Kingdom, eight in Japan, seven in Korea, six in Taiwan and one in Australia. Costco plans to open up to eight warehouses prior to the end of its 2011 fiscal year on Aug. 28.