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Bassett ® Bassett Announces Fiscal Second Quarter Results July 1 , 2021 BASSETT , Va . , July 01 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- Bassett Furniture Industries , Inc. ( Nasdaq : BSET ) announced today its results of operations for its second quarter ended May 29 , 2021 . Fiscal 2021 Second Quarter Highlights ( Dollars in millions ) Consolidated ( 1 ) Wholesale Retail Logistical Services Sales 2nd Qtr 2021 2020 $ 124.1 $ Dollar Change 63.8 $ 60.3 % Change 2nd Qtr 2021 Operating Income ( Loss ) % of 2nd Qtr Sales 2020 % of Sales 94.4 % $ 8.4 6.8 % $ ( 31.2 ) -48.9 % $ 76.0 $ 33.1 $ 42.9 129.7 % $ 5.4 7.0 % $ ( 7.4 ) -22.3 % $ 62.5 $ 33.2 $ 29.3 88.4 % $ 1.7 2.6 % $ ( 9.2 ) -27.6 % $ 22.2 $ 15.3 $ 7.0 45.8 % $ 1.3 5.8 % $ ( 1.8 ) -12.1 % ( 1 ) Our consolidated results include certain intercompany eliminations . See Table 4 , " Segment Information " below for an illustration of the effects of these intercompany eliminations on our consolidated sales and operating income ( loss ) . Consolidated revenue of $ 124.1 million for our second quarter represented a 94 % increase as compared to the pandemic impacted quarter in 2020 and 15 % as compared to 2019. Similarly , strong wholesale orders of $ 96.0 million for the period increased by 172 % versus 2020 and by 51 % compared to the pre - pandemic 2019 second quarter . As we battle an extremely tight labor market and continued supply chain disruptions , we strive to chip away at our huge order backlog that grew by another $ 19 million over the three months . Adding to the complexity is the inflationary raw material spiral that we have confronted this year , leading to our unprecedented action of levying three general price increases since our fiscal year began in December . Amidst this unsettled environment , we were pleased to record an $ 8.4 million operating profit compared to last year's loss . EPS advanced to $ 0.60 per share for the quarter against the COVID - 19 affected loss of ( $ 2.04 ) in 2020 . Again , our obvious focus is centered on the reduction of our backlog and returning to a semblance of normalcy in our service levels as soon as possible . Although our cancellation rate has not spiked significantly to date , it is a natural concern . At the recent High Point Furniture Market , we were actually thanked several times for our ability to deliver goods more quickly than the apparent current industry standard , which underscores just how compromised lead times actually are today . Aside from working massive amounts of overtime , the early June opening of our new upholstery production facility in Newton , NC will provide some immediate relief to a portion of the situation . With the polyurethane foam shortage largely behind us , our current raw material bottlenecks lie in the thousands of yards of decorative fabrics that our suppliers owe us . Our production managers have done a great job in shuffling our daily schedules to produce what they can based on the materials that they actually possess . Notwithstanding all the complications of the post - pandemic economy , our wholesale team produced a 7.0 % operating margin for the period as our wood , upholstery , and outdoor divisions turned in performances significantly better than 2020 and 2019 . Another aspect of the current disorder is the state of the industry's logistics model . The strong business that has characterized the past 13 months has overwhelmed the furniture trucking segment . There is currently a dearth of warehouse space , warehouse labor , and over the road trailers to handle shipping backlogs . Consequently , even after the goods have been manufactured , there are accompanying lags in logistics service that could represent several weeks of further delay . Exacerbating this state of affairs is the global shortage of shipping containers that continues to plague our sector . Our Zenith Logistics team has performed at a high level in dealing with the cumulative effect of these daily challenges by generating $ 1.3 million of operating profit for the quarter despite spiraling warehousing labor costs and procuring over 400 trailers on short term leases to combat the equipment shortage . Longer term we are motivated by prospects of our recent regional warehouse model that is showing great promise . Over the past six months we have experimented with keeping some of our best sellers closer to the U.S. population centers for quicker delivery . When we have been able to have these goods in inventory , we have seen significant upticks in rates of sale , which bodes well for our plan to expand this model as product availability becomes normalized . As mentioned , wholesale orders increased dramatically during the quarter with all channels showing growth . Leading the way was our Bassett Design Center ( BDC ) network , part of our open market wholesale business , with increases of 212 % and 87 % , respectively , compared to 2020 and 2019 . Another big part of the overall open market increase was the continuing rise of the Bassett Club Level program , which grew by 328 % versus 2019 . Dedicated Bassett - branded distribution in the form of the Bassett Home Furnishings network and BDC's represented 67 % of wholesale sales for the period . Once again , our corporate retail division was not able to deliver goods to the home at the rate that they were sold in the stores . Our digital outreach strategies continued to bear fruit as visitors to our website grew by 51 % in the quarter . Store traffic , which has declined for the past few years , has held steady since business returned after the stores reopened last May . Still , our corporate retail turned in a profit of $ 1.6 million while continuing to add to its already large order backlog . Finally , we are excited by the combined results of the Lane Venture and Bassett Outdoor sales strategies as they combined for a 122 % increase to 2020 and 124 % to 2019. Much of the new business came from our Alabama metal facility that we purchased in 2019 .