Haverty Furniture Reports All-Time Record Sales for November

Furniture World Magazine

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc., reported all-time record sales for any month for the period ended November 30, 2004. Havertys' November sales increased 6.2% to $72.4 million compared with $68.2 million in sales for November 2003. On a comparable-store basis, November sales increased 3.7%. Comparable-store sales do not include locations opened, closed or otherwise non-comparable during the last 12 months. Sales for the eleven months of 2004 increased 5.0% to $705.9 million compared with $672.4 million in 2003. On a comparable-store basis, sales increased 1.7% for the eleven months. Clarence H. Smith, president and chief executive officer, said, "Havertys set a new monthly sales record for November. Consumers increased their furniture shopping pace and with the approaching holidays were particularly interested in the dining room category. We held to our overall pricing strategy but in keeping with our pledge to not be undersold, matched prices on the same or similar items offered by competitors in affected markets. Total November orders were strong with an increase of approximately 10%, led by our Florida region. "We resolved many of our previous imported product flow issues during November but some vendors did not meet their promised transportation dates. These late shipments and the outpacing of forecasted levels by certain best selling products caused our order backlog to increase by approximately $6 million over last year, finishing above last month. December sales results should be favorably impacted to the extent product is available and we are able to complete deliveries. "Our margins have been pressured somewhat during the quarter as we matched competitor prices and due to the clearance process associated with closing a regional and a local warehouse. Warehouse close-out activity is expected to continue through the first quarter of next year as we complete the consolidation and improvements in our distribution methods. "We opened a new store in mid-November in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was our first location in that state and next week we will be opening in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a new market for Havertys," Smith concluded. Havertys is a full-service home furnishings retailer with 116 showrooms in 16 southern and central states 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/ .