Haverty Furniture Reports May Sales Decrease of 14.2%

Furniture World News

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. reported sales for the month ended May 31, 2007. Havertys' May sales decreased 14.2% to $64.0 million, compared with $74.6 million in May 2006. On a comparable-store basis, May sales decreased 15.5%. Comparable-store sales do not include stores or locations opened, closed or otherwise non-comparable during the last 12 months. Sales for the first five months of 2007 decreased 11.4% to $308.7 million compared with $348.4 million in 2006. On a comparable-store basis, sales decreased 12.9% for the first five months. Clarence H. Smith, president and chief executive officer, said, "Our May sales reflect the continued weakness in the retail furniture sector. We faced difficult comparisons against last year's strong May comparable sales increase of 17.9%. Our total written sales did improve from earlier in the year with May off by 4% from last year and Memorial Day weekend up 2%. The increase was encouraging because our promotional program was consistent with last year yielding similar gross margins. "We have made several changes in our operations to adjust them to meet current sales levels. However, our current quarter-to-date sales are tracking below our first quarter results and current break-even levels. We are evaluating additional methods designed to increase sales and continuing our efforts in reducing our operating costs." Havertys is a full-service home furnishings retailer with 122 showrooms in 17 states in the Southern and Midwestern regions providing its customers with a wide selection of quality merchandise in middle- to upper-middle price ranges. Additional information is available on the Company's website at http://www.havertys.com/.