DANBURY, CT - Ethan Allen Interiors' second quarter net sales of $193.1 million represented a "strong financial" result, but could have been better, according to Chairman & CEO Farooq Kathwari. Kathwari cited the government shutdown among factors that held Ethan Allen to a 1 percent increase compared to net sales for the second quarter of its 2013 fiscal year.

Ethan Allen's second quarter sales improved on its first quarter net sales performance, a 3.1 percent decline. The residential furniture maker and retailer's year to date net sales were $374.8 million for the first six months, down 1.0% from $378.7 million the prior year.

"While we are pleased with the strong financial results in what is our seasonally slower quarter, our greatest opportunity to leverage our vertically integrated structure is to increase our written sales," Kathwari said. "Written orders and deliveries were affected in the quarter by several external and internal factors including: the government shutdown, challenging weather in many parts of the US, and an increase in back-ordered import products."

Kathwari said Ethan Allen will introduce an "On Demand" inactive next month to provide faster delivery to customers purchase in-stock furniture and accessories. "This coupled with our strong custom order programs further expands our commitment to personal service," Kathwari said.

Ethan Allen rolled out a new e-commerce program in December 2012 using the Demandware platform.