Hooker Furniture 2Q profit falls by more than half
Hooker Furniture Corp. said Tuesday its fiscal second-quarter fell by more than half amid a prolonged slump in the home market. The company cut costs amid the housing slump but the “the summer business environment was even more challenging than anticipated,” said Paul B. Toms Jr., chairman, chief executive and president.
Inflation in product costs and higher raw material costs, fuel prices, offshore labor and ocean freight costs, plus the weaker dollar, hurt the furniture maker’s gross profit margin during the quarter, the company said. Meanwhile, lower volume due to an industry-wide slump, discontinued domestically produced wood furniture and lower average selling prices hurt sales.
“While we anticipate that business in the fall will be marginally better than the summer, the structural economic problems that impacted us in the summer, such as a troubled housing sector, tight credit, high energy prices and historically low levels of consumer confidence, are still in place,” Toms said in a statement.
The company is continuing to cut costs in warehousing, distribution and administration and will work on promotions with retailers to stimulate sales.
Tags: chief executive, furniture, furniture co, furniture maker, housing slump, inflation, wood furnitureRelated posts
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