July sales on upswing at Pier 1, Bombay, Havertys
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, August 11, 2002
Fort Worth, Texas — Retailers Pier 1 Imports, The Bombay Company and Havertys racked up sales gains in July, although same-store sales slipped at Bombay, while Sears Canada posted decreases.
Pier 1, based here, reported sales of $123.6 million for the four weeks ended Aug. 3, an 11.3% increase over the comparable 2001 period. Same-store sales rose 2.3%. Year to date, sales are up 16.3%, with same-store sales increasing 7.2%.
Marvin Girouard, Pier 1's chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Sales were soft in mid-July due to both the macroeconomic issues facing the consumer, and less aggressive clearance efforts than in previous years on our part. Most of our spring and summer merchandise cleared out in late June, giving us solid margins and slightly weaker sales for July."
The company estimates same-store sales gains in August will be in the mid-single digits. Quarterly earnings projections are now forecast to be in the range of 20 to 21 cents per share vs. 14 cents a year ago.
Bombay, also based here, said sales rose 4% to $30.2 million for the four weeks ended Aug. 3, with same-store sales down 5%. Total sales for the quarter ended Aug. 3 increased 3% to $100 million from $97 million a year ago. Same-store sales for the quarter were off 6%.
Year-to-date sales increased 2% to $190.9 million from $188 million, while same-store sales decreased 8%. Revenue from non-store activities for the year to date accounted for 7% of the total compared to 3% last year.
Haverty Furniture, based on Atlanta, reported July sales of $58.1 million, up 8.2% from July 2001. Same-store sales for the month increased 7.5%. For the first seven months, sales increased 6.6% to $397.9 million and same-store sales were up 5.3%.
Jay Slater, chief executive officer, said the Southeast chain expects same-store sales to be up about 3% in the third quarter, and expects August same-store sales gains to be in the low single digits, with September flat or with a low-single-digit increase.
Slater said the company should meet its schedule for opening six additional stores in August, and one replacement store.
Toronto-based Sears Canada saw revenues dip 3% for the four weeks ended July 27, to C$471.2 million from C$485.9 million a year ago. Merchandise sales were off 4.6% and same-store sales dropped 7.4%.
Despite the declines, Mark Cohen, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Gross margin rates showed enormous improvement in July and, coupled with reduced expenses, more than offset weakness in sales in improving profitability in the month."
| Company | Sales | Change | Same-store change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sears Canada1 | C$471.2 | -3.0% | -7.4% |
| Pier 1 Imports2 | $123.6 | 11.3% | 2.3% |
| Havertys | $58.1 | 8.2% | 7.5% |
| The Bombay Company2 | $30.2 | 4.0% | -5.0% |
| 1 In Canadian dollars. For the four weeks ended July 27. | |||
| 2 For the four weeks ended Aug. 3. | |||
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Pier 1, Havertys lead pack
May 12, 2002 -
Bombay racks up May gains
Jun 8, 2003 -
Retailers' Aug. results mixed
Sep 8, 2002 -
Feb. sales rise for Pier 1, Havertys, fall at Bombay
Mar 10, 2002 -
Bombay same-store sales jump 27%
Feb 9, 2003
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