ZEELAND, MI - Herman Miller Inc. blamed Hurricane Sandy and lackluster sales of its office and contract furniture products in Europe as factors contributing to a less than stellar second quarter.

Herman Miller reported slaes of $441.8 million for its second quarter ended Dec. 1, a decrease of 0.9% from the prior second quarter. Sales in North America totaled $304.7 milliion, down 5.4% from a year ago. Net sales outside of North America were $92.8 million in Q2, up 6.1%. The company said this revenue growth was driven by its acquisition of POSH Office Systems Ltd., which helped offset decreased sales in Europe.

On a positive note, Herman Miller reported that it recorded new orders of $475.3 millioin in Q2, up 8.1% from the piror year. New orders in North America accounted for $328.7 million in Q2, an increase of 7.3% from the same period last fiscal year.

Brian Walker, CEO of Herman Miller, said, “While the quarter’s sales came in below our expectations, we see progress and momentum in our strategy, evidenced by solid growth in consolidated orders and backlog. A combination of factors contributed to lower than anticipated sales in the quarter, including long-leadtime orders, disruption caused by the East Coast storm, and further weakening of demand in Europe. However, we’re encouraged by the increased order activity reported by each of our segments and by the particular strength of our key growth initiatives.”

Based partly on increased new order actiivity, Herman Miller expects net sales Q3 to be in the range of $430 million to $450 million, whcih would represent an increase of 7.5% to 12.5%.