Haverty Furniture Reports 8% Sales Increase For September

Furniture World News

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. reported sales for the month ended September 30, 2006. Havertys' September sales increased 8.0% to $72.4 million compared with $67.1 million in September 2005. On a comparable-store basis, September sales increased 6.4%. Comparable-store sales do not include locations opened, closed or otherwise non-comparable during the last 12 months. Sales for the first nine months of 2006 totaled $643.1 million versus $602.1 million for 2005, representing an increase of 6.8%. On a comparable-store basis, sales increased 5.0% for the first nine months. Clarence H. Smith, president and chief executive officer, said, "Comparable-store sales were very good once again in September. A much better in-stock position relative to last year continues to allow for faster and more reliable scheduling of home deliveries to our customers. An extra Saturday in this year's September calendar also contributed to our favorable results. Our total written sales for the month were up over September last year by a low single-digit percentage with weakness evident after strong increases for Labor Day week end. "Preliminary indications of gross profit margins for the third quarter are below the levels that were achieved for the second quarter of this year as there was more clearance activity than planned. We are just kicking off a series of TV commercials created by our new advertising agency, Fitzgerald & Company of Atlanta. The "HAVE it all" campaign will strengthen the connection between Havertys brand and our customers' desire to create homes reflecting their personal style." Havertys is a full-service home furnishings retailer with 119 showrooms in 17 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.