ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 31, 1993                   TAG: 9303310050
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ROWE LOCKS IN ITS GOOD NEWS, BRIEFLY

Art Dunkin, Rowe Furniture Corp.'s secretary and treasurer, got locked out of his briefcase at the company's annual meeting Tuesday. But when it was opened with a screwdriver, the information inside was just fine.

Arlington-based Rowe, which has its manufacturing headquarters at its Salem plant, reported a 22 percent increase in sales for this year's first quarter against 1992's.

Net shipments, the furniture industry's term for sales, for the period ended Feb. 28 totaled $20.4 million, up from $16.7 million. Net income was $808,000, or 20 cents a share, compared to a loss of $54,000, or 1 cent a share, in 1992's first quarter.

Rowe's annual meetings historically are brief and Tuesday's lasted just 16 minutes. However, it gave Gerald M. Birnbach, chairman of the board and president, enough time to tell stockholders that Rowe "is ready to take advantage of a turnaround" in business.

He said the company expects to keep prices down despite increases in costs of textiles and lumber. Birnbach, in fact, predicted Rowe will be "one of the few to hold prices" when manufacturers show retailers their new offerings at the International Home Furnishings Market in mid-April at High Point, N.C.

The chief executive officer also alerted stockholders that business has been down slightly since February, probably the result of a combination of winter weather and President Clinton's talk of tax increases. For most consumers, furniture is a discretionary purchase that often is postponed when they are less than confident about the economy.

Re-elected as directors Tuesday were Dunkin; C.T. Rosen, president of CTR Funding Inc.; and S.J. Silver, partner in Silver, Freedman & Taff, a law firm. Dunkin and Silver each own about 11 percent of Rowe's common stock; Rosen holds less than 1 percent. Management directors are paid $500 per meeting and non-employee directors receive $1,000.

Stockholders authorized increasing the number of available shares of common stock from 5 million to 20 million and approved a new stock option and incentive plan. 

Memo: ***CORRECTION***
by CNB