Share this on

Hooker sales, earnings down in '05

Notes shipment decline

Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, January 12, 2006

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- A steep decline in shipments of its domestically made wood furniture resulted in reduced sales and earnings at Hooker Furniture in fiscal 2005.

The manufacturer and importer of wood and upholstered furniture said sales totaled $341 million for the year ended Nov. 30, down 1.4% from fiscal 2004. Net income of $11.8 million was down 35% from the previous year.

The company said sales of imported wood and metal furniture increased 8.8% to $201.7 million, and sales of its Bradington-Young upholstery unit rose 8.6% to $62.5 million.

However, that wasn’t enough to offset a 25.5% decline in sales of domestically made furniture, which totaled $76.8 million.

“We are not pleased with our recent sales and earnings, and are taking steps to improve both,” said Paul Toms, chairman and CEO. “We have identified targets for improvement in our product lineup, inventory requirements and vendor performance.”

The net income figure included $5.3 million in restructuring charges related to the closing of Hooker’s Pleasant Garden, N.C., factory last fall, but Toms said financial performance also was hurt by declining consumer confidence and a variety of inventory management and supply chain issues.

“To address our increasingly complex supply chain network, we established a new department of supply chain management and activated comprehensive logistics software and distribution systems,” he said. “We expect to be better positioned to realize improvements in the timely flow of products and information, inventory management and vendor management this year and beyond.”

For the fourth quarter, sales declined 2.8% to $89.4 million and net income slid 38.4% to $3.35 million.

Toms said the company has seen a slight improvement in incoming order rates in late fall and early winter, but he’s projecting that sales for the first quarter will be 3% to 7% below last year’s numbers.

Share this on

Hooker earnings down

Jan 29, 2006

Also by this author

Also by Larry Thomas

Featured Company

Wright Labels

Bill and Tom Wright founded Wright of Thomasville in 1961 on the idea that printing was a creative medium and the belief that "a promise made is a promise kept." The Wright brothers focused their attention on providing exceptional printing for the... more

Related Resources

Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market

Here is a selection of products shown at this month's International Gift & Home Furnishings Market here.

Networking at the 13th annual F/T Leadership Conference

NAPLES, Fla. — Industry executives and guests took the opportunity to network and play golf during down time at Furniture/Today's 13th annual Leadership Conference here this month.