MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Due to the strength of orders and cash balances in the latest quarter ended May 3, Hooker Furniture said it is restoring executive salaries reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April, the company announced it was implementing salary reductions between 15% and 20% to reduce operating expenses and to conserve cash. The executives impacted by the move included Paul B. Toms, Jr., chairman and CEO; Paul A. Huckfeldt, senior vice president, finance and accounting and chief financial officer; Anne Jacobsen Smith, senior vice president, administration; D. Lee Boone, co-president, Home Meridian; Jeremy R. Hoff, president, Hooker Legacy Brands; and Douglas Townsend, co-president, Home Meridian.
“The disruption brought on by the crisis has not been as severe as the company originally forecasted and for which it had prepared,” the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. “Subsequent to the end of the fiscal 2021 first quarter, which ended on May 3, the company’s orders have trended at rates higher than a year ago, and cash balances have increased by $31 million from quarter-end to around $80 million presently.”
Due these factors, the Compensation Committee determined on July 23 that it was in the best interest of the company and its shareholders to restore the salaries to previous levels.
In April, the board of directors also took a similar temporary reduction in compensation, which it also decided to restore to previous levels at the July 23 meeting.
To view the original April 9 filing, click here.
I’m Tom Russell and have worked at Furniture/Today since August 2003. Since then, I have covered the international side of the business from a logistics and sourcing standpoint. Since then, I also have visited several furniture trade shows and manufacturing plants in Asia, which has helped me gain perspective about the industry in that part of the world. As I continue covering the import side of the business, I look forward to building on that knowledge base through conversations with industry officials and future overseas plant tours. From time to time, I will file news and other industry perspectives online and, as always, welcome your response to these Web postings.
