Serta underreported 2003 volume in ranking
David Perry -- Furniture Today, June 28, 2004
Itasca, Ill. — Bedding major Serta said it supplied incorrect information to Furniture/Today for the top bedding producers report published in the May 31 issue.
Serta said it incorrectly stated that its 2003 sales figure, $742 million, included EITF adjustments added back in. These are certain sales incentives paid by bedding producers to dealers that are considered a reduction to gross sales under generally accepted accounting principles.
By failing to add the EITF adjustments back in, Serta underreported its 2003 volume. Other top producers did include the EITF amounts in their numbers.
Serta said that as a private licensing company, it doesn't track the EITF figures recorded by its licensees and cannot supply an audited figure that includes the EITF adjustments. But that figure would be higher than the number Serta provided, by an undetermined amount.
Simmons had 2003 sales, with EITF adjustments added back in, of $790 million. That company's financial filings said its 2003 net sales under GAAP were $741 million.
Serta's $742 million in net sales last year, as reported in Furniture/Today, was a 2.2% increase over its $726 sales volume in 2002. That figure also does not include the EITF adjustments.
Furniture/Today ranked Simmons No. 2 and Serta No. 3 among U.S. bedding producers. Sealy was No. 1 at $1.075 billion.
