Stanley Furniture Company, Inc. (Nasdaq-NGS:STLY) reported net sales of $11.7 million, down 20.4 percent from the $14.7 million reported a year ago, a situation the company attributed to "production delays of new product."

 
Sales for the quarter continued to be negatively impacted by delays in shipping 2015 product introductions, as the construction and initial production of the new factory in Vietnam dedicated solely to the company's new product took longer than originally anticipated.

 
“The completion of the plant's construction phase came so close to the Tet holiday (Vietnamese New Year) that initial staffing of the plant was difficult,” said Glenn Prillaman, CEO. “With construction complete and the plant fully staffed, the focus is on training and managerial development."

 
As a result, Stanley Furniture swung to a net loss from continuing operations was $1.5 million, compared to a net income of $2.8 million the year prior.
 

Prillaman said that completion of most of its delayed customer orders is expected to be achieved by the end of the second quarter.

 
"As the second half of this year begins, more marketable product introduced in 2015 begins hitting retail floors," he said. “Prices are 25-40 percent lower as certain overhead and sourcing costs have been eliminated, yet our product quality and styling remains representative of designs that provide our customers a gateway to the luxury segment of the wood residential market." commented Prillaman.

 
The new nursery and youth brand, Stone & Leigh, that will be manufactured in its Viet Nam plant, are 25 percent below where the company’s former brand, Young America, was positioned in the market. 
 

"While the transformation of Stanley from a legacy domestic manufacturer to a progressive marketing and distribution company with a differentiated overseas sourcing strategy has not happened as quickly as we would have preferred or predicted, we continue to make progress executing our plan," concluded Prillaman. "Second quarter could be another tough quarter, but we expect the second half of this year to show improved results.”

 
Established in 1924, Stanley Furniture Company, Inc. is traded on the NASDAQ stock market under the symbol STLY.

(Source: woodworkingnetwork.com  Author: Bill Esler)