Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
La-Z-Boy Projects Quarterly Sales Decline
October 21,
2016 by Jane Chero in Business Strategy, Financial Reports, Furniture Retailing, Industry 
La-Z-Boy (LZB) became the latest publicly-traded home furnishings company to report weak retail demand, announcing Thursday that it expects to have a sales decline of 1% to 2.5% in the current fiscal quarter, which ends Oct. 29.
The company also said it is projecting earnings per share of 37 cents to 39 cents, slightly below the 41 cents per share reported in the same quarter last year. The prior year period, however, included a one-time gain of 2 cents per share from a legal settlement.
“Given our multiple strategic initiatives, we are confident in our ability to navigate through these current industry trends," said Kurt Darrow, chairman, president and CEO. “We are making strategic investments in the business, which include our 4-4-5 store growth strategy, targeted strategic acquisitions, enhanced marketing support, updated technology platforms and other capital projects to enhance our competitiveness. With a strong brand and our multi-channel distribution system, our team is adapting our go-to-market strategies within the current consumer environment while exploring additional growth initiatives for the future."
Earlier this week, upholstery and case good resource Flexsteel Inds., and specialty bedding producer Select Comfort both reported lower sales and earnings in their most recent quarters, and vertically integrated Ethan Allen said it expects to report lower earnings in the quarter that ended Sept. 30.
Plus, rent-to-own powerhouse Rent-A-Center said it expects to report a same-store sales decline of 10% at its core U.S. stores, and mattress producer Tempur Sealy International said it expects to report a quarterly sales decline of 1% to 3%.
La-Z-Boy said it plans to release complete financial results for the quarter on Nov. 30.