Vendor/retailer cites challenging economy, Hurricane Helene
YSN Staff
Furniture manufacturer, Top 100 retailer, interior designer and industry bellwether Ethan Allen reported a dip in sales revenue in the first quarter of its fiscal year.
The period, which ended Sept. 30, was plagued by economic disruptions as well as Hurricane Helene, which severely impacted the company’s distribution center in Old Fort, N.C.
Fiscal Q1 Details
- Consolidated net sales dropped from $163.9 million a year ago to $154.3 million.
- Retail segment written order trends dropped by 6.8%
- Wholesale segment written orders dropped by 4.8%
- Ended the quarter with 3,347 employees, down 8.5% from last year and 27.9% less than September 2019.
Could Have Been Worse
Farooq Kathwari, Ethan Allen chairman, president and CEO, said considering the headwinds the company battled, he was pleased with the numbers.
“We are pleased with our first quarter financial and operating results amid the challenging economic environment,” he said. “We continue to strengthen various areas of our vertically integrated enterprise, including our talent, product offerings, marketing, retail network, manufacturing, logistics, technology and social responsibility.”
Ethan Allen continues to streamline by trimming its staff numbers.
“Strengthening our team and investing in technology is a game changer,” he said. “These two important factors have helped us to operate more efficiently.”
Hurricane Helene was a serious blow, but the company has rebounded, he said.
“One of our distribution centers located in Old Fort, N.C., was impacted in September by significant flooding from Hurricane Helene,” Kathwari said. “The disruption impacted shipments and we suffered a loss of $300,000 related to damaged inventory and remediation costs. Restoration efforts have helped our distribution center resume normal shipping and receiving capacity.”
Ethan Allen ranked 19th on FurnitureToday’s 2024 Top 100 listing of the nation’s largest home furnishings retailers, with some 168 stores across the country.
