Global upholstered furniture manufacturer La-Z-Boy Incorporated has reported a decline in first quarter sales while its retail division performed strongly.
According to its first quarter trading update for the period ended 25 July 2026, total sales fell 3% to $476m from $492m in 2025.
Net losses resulted at $1.9m, down compared to its profit of $18.2m against the previous year.
The Retail segment (company-owned La-Z-Boy stores) delivered a strong first quarter. Delivered sales grew 10%, GAAP and adjusted operating margin expanded to 6.4% and 6.5%, respectively, and total written sales for the Retail segment were up 16% versus a year ago.
Written same-store sales (which exclude the impact of both newly opened stores and newly acquired stores) strengthened significantly, growing 3% for the quarter on a year-over-year basis, and a 500 bps sequential improvement versus fourth quarter.
On a consolidated basis, strong Retail growth was more than offset by lower Wholesale delivered sales, impacted by flow through of choppier than expected order patterns throughout the quarter. Wholesale demand patterns improved throughout the first quarter and backlog is solid entering the second quarter.
Melinda D. Whittington, Board Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of La-Z-Boy Incorporated, said: “During our first quarter, we continued to gain share and drive momentum in our Retail segment, where we control the full end-to-end consumer experience.
“We delivered strong sales growth across both delivered and written sales, and I’m particularly pleased to highlight growth across all three strategic pillars of same-store sales, new store expansion, and acquisitions of independent dealers, all while expanding operating margin.
“Our 3% written same-store sales growth was driven by excellence in execution across marketing, product innovation, and in-store inspiration, despite a continued challenging backdrop for our industry.
“This momentum demonstrated that our iconic La-Z-Boy brand, disproportionately growing our Retail business, and our predominantly U.S. based supply chain continue to be competitive advantages in an uneven consumer environment.
“In our 100th year, we continue to focus on driving our core vertically integrated North American upholstery business, through day-to-day operational excellence and broader enterprise transformations.
“We completed the divestiture of our wholesale casegoods businesses in May, continue to progress our multi-year distribution and home delivery transformation, and have concluded production at one of the two planned plant closures.
“As we navigate an uneven consumer environment, we are focused on driving our own near-term momentum while continuing to invest for long-term value creation.”
Looking ahead to the second quarter, Taylor Luebke, SVP and Chief Financial Officer of La-Z-Boy Incorporated, added: “We enter our second quarter with strong written Retail sales and a solid backlog in Wholesale, balanced by a cautious view of the macro backdrop. We expect fiscal second quarter sales to be in the range of $500-$520 million, reflecting enterprise sales growth of -1% to positive 2%, excluding the impact of wholesale casegoods divestiture.
“We expect adjusted operating margin in the range of 4.0-5.5%, reflecting near-term investments and friction costs as we drive our core La-Z-Boy Retail and Wholesale businesses with investments in new stores, advertising, strategic pricing, and digital transformation, while also optimizing our plant footprint and driving our distribution and home delivery transformation.”
