Havertys sales dip 1.2% in first quarter

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, April 7, 2011

ATLANTA — Havertys said its first-quarter sales were down 1.2% to $154.2 million, compared with $156 million in the first quarter of 2010, as same-store sales slipped 0.6%.

Total written business in the first quarter was down about 3.5% from the same period last year.

Clarence Smith, president and CEO of the Atlanta-based Top 100 company, said the sales report "was in line with the sales trend we previously reported for the first two months of the quarter. Last year's first-quarter comparable store sales were up 10.1%.

"Consumer sentiment is being hampered by rising fuel and food prices and continued declines in housing values so we expect business to remain challenging," Smith added. "While some furniture retailers are closing stores and exiting the business, we are focused on a plan of refashioning and renovating our stores and preparing for Havertys' growth over the longer term."

Havertys operates 118 showrooms in 17 states in the South and Midwest.