Leon's sales up 10.7% last year
Michael Knell -- Furniture Today, February 23, 2005
TORONTO -- Aggressive merchandising and advertising gave Leon's Furniture a 10.7% gain in sales last year, to C$504.6 million.
Earnings jumped even more, by 25.1% to C$46.1 million or C$2.49 per common share. Same store sales were up 7.5% over the prior year.
Including C$165.3 in sales by million by Leon's franchise stores are included, total revenues for 2004 came to C$669.8 million, up 13.7%. Franchise network sales in 2003 were C$133.4 million.
Fourth-quarter corporate sales were up 11.8% to C$153.1 million and net income rose 9.4% to C$17.1 million or 93 Canadian cents per share.
"Overall, we are very proud to report that Leon's Furniture Limited achieved record sales and profits in each quarter of 2004 and the year," said Chairman Anthony T. Leon. "This was accomplished by way of a more aggressive approach to merchandising and advertising coupled with a conservative approach to controlling expenses."
In the fourth quarter, the publicly held and family managed retailer opened two new corporately owned warehouse showrooms, one in Edmonton South, Alberta, and the other in Quebec City.
In 2005, Leon's expects that renovations will be completed at its Windsor, Ontario, store and started in the Kitchener, Ontario, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, stores. A new corporate warehouse and showroom in Hamilton, Ontario, is expected to open by summer. Construction will begin this spring for two new warehouse showrooms in Woodbridge, Ontario, and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
"We are scheduling to open these new stores towards the end of 2005," Leon said.
President and CEO Terry Leon said he doesn't expect this to be an easy year for retailers.
"2005 is going to be a tougher year than 2004 in Canada," he said. "The (stronger Canadian) dollar is going to make it tough for all manufacturers and that's going to affect all of us. General economic conditions won't be as strong and a lot of costs — labor, utilities, construction — that we don't have much control over are going up."
At the end of 2004, Leon's had 30 corporate stores and 27 franchise stores in every province except British Columbia.
Leon's, which is 65% held by the Leon family, is Canada's fourth largest furniture and bedding merchant. These categories account for about 75% of sales.
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Leon's sales up 10.7% in '04
Mar 27, 2005 -
Leon's sales up 10.7% in '04
Mar 14, 2005
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