La-Z-Boy sales down 31 percent, but that's a good sign
MONROE, Mich. - Furniture giant La-Z-Boy saw sales of $285.5 million in first quarter sales - a drop of 31 percent from last year from last year's $413.6 million. Its profit for the quarter was $4.8 million or 10 cents a share, down from $18.1 million and 39 cents a share.
 
But the company says that's actually a good sign, as analysts had expected more severe losses.
 
“After temporary shutdowns for most of April, our plants have increased production weekly to meet demand and are operating at about 90% of prior-year levels,” said CEO Kurt L. Darrow said. “Strong demand, coupled with ramping up manufacturing, has resulted in a significant increase in product backlog, extended lead times between order and delivery, and slower-than-normal delivered sales for the first quarter.”
 
Darrow said the company is “cautiously optimistic” going into the fall, but that uncertainty remains because of the pandemic.
 
"Our first quarter began in May with most of our customers still closed due to COVID-19. However, as retailers re-opened, written orders rapidly accelerated in June and July, with consumers spending a higher percentage of discretionary dollars on home furnishings,” said Darrow. “During the quarter, we reopened all operations across our retail, distribution and manufacturing businesses. Our team demonstrated great resilience and we are thankful for everyone's hard work, safety consciousness, and dedication to the company."
 
 

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Robert Dalheim

Robert Dalheim is an editor at the Woodworking Network. Along with publishing online news articles, he writes feature stories for the FDMC print publication. He can be reached at [email protected].