Hooker Furniture sees demand, business picking up in 2H24

“We believe there are conflicting signals in the economy,” said Hoff. “A housing shortage and the over 20-year high on fixed mortgage rates has slowed down housing activity. The continued rise in interest rates has suppressed consumer confidence. However, overall retail spending and activity in the manufacturing sector and new business start-ups is healthy, while the unemployment rate remains near a 30-year low. As we anticipated, the first half of the year was difficult as the industry worked through bloated inventories and consumers’ spending habits changed. We expect demand and business to pick up in the second half for several reasons. First, consolidated orders are up in mid-double-digits over this time a year ago, with orders trending up in each segment for the past few months. Secondly, a significant portion of Hooker Branded’s backlog consists of orders for new products launched at the High Point market, and are expected to ship in the second half of this year. Thirdly, in the second half, Home Meridian expects to ship to over a thousand retail floors in what we believe to be the largest number of new product placements in its history. We believe all the right pieces are in place for Home Meridian to achieve sustainable profitability in the second half of the year. While we’re focused on reducing overhead costs, keeping our balance sheet strong and judiciously deploying capital, we have continued to invest significantly in initiatives that promote higher visibility amongst potential customers and future growth and believe these things will put us in the strongest possible position when demand improves.”