Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business
General
Flexsteel Industries, Inc., and Subsidiaries (the “Company”) is one of the largest manufacturers, importers, and marketers of residential furniture products in the United States. Product offerings include a wide variety of furniture such as sofas, loveseats, chairs, reclining rocking chairs, swivel rockers, sofa beds, convertible bedding units, occasional tables, desks, dining tables and chairs, kitchen storage, bedroom furniture, and outdoor furniture. A featured component in most of the upholstered furniture is a unique steel drop-in seat spring from which the name “Flexsteel” is derived. The Company distributes its products throughout the United States through its e-commerce channel and direct sales force.
The Company operates in one reportable segment, furniture products. The Company’s furniture products business involves the distribution of manufactured and imported products consisting of a broad line of furniture for the residential market.
Manufacturing and Offshore Sourcing
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, the Company operated manufacturing facilities located in Dublin, Georgia, and Juarez, Mexico (the Dublin, Georgia location ceased operations effective June 30, 2024). These ongoing manufacturing operations are integral to the Company’s product offerings and distribution strategy by offering smaller and more frequent product runs of a wider product selection. The Company identifies and eliminates manufacturing inefficiencies and adjusts manufacturing schedules on a daily basis to meet customer requirements. The Company has established relationships with key suppliers to ensure prompt delivery of quality component parts. The Company’s production includes the use of selected component parts sourced offshore to enhance value in the marketplace.
The Company integrates manufactured products with finished products acquired from offshore suppliers who can meet quality specifications and scheduling requirements. The Company will continue to pursue and refine this blended strategy, offering customers manufactured goods, products manufactured utilizing imported component parts, and ready-to-deliver imported products. This blended focus on products allows the Company to provide a wide range of price points, styles and product categories to satisfy customer requirements.
Competition
The furniture industry is highly competitive and includes a large number of U.S. and foreign manufacturers and distributors, none of which dominate the market. The Company competes in markets with a large number of relatively small manufacturers; however, certain competitors have substantially greater sales volumes than the Company. The Company’s products compete based on style, quality, price, delivery, service and durability. The Company believes its patented, guaranteed-for-life Blue Steel Spring, manufacturing and sourcing capabilities, facility locations, commitment to customers, product quality, delivery, service, value and experienced production, sales, marketing and management teams, are some of its competitive advantages.
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Seasonality
The Company’s business is not considered seasonal.
Foreign Operations
The Company has minimal export sales. On June 30, 2024, the Company had approximately 30 employees located in Asia to ensure Flexsteel’s quality standards are met and to coordinate the delivery of products acquired from overseas suppliers. The Company leases and operates three manufacturing facilities in Juarez, Mexico and leases one manufacturing facility in Mexicali, Mexico and had approximately 1,200 employees located in Mexico on June 30, 2024. The four Mexico facilities total 1,061,000 square feet. As of June 30, 2024, the Company has not begun operations in the Mexicali facility and has subleased approximately 339,000 of the 508,000 square feet. The Company expects to sublease the facility until such time that demand necessitates the additional capacity. See “Risk Factors” in Item 1A and Note 2 Leases of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion of the leased assets.
Customer Backlog
The approximate backlog of customer orders believed to be firm as of the end of the current fiscal year and the prior two fiscal years were as follows (in thousands):
June 30, 2024
June 30, 2023
June 30, 2022
$
59,543
$
49,729
$
62,800
Raw Materials
The Company utilizes various types of wood, fabric, leather, filling material, high carbon spring steel, bar and wire stock, polyurethane foam and other raw materials in manufacturing furniture. The Company purchases these materials from numerous outside suppliers, both U.S. and foreign, and is not dependent upon any single source of supply. The costs of certain raw materials fluctuate, but all continue to be readily available within supplier lead-times; however, we could experience supply-chain disruptions at any time, which could impact the availability of materials.
Industry Factors
The Company has exposure to actions by governments, including tariffs, see “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Government Regulations
The Company is subject to various local, state, and federal laws, regulations and agencies that affect businesses generally, see “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations did not have a material effect upon our capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.
Environmental Matters
All of Flexsteel’s stakeholders have a responsibility to protect our employees and our environment. The officers of Flexsteel and its subsidiaries will use our role as business and community leaders to set the tone at the top to guide our management teams in their efforts to improve the workplace and the environment we directly impact. Because we are committed to sustainable business practices, to our people, and to our communities, we will continue to grow and expand the scope of our dedications to the stewardship of our valued resources. The Company is subject to environmental laws and regulations with respect to product content and industrial waste. Further discussion is included in “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Trademarks and Patents
The Company owns the United States improvement patents to its Flexsteel guaranteed-for-life Blue Steel Spring – the all-riveted, high-carbon, steel-banded seating platform that gives upholstered and leather furniture the strength and comfort to last a lifetime, as well as patents on convertible beds. The Company owns other patents and owns certain trademarks in connection with its furniture.
It is not common in the furniture industry to obtain a patent for a furniture design. If a particular design of a furniture manufacturer is well accepted in the marketplace, it is common for other manufacturers to imitate the same design without recourse by the furniture manufacturer who initially introduced the design. Furniture products are designed by the Company’s own design staff and through the services of third-party designers. New models and designs of furniture, as well as new fabrics, are introduced continuously.
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Employees
The Company had approximately 1,500 employees on June 30, 2024, including 7 employees who are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Approximately all of the Company's employees are full-time. Management believes it has good relations with employees.
Available Information
Copies of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, are available free of charge on our website (www.flexsteel.com) as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file the material with or furnish it to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Additionally, the SEC maintains an internet site (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. Information on our website or linked to our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.