MINNEAPOLIS-Third-quarter net income for Select Comfort grew 600 percent to $6.9 million. The manufacturer/retailer accomplished this by slashing total operating expenses by 15 percent, which included a 20 percent reduction in expenses for sales and marketing, and a 22 percent cut in expenses for research and development. Along with a 4.3 percent downsizing of cost of goods sold, these decreases helped overcome a 6 percent decline in net sales for the quarter, which totaled $147.5 million.
In a Select Comfort statement, Bill McLaughlin, president and chief executive officer, attributed the firming of the bottom line to the company’s focus on controlling costs and building the Select Comfort brand. McLaughlin also cautioned that market conditions remain uncertain for the company. “Therefore, we are planning and managing conservatively, while prepared to capitalize on growth as we see opportunities,” he said.