Conn's reports 9.9% sales gain, with 54% jump in furniture, bedding

Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, February 7, 2013

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Driven by a 54% increase in furniture and bedding sales, specialty retailer Conn's Inc. said net sales rose 9.9% to $208.4 million in the quarter ended Jan. 31.

In a preliminary financial report issued Thursday, Conn's sales of consumer electronics - primarily televisions - fell 7.3% in the quarter, but furniture and bedding sales were up 54.1% to $39.9 million.

Although furniture and bedding accounted for just 19.1% of the retailer's total sales, Conn's said the categories easily had the highest gross margins. That helped boost its retail gross margin by 7 percentage points to 36.5% in the quarter.

Conn's said furniture unit sales rose 35.4% and the average unit selling price was 17.8% ahead of the same quarter the previous year. Mattress unit volume, meanwhile, rose 3.5%, but the average unit selling price shot up 35.5%.

Other key product categories for Conn's include home appliances, which had a 12.5% sales gain, and home office products (primarily computers and tablets), which recorded a 15.9% sales gain.

Complete financial results for the quarter will be released April 2.

Conn's operates 68 stores in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona.