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Retailers note mixed January results

By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 4, 2005

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Specialty retailers Pier 1 Imports and The Bombay Company reported declining sales in the four weeks ended Jan. 29, coupled with sagging or flat same-store sales. Full-line chain Havertys, meanwhile, said total sales rose slightly in January while same-store sales dipped.

Pier 1's January sales were $118.9 million, down 5.1% from $125.3 million in January 2004. Same-store sales fell 10.4%.

Bombay posted flat same-store sales for January, along with revenues of $37.3 million, off 2% from $38 million in the year-earlier month. In its fourth quarter, revenues sagged 4% to $211.6 million, and same-store sales declined 8%.

Atlanta-based Havertys said total sales rose 0.9% to $66.2 million, while same-store sales declined 2.5%.

Pier 1's year-to-date sales for the 11 months ended Jan. 29 grew 2.4% to $1.8 billion. Chairman and CEO Marvin Girouard estimated that severe weather across the country hurt January same-store sales by 2% to 3%, and said average ticket sales were down.

"Although sales in January were disappointing, we believe that significant progress continues to be made at the store level," said Girouard. "We executed aggressive clearance efforts in January that resulted in a more balanced and cleaner inventory position in all product categories.

"We are optimistic as we continue to implement our strategic merchandising initiatives and finalize plans for our new marketing campaign that will launch in mid-March," he continued. "Based on results so far this quarter, we project earnings to be at the low end of the previously announced range of 31 cents to 38 cents per diluted share."

Meanwhile, Bombay's total revenues for the year were down 4% to $575.3 million from $596.4 million in the prior fiscal year, and same-store sales fell 12%.

Bombay Chairman and CEO James Carreker said, "We were pleased with January's sales results and the effectiveness of our inventory clearance activities. Same-store sales were strongest earlier in the month but lost ground due to the weather conditions of the last two weekends.

"Our inventory clearance efforts, although more challenging to our margins than planned, were effective in clearing seasonal and holiday merchandise," he continued. "We begin the year with an inventory that is much improved versus last year in terms of mix, fashion and newness."

At Havertys, President and CEO Clarence Smith said weather hampered the Southeastern chain.

"January deliveries to our customers were cut short over the last weekend of the month by an ice storm impacting our Georgia and Eastern stores," Smith said. "Calendar differences also took a delivery day out of the month compared to January 2004…. We believe comps would have been positive by a low to mid single-digit percentage without these factors."

Havertys' numbers reflect delivered sales. Written sales for the month grew by a low-single digit percentage, he said.

Later this month, the company will open its 118th store, in the Virginia suburbs of Washington. It will be a 41,000-square-foot freestanding showroom next to the Dulles Town Center Mall.

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Retailers' sales flat to down in January

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