Ethan Allen predicts earnings gain of 15% in 2003 fiscal year
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, June 17, 2002
NEW YORK — Farooq Kathwari, chief executive officer of Ethan Allen, celebrated the manufacturer-retailer's 70th anniversary by ringing the opening bell June 10 at the New York Stock Exchange.
Kathwari said the Danbury, Conn.-based company should earn close to 60 cents a share in its fourth quarter ending June 30, compared to 50 cents in the previous year's final period.
"Assuming consumer confidence continues to improve for fiscal 2003, we estimate annual sales and earnings per share will increase approximately 10% and 15%, respectively," he said.
Later, Kathwari hosted an Investor's Day, where he laid out the reasons for Ethan Allen's growth and the outlook for the future.
"The reason we're strong is the reinvention we've done over the last few years," Kathwari said. "The cycle of invention is becoming shorter and shorter…. Companies that are 70 years old and still in business have reinvented, consciously or unconsciously."
He was referring to the complete makeover of Ethan Allen in the 1990s.
Furniture/Today ranks Ethan Allen as the second-largest furniture store and the sixth-largest furniture maker.
