Stanley Furniture Announces Plans to Realign Production At Its Lexington, N.C. Facility

Furniture World Magazine

Currently this facility produces a combination of adult bedroom and Young America(R) youth bedroom furniture. After a transition period, the Lexington plant will focus exclusively on Young America(R) products. Adult bedroom products currently manufactured at the Lexington facility, will be absorbed by the Stanleytown, Va. plant, which will produce all adult bedroom and dining room products. The Martinsville, Va. location will continue to manufacture home entertainment and home office furniture while the Robbinsville, N.C. plant remains focused on the production of Young America(R) products. The realignment will reduce operations at the Lexington plant impacting approximately 150 of the 525 associates there. "This realignment allows us to better focus manufacturing operations, thereby producing the most suitable products in each plant and enabling the Company to operate all of our facilities more efficiently," commented Jeffrey R. Scheffer, president and chief executive officer. "We sincerely regret the impact on some of our Lexington associates. However, these difficult decisions are necessary for the long-term competitiveness of the Company. We believe the blending of efficient domestic manufacturing in tightly focused facilities, with intelligent outsourcing of certain component parts and finished goods, provides a competitive advantage by offering higher value and well-styled furniture, without sacrificing our culture of high quality and shorter delivery times." "While the economy is extremely uncertain, we reaffirm our sales and earnings guidance for the first quarter of and total year 2003. Accordingly, net sales should be between $58 million and $61 million and diluted earnings per share in the range of $.47 to $.52 for the first quarter of 2003. The combination of severe winter weather, geo-political issues, and the general economy continue to create a challenging business environment. These issues combined with import competition make it imperative to improve operating efficiencies. We are confident Stanley is positioned to compete in this global environment very effectively," concluded Scheffer. The Company plans to report results for the first quarter on April 16, 2003. Established in 1924, Stanley Furniture Company, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of wood furniture targeted at the upper-medium price range of the residential market. Manufacturing facilities are located in Stanleytown and Martinsville, Va. and Robbinsville and Lexington, N.C.