3 chains post fair-to-strong Feb.
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, March 7, 2004
ATLANTA — Havertys posted a 4.4% same-store sales increase in February, leading three public home furnishings retailers reporting fair to strong results for the month.
Havertys' total sales in February grew 8.8% from the same month a year ago to $61.7 million. For the first two months of the year, the 113-store company's sales were up 8.6% to $127.3 million, and same-store sales rose 4.4%.
Bedding and recliners led the February gains, and upholstery and bedroom furniture "also increased at a good pace," said Clarence Smith, president and CEO of the Atlanta-based chain.
"Our ability to grow sales without excessive promotions is a good indicator that our customers recognize and appreciate the stylish values in home furnishings that Havertys offers," he said.
At Fort Worth, Texas-based Pier 1 Imports, total sales for the four weeks ended Feb. 28 increased 11.4% from a year earlier to $129.9 million, with same-store sales growing 3.3%.
For its fourth quarter ended Feb. 28, Pier 1's sales grew 6.6% to $555.3 million, and same-store sales declined 2.7%. For the full year, sales grew 6.5% to $1.87 billion and same-store sales fell 2.2%.
Pier 1 Chairman and CEO Marvin Girouard said the company was pleased with traffic and business in February, noting that momentum grew toward the end of the month. Business was solid throughout the country and across all categories, and sales of spring introductions and Easter goods were encouraging, he said.
Forth Worth neighbor The Bombay Company, meanwhile, was up against a 26% same-store sales increase in the comparable four-week period a year ago and didn't fare as well. Sales for February 2004 grew 3% to $35.4 million, as same-store sales declined 9%.
Bombay Chairman and CEO James Carrecker said the company has driven double-digit same-store sales increases and top-line growth "to reclaim market share and validate Bombay's positioning in the market place." That growth came in part though promotional selling.
This year, he said, Bombay aims to establish a base of sales from which it can achieve sustained and profitable growth. It won't repeat the promotional events that boosted the top line at the expense of the bottom line, he added.
The company said that in February, this more disciplined approach led to improved gross margins. But the chain's inventory "lacked the same intensity of newness" as the product did a year ago, a problem most pronounced in occasional furniture and prints, which had lackluster results, he said.
Bombay expects same-stores sales for the first half to be in the negative low to mid-single-digit range as it comes up against 25% same-store-sales increase during the same period a year ago. The comparisons should get easier in the second half, when the company expects same-store increases, he said.
| Retailers report Feb. revenues | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dollar amounts in millions | |||
| Company | Sales | Change | Same-store change |
| 1 For the four weeks ended Feb. 28, 2004 |
|||
| Pier 1 Imports¹ | $129.9 | 11.4% | 3.3% |
| Havertys | $61.7 | 8.8% | 4.4% |
| The Bombay Company1 | $35.4 | 3.0% | -9.0% |
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Modest Growth Forecast
Jan 13, 2011 -
Dec. sales mixed
Jan 23, 2005 -
Pier 1, Bombay post Feb. sales declines; Havertys up
Mar 20, 2005 -
September sales mixed
Oct 23, 2005
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