Same-store sales mixed
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, May 9, 2004
FORT WORTH, Texas — FORT WORTH, Texas— April same-store sales results dipped into negative territory for both Pier 1 Imports and The Bombay Company, while Atlanta-based Haverty Furniture posted a 6.8% increase.
Same-store sales were down 1.7% for Pier 1 and off 11% for Bombay. Both are based here.
All three posted revenue gains. Pier 1 was up 7.7% to $129.9 million, Havertys revenues grew 12.1% to $57.3 million, and Bombay inched up 0.3% to $37.2 million.
Marvin Girouard, Pier 1's chairman and CEO, said the company was disappointed with weak traffic that resulted in softer-than-expected sales in April. He said the specialty retailer's new TV advertising campaign, launched in March, "did not have the impact on sales that we had anticipated."
He noted the TV ads did not air during the two weeks after Easter, which the company believes contributed to weaker traffic and the April sales shortfall.
Based on current sales trends, Pier 1 expects same-store sales in May to be off 4% to 5%, in part due to the two-day shift of the Memorial Day weekend into June's fiscal period.
Clarence Smith, president and CEO of Havertys, said, "All of the main furniture categories showed sales gains for April over last year, with upholstery continuing its strong performance in 2004. Sales of products under our Havertys Collections brands increased to 34% of our total sales, and we expect this trend to continue."
Full-line retailer Havertys will open its 114th store later this month.
Bombay was up against a tough comparison, as same-store sales a year ago were up 18%.
Chairman and CEO James Carreker said the specialty retailer was working through the effects of carrying over more inventory than planned from last year, and the results have been a lack of newness and freshness in the inventory,which continued to affect sales performance during April.
In its first quarter ended May 1, Bombay's revenues were up 4% to $123.5 million compared with $119.2 million a year ago. Same-store sales were down 9%, compared with a 25% increase a year ago.
Looking ahead, Carreker said, "We believe that some of the same pressures on product assortment will continue through June. We expect same-store sales declines to be in the high single-digit range for the quarter as we anniversary last year's 26% same-store sales increase."
Meanwhile, specialty retailer Cost Plus, based in Oakland, Calif., said total sales for the quarter ended May 1 were up 16.6% to $185.7 million from $159.2 million a year ago. Same-store sales in the quarter were up 3.4%, on top of a 3% increase a year ago.
| Retailers report April revenues | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dollar amounts in millions | |||
| Company | Sales | Change | Same-store change |
| Pier 1 Imports¹ | $129.9 | 7.7% | -1.7% |
| Havertys | 57.3 | 12.1 | 6.8 |
| The Bombay Company¹ | 37.2 | 0.3 | -11.0 |
| 1. For the four weeks ended May 1. | |||
-
June retail sales soften
Jul 24, 2005 -
June a mixed bag for three big chains
Jul 25, 2004 -
Dec. sales mixed
Jan 23, 2005 -
Bombay sales climb 12% while Pier 1 slips in August
Sep 18, 2005 -
Same-store sales dip in Oct.
Nov 21, 2004
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