EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.–Despite a drop in fourth-quarter sales, Marc Pfefferle, Lenox Group’s interim chief executive officer, said the company is “stronger and better positioned for the future,” and has improved market position and share in better casual dinnerware and flatware.
Net income was $4.4 million, compared with a net loss of $6.4 million in the year-ago period. Sales for the quarter were $135 million, a 15 percent drop from $159.1 million in the comparable year period.
Pfefferle attributed the sales decline to the weak consumer retail environment, its exit from the sterling-silver flatware business in the third quarter and “the continued contraction of the gift and specialty channel.” He also said the transition of Dansk from the housewares market to the upstairs tabletop department caused a “temporary product void.”
Nonetheless, improved adjusted earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortization, resulting from reduced operating expenses, along with a strengthened management team, leave the company on solid footing for 2008, according to Pfefferle.
“The company is stronger and better positioned for the future in many ways,” he said in a statement. New product lines in the Lenox brand and an updated Dansk lineup have more appeal for younger, lifestyle-driven consumers. The company has also improved its consumer direct and retail businesses and reduced inventory levels, Pfefferle said.