Cousins Furniture Chain Posts $1.7-Million First-Quarter Loss

Cousins Home Furnishings, which spent the past year transforming its furniture store chain from Cousins to the Brick Warehouse, reported a $1.7-million loss for the first quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to a $1.9- million loss for the same quarter a year ago. Revenues dropped 25% to $25.8 million.

Cousins officials linked $510,000 of the loss to interest expenses and noted that the company “continues to concentrate on methods to increase sales volumes, maximize gross profits and improve the efficiency of operating costs.”

The company, which incurred more than 250 closed-store days during the yearlong transformation to the Brick Warehouse, is “moving toward” profitability, according to Daniel P. Selznick, director of Cousins’ executive committee.

During its annual meeting on Wednesday, Cousins boosted the total number of shares available from 10 million to 20 million. Although about 2 million of those shares will be used to fulfill an equity agreement signed earlier in the year with a New York-based investment group, the remainder will be used “for possible future financing and acquisition transactions,” according to Selznick.