The numbers are in, and home retailers are still hurting

2024.08.09

The new Arhaus showroom in Peachtree City, Georgia Courtesy of Arhaus

The return of better days for the home furnishings retail business will be delayed. Again. After another quarter of lackluster results from the national chains, it’s clear that a return to good times is going to have to wait at least another results report.

Big publicly listed companies like Arhaus, Ethan Allen, Bed Bath & Beyond (formerly Overstock), and Floor & Decor, as well as the online giant Wayfair, all reported glum earnings over the past 10 days. And while results from major players like RH and Williams-Sonoma are still to come, their most recent numbers were pretty much in line with what we’ve just seen this month.

If there is any faint silver lining to the latest news, it’s that the financial performances seemed to be less drastic in their declines. There were still a few double-digit drops in revenue, but most of these retailers have had worse results during the bottoming-out phase of the past 12 to 18 months. Small salvation, but the way things are going, most businesses will take it.

At the risk of redundancy, the reasons for these declines are well-known to just about everybody in the business: Demand is still slow after the pandemic-fueled boom of a few years ago; the flat housing market means fewer people are furnishing new homes; inflation has caused some serious sticker shock for consumers; and while there’s plenty of money being spent out there, it’s going to cruises, restaurants, clothing stores and Taylor Swift tickets.

Those are the causes. As for the effects, here’s how some of the bigger public players did in their most recent quarter.

Arhaus: The company’s just-reported second quarter showed a 7.1 percent decline in top-line revenues to $310 million, missing analyst estimates. The bottom line also disappointed, and Arhaus lowered its forecast for the full fiscal year. Wall Street was not pleased: The company’s share price plummeted nearly 18 percent during Thursday morning trading.

Ethan Allen: Fourth-quarter revenues slid 10 percent to $169 million, with earnings and margins both dropping. For the full year, net sales plunged 18 percent and the bottom line didn’t do any better. The company avoided a big hit to its share price—still off 2.3 percent for the week it reported—partially by declaring a special dividend.

Wayfair: The online giant had one of the smaller revenue drops for the quarter, down 1.7 percent, and it narrowed its loss by 8.7 percent versus last year. It remained optimistic about its growth, forecasting a 4.9 percent increase for the next three years. Investors were still not thrilled, and the company’s share price dropped 14 percent in the week of its earnings announcement.

Bed Bath & Beyond: The two nameplates’ results are not broken out, but sales for the company were off 5.7 percent versus a year ago—before BBB was acquired—and it continued to lose money at 93 cents a share. Its stock was off about 3 percent for the week it reported.

Havertys: The Southeastern furniture specialty chain has been one of the hardest hit in recent years, and that continued with sales down 13 percent to $179 million and its profits shrinking by almost two-thirds. Its stock price showed a small gain for the week of its statement, but was down 22 percent since the start of the year.

The Container Store: In the midst of a turnaround under its new CEO, the specialty chain still showed a 14 percent decline in revenues and a larger loss—30 cents a share—compared to last year. Spiking just before the earnings announcement, the company’s share price was up about 9 percent for the week but down 62 percent since the start of the year.

Floor & Decor: Another retailer that failed to meet analyst forecasts, it showed a small 0.2 percent decline in revenues but a 21 percent drop in net income. Investors seemed OK with this performance, as the stock was up nearly 9 percent for that week.

Big Lots: While not reporting new numbers, the furniture-centric close-out player announced it would be shuttering more than 300 stores, a move that Wall Street applauded with a 5 percent jump in its share price for the week. Still, it is showing one of the biggest year-to-date declines, off more than 88 percent.

So, the quarter at least so far has been consistent—consistently bad. The promise of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in September offers a glimmer of hope on the horizon. But the truth is, no one knows just how long this downturn will really last.