TRINITY, N.C.-Thanks largely to the rollout of the Next Generation Stearns & Foster collection, Sealy turned a $902,000 net loss from last year’s first quarter into net income of $1.2 million in the first quarter ending on Feb. 26.
Larry Rogers, Sealy’s president and CEO, said the new line, which reached retailers in the fourth quarter of 2011, delivered strong numbers in sales, gross margin and operating results. Net sales in the first quarter increased 2.2 percent to $312.3 million, which included a gain of 4.3 percent in average unit selling price and a 7.7 percent pickup in international sales.
Next Generation Stearns & Foster, a higher-priced collection, also helped boost gross margin by 40 basis points to 39.2 percent. Selling, general and administrative expenses dropped 3.5 percent in dollars and 189 basis points as a percentage of sales, to 32.1 percent.
Rogers said Sealy will focus its efforts on driving sales in the new Stearns & Foster line and on its launch of the value-priced Sealy Promotional collection and the premium-priced Optimum by Sealy Posturepedic line. The latter two were introduced at the January Las Vegas Market, and will begin shipping in the second quarter.