Furniture Today,
ATLANTA — Furniture retailer Havertys said February

sales were down 10.9% from a year earlier to $60.1 million, with same-store sales tumbling 12.9%.

Specialty retailer Pier 1 Imports, meanwhile, reported that same-store sales were down 8.4% in the February reporting period, although total sales rose 14.3% to $120.5 million when this year’s five-week reporting period was compared with last year’s four-week period.

Fort Worth, Texas-based Pier 1 said sales for its just-ended 53-week fiscal year came to $1.6 billion, down 8.6% from the previous year.

Clarence Smith, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Havertys, attributed his company’s sales declines to “a general softening of demand … in several of our markets. We believe this condition is largely a result of the slowdown in housing and a weakening of prices for homes that reduces the equity and perceived ‘wealth’ of our target customers.”

He said written sales for the first quarter through March 6 were down about 11% from the comparable period a year earlier.

“There does not appear to be any near-term catalyst in the housing markets to improve this trend, so we presume business will remain demanding for the next several months. We are focused on reaching our target customer with an emphasis on our strong values for quality merchandise. Where possible, we are reducing our overhead costs to reflect the lower sales activity,” Smith said.

Havertys sales for the first two months of 2014 decreased 7% to $125 million, with same-store sales down 8.7%.

Smith said that on Friday, the company will celebrate the grand opening of its second store in Austin, Texas, “one of the markets experiencing a continuation of strong single-family housing sales.”