Leon’s Furniture Ltd. is undergoing a leadership change with the retirement of chief executive officer Edward Leon after 45 years in the family business.
Leon’s president Mike Walsh will take over as CEO on July 1, while Mr. Leon will remain on the board of directors. Mr. Walsh, a former Canadian Tire executive, joined the company in 2015 as the first non-family member to ever lead the Leon’s division. He was promoted to chief operating officer last October.
The Toronto-based retailer made the announcement on Thursday as it reported its best-ever first-quarter revenue of $571.1-million, an increase of 14.8 per cent compared with the same period last year.
The company, which owns 303 furniture stores in Canada, including Leon’s and The Brick, reported same-store sales growth of 13.6 per cent in the three months ended March 31, compared with the same period the prior year. Same-store sales is an important retail metric that tracks sales growth not related to new store openings. Leon’s e-commerce sales grew 374 per cent in the first quarter, as Canadians have continued to shift their shopping habits online during the pandemic.
In a statement, company leaders indicated that while COVID-19 has had an impact on consumer behaviour, the underlying health of the Canadian economy “remains relatively strong.” Leon’s is expecting sales and profitability to grow this year.
“Our performance in [the first quarter] was enabled by the same factors that will continue to drive long-term returns: the relentless customer-service focus of our national team of associates, a coast-to-coast bricks-and-mortar network of some of the most recognizable retail banners in Canada, a solid and rapidly growing e-commerce platform, unencumbered ownership of over 4.8 million square feet of real estate, and a rock-solid balance sheet with almost $560-million of available unrestricted liquidity,” Mr. Leon said in a statement on Thursday.
Leon’s reported first-quarter net income of $40.9-million or 51 cents a share, compared with $13.7-million or 16 cents a share in the same period last year.
Your time is valuable. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. Sign up today.
Susan Krashinsky Robertson