Hooker Furniture to Purchase Sam Moore from La-Z-Boy.

MARTINSVILLE, Va. & MONROE, Mich. -- Hooker Furniture Corporation (NASDAQ:HOFT) and La-Z-Boy Incorporated (NYSE: LZB) today announced they signed a letter of intent for Hooker to purchase Sam Moore Furniture, a Bedford, Va.-based manufacturer of upscale occasional chairs with an emphasis on

Sam Moore, a 63-year-old company owned since 1998 by La-Z-Boy, is positioned in the upper-medium price range, has a similar dealer base and is a niche- and item-oriented line like Hooker, making the proposed acquisition a "great fit," according to Paul B. Toms Jr., chairman, chief executive officer and president of Hooker Furniture.

"This acquisition would help us attain one of our strategic goals to further diversify into fabric upholstery," Toms said. In 2003, Hooker acquired upscale leather seating specialist Bradington-Young, and the combination of the two seating resources under the Hooker Furniture umbrella "would create approximately $100 million in annual upholstery sales for the Company, and also would take our total revenues closer to the $400 million mark," he said.

Kurt L. Darrow, president and chief executive officer of La-Z-Boy, said, "Sam Moore is a great company with an excellent product line and customer base; however, it doesn't fit with our long-term strategic direction. Hooker is a natural partner for this business and we are confident our customers would be well serviced. We'd like to express our gratitude to our employees and customers for their dedication to both Sam Moore and La-Z-Boy and look forward to their assistance during the transition period."

Toms added, "We believe there is a good future for domestically-produced upholstery, especially for a company that offers customization, and 60% of Sam Moore's business is special order." He added, "Sam Moore is well positioned with the interior design trade, which would further another Hooker Furniture strategic goal to strengthen business with the designer distribution channel."

According to the terms of the letter of intent, the acquisition would be a cash purchase of all the Sam Moore assets, which include property, plant, equipment, inventories and accounts receivable. Sam Moore's assets include an approximately 325,000 square-foot production facility and corporate offices in Bedford.