Gamers help lift Conn's in December

An improvement in delinquency rates helped Conn’s in December, as the company reported an 11.5% increase in total net sales.

Conn’s total sales, which the company reported at $132.4 million, were impacted approximately 7% by tighter consumer finance underwriting, the company said, which was implemented in response to rising credit delinquencies and defaults. The action improved 60-plus-day delinquency rates in December by 30 basis points over November, the company reported. The company also said same store sales edged up only 0.5% due to plummeting tablet demand.

“We experienced same store unit sales increases in the furniture and mattress and home appliance categories, while average selling price increases more than offset unit declines in consumer electronics and partially offset unit declines in home office. Tablet same store sales declined 58.7%. Television same store sales were up slightly,” said Ted Wright, Conn’s chairman and CEO. “Gaming sales increased sharply compared to a year ago as availability met consumer demand this year. Same store repair service agreement commissions declined due to changing product sales mix, as repair service agreement attachment rates are highest on home office products.”

Wright added that the company experienced isolated product shortages due to the port strike in California, but managed to mitigate supply chain disruptions by laying in higher inventory.

Conn’s operates 91 retail locations in Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.