Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 4, 1990 TAG: 9004040060
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY BUSINESS EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Retail furniture sales are likely to continue sluggish for the rest of the year, possibly rising in the last quarter, he said.
The annual spring furniture market at High Point in two weeks "will tell us a lot," Birnbach said in an interview after the annual meeting in Roanoke. He said he is looking forward to his company's "aggressive program" at the market "but we're not kidding ourselves into thinking everything is great."
Rowe and other furniture manufacturers are concerned about the credit "of a lot of companies," he said, referring to department store chains and other furniture buyers with financial problems.
The sluggish state of the furniture industry affects all price levels, Birnbach said. He places Rowe's products in the middle of the price range.
Rowe's factories in Salem and Missouri worked some short days last month, he said. The company has brought its inventories down and is working on a computer improvement program designed to increase efficiency, he said.
A new advertising program for Rowe's galleries, special sections set aside in retail stores, will begin with the High Point market.
The company said its sales for the quarter ending March 4 were $19.6 million, down from $21.5 million a year ago. Earnings came to $472,000, down from $655,000.
"This is not the kind of performance we like, but in this economic environment we're pleased," Birnbach said.
Several workers from the Salem plant attended the meeting for the first time under Rowe's new employee involvement program. Birnbach attributed the 94 percent vote for re-election of three directors to greater participation by employees.
by CNB