Furniture retailer Leons defies pandemic downturn with strong fourth-quarter earnings
Home improvement has been on a hot streak during COVID-19, as people under lockdown have decided to finally get rid of that old sofa or fridge, or upgrade their home offices.
Leon’s Furniture Ltd. is one beneficiary of the trend, a rare bright spot in the Canadian retail landscape. The Toronto-based retailer reported its highest-ever fourth-quarter revenue on Tuesday, saying that demand for its products has remained strong and that e-commerce is surging.
The company, whose store banners include Leon’s and The Brick, reported revenue of $675.1-million in the three months ended Dec. 31, up 8.6 per cent compared to the prior year. Leon’s said that demand has been strong in all its categories – including furniture, mattresses, appliances and electronics. Leon’s has seen demand for its products surge since the effects of COVID-19 began to impact Canadians in the spring.
Same-store sales, an important metric that tracks growth not attributable to new store openings, rose by 7.3 per cent in the fourth quarter. The company has 304 stores across Canada.
E-commerce sales more than tripled in the quarter.
“On a longer-term basis, we still believe that the underlying Canadian economy remains relatively strong,” the company said in a release on Tuesday. “Although it is difficult to gauge future consumer confidence and what impact it may have on retail, we remain cautiously optimistic that our sales and profitability will increase.”
Leon’s reported net earnings of $53.3-million, compared to $39.3-million in the same period last year. For the full year 2020, net income grew by 52.8 per cent to $163.3-million.
Your time is valuable. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. Sign up today.
Published at Wed, 24 Feb 2021 00:14:36 +0000
Comments
Loading…