Haverty Furniture Reports July Sales Decrease

Furniture World Magazine

4 Aug 2005 11:30 GMT Haverty Furniture Reports Sales For July Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc., reported sales for the month ended July 31, 2005. Havertys' July sales decreased 5.5% to $66.6 million, compared with $70.4 million in July 2004. On a comparable-store basis, July sales decreased 8.8%. Comparable-store sales do not include stores or locations opened, closed or otherwise non-comparable during the last 12 months. Sales for the first seven months of 2005 increased 6.0% to $466.6 million compared with $440.3 million in 2004. On a comparable-store basis, sales increased 1.6% for the first seven months. "Actual sales figures for July are the same as the preliminary results that were preannounced along with our second quarter earnings release on August 1, 2005," said Clarence H. Smith, president and chief executive officer. "As previously reported, written orders in July were up 3.2% in total versus last year with comparable stores off 1%. The July 4th holiday weekend was disappointing, but written orders on a comp basis were modestly positive for the remainder of July. "There was one less delivery day in July this year as compared to 2004 which impacted total sales by an estimated 4%. Comparable-store sales for July last year were up 9.9%, so the comparison was difficult. Comp-store sales for August and September last year were down 4.1% and 8.4% respectively, largely due to disruptions from four hurricanes, so the comparison should be much easier," Smith concluded. Havertys is a full-service home furnishings retailer with 118 showrooms in 16 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/.