Haverty Furniture to Buy 4 HomeLife Stores

Haverty Furniture Cos., a chain of 104 stores in the Central and Southeastern U.S., will buy four stores from defunct rival HomeLife Corp. for $11 million and lease three others as part of an expansion plan.

The sites are expected to open as Haverty stores in the third and fourth quarters of 2002 and boost sales by $12 million next year and $42 million in 2003, the firm said.

The Atlanta-based company expects to spend $21 million this year and $35 million next year on store renovations and building costs. It will open its first store in Clearwater, Fla., followed by one in Fayetteville, Ga., two stores in Orlando, Fla., and two in Virginia.

Haverty shares rose 80 cents to $15.49 on the NYSE.