It’s no secret that the furniture business is still in the throes of a post-pandemic slump. But the latest financial information coming out of Hooker Furnishings—one of the few publicly traded manufacturers in the sector—indicates that the rebound the industry is hoping for hasn’t yet arrived.

In its first-quarter earnings call for shareholders last week, the Virginia-based company reported consolidated net sales of $93.6 million—a decrease of $28.2 million over the same period last year, or a 23.2 percent drop. There was no hand-wringing or uncertainty about the cause: The company pointed squarely to the industry-wide decline in consumer demand.

“The ongoing weak demand that’s adversely impacting the furniture industry made our first quarter challenging,” said Jeremy Hoff, the company’s CEO, during the call. He added, “While we are disappointed to report a rare operating loss this quarter, the loss was almost entirely driven by the sales reductions in each segment, and we strongly believe we’ll return to profitability once demand and revenues rebound. We do, however, expect some short-term volatility in earnings until the industry-wide downturn ends.”

Despite Hoff’s optimism about an impending comeback, the significant losses called for an edit to the company’s balance sheet. On the call, he announced plans to reduce operating costs by 10 percent across the board, the biggest cut in the company’s 100-year history.

“Times like these present an opportunity to recalibrate and even reinvent aspects of our business,” said the CEO, outlining in broad strokes how to make that number a reality. One major move includes folding BoBo Intriguing Objects, which the company acquired in 2023, into Hooker Branded. The footprint of BoBo’s Georgia warehouse will be reduced, in addition to other to-be-announced consolidations and cost reductions.

With its $41 million in cash reserves, Hoff said that Hooker Furnishings is well-positioned to ride out the downturn, and confirmed that the company will continue to focus on its long-range strategic initiative to transform the brand into a whole-home, consumer-centric resource. He highlighted the recent appointment of chief creative officer Caroline Hipple—who left Norwalk Furniture after 15 years with the brand, where she was instrumental in its revitalization—as a step toward that goal. “As part of the executive leadership team, she will direct a collaborative merchandising approach across our brands that integrates case goods, import and domestic upholstery, and outdoor furnishings, as well as lighting, accessories and accents,” he said. “As we bring our divisions into full alignment and move forward in the same creative direction, inspired by consumer trends in style, materials, color and aesthetics, we can become a whole-home resource offering a more forward-facing product line and presentation.”

The executive said that he expects the company to be profitable in the current fiscal year, and staff layoffs were not specifically mentioned as a cost-cutting measure.

“We continue to believe the investments and process improvements we made in the past year … will be a springboard to higher sales and profitability,” said Hoff. “Since many fundamentals of the economy are solid, and our company is well-positioned, we believe an upturn in consumer confidence, demand and industry-wide business will be significant when it occurs.”