House of Fabrics Posts 33% Drop for 1st Quarter

House of Fabrics said its first-quarter profit tumbled 33% from a year earlier despite a 6% increase in sales.

The Sherman Oaks operator of 653 fabric stores nationwide said net income in the three months that ended April 30 dropped to $1.34 million from $2 million a year earlier. Sales climbed to $79.5 million from $75 million.

House of Fabrics blamed the earnings drop on higher advertising and discount promotions aimed at boosting sales; the early date of Easter this year, which reduced the number of pre-Easter selling days, and bad weather in certain regions that slowed sales in February and March.