La-Z-Boy shifting case goods to all-import model

La-Z-Boy announced a restructuring Wednesday that will shift its case goods business to an all import model and also spin off its youth furniture business.

 

La-Z-Boy announced a restructuring Wednesday that will shift its case goods business to an all import model and also spin off its youth furniture business.


The company said it will discontinue all case goods production at its Hudson, N.C., factory later this year, a move that will affect about 100 workers.


This facility assembles and finishes bedroom furniture for Kincaid and American Drew, which account for 12% of the company’s wood furniture business. Overall, case goods represents about 10% of La-Z-Boy sales.


As part of the closing of the Hudson manufacturing facilities, the company will exit its hospitality furniture business, also produced in Hudson.


In addition, the company is expected to sell its Lea Ind. youth furniture business, which it said doesn’t align with its long-term strategic objectives.


La-Z-Boy Chairman, President and CEO Kurt Darrow said that the Lea youth business is “not a strategic fit from a size perspective in terms of its revenue or earnings, and we believe our efforts would be enhanced by focusing our resources on the core case goods product lines, which include bedroom, dining room and occasional pieces, positioned in the mid to upper-mid price points of the market.”


Darrow said the company will continue to service its existing Lea dealers until it finds a new owner for the youth business.


The company will also consolidate its warehouse and repair operations from two North Wilkesboro, N.C., facilities to Hudson. These facilities, which total about 520,000 square feet, will be idled at the end of 2014 and will be marketed for sale along with woodworking equipment in Hudson.


Darrow said the move to an all-import case goods model is aimed at making the company more competitive.


He said the company determined that it cannot generate enough domestic volume to support the size facility it operates in Hudson and that the move is expected to “strengthen our positioning and performance in the segment. With strong manufacturing partners and a global supply chain team on the ground in Asia managing quality and logistics, we will seamlessly transition our remaining domestic bedroom product offerings. We remain firmly committed to ensuring our dealers and their customers continue to receive the excellent service they have come to expect and depend on from La-Z-Boy Inc.”


Darrow said the move will not affect Kincaid’s upholstery program and that it will honor all existing orders in its current backlog.


He said that despite the changes, case goods represents an “integral component of our total product offering to the consumer. In addition to the many independent dealers carrying our various case goods brands, our wood business plays a significant role at our La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries stores in terms of occasional pieces and as part of our growing In-Home Design program. We are committed to the case goods business and believe these changes will position the segment to contribute to the company's overall growth and profitability plan."


La-Z-Boy said the restructuring will result in pre-tax charges in the range of $13 million to $15 million, or 15 to 17 cents per share after tax. These charges, it said, will be primarily for the “impairment of certain long-lived assets and inventory and will also include severance, benefits and other associated costs.”


Most of these charges, it said, will be incurred in the fourth quarter of the company's 2014 fiscal year. The remainder will be incurred in the first half of fiscal 2015. The Lea business also will be reported as discontinued operations commencing with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, the company said.

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