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Category: Ethan Allen (ETH)
Date: 3 January 2021 Stock price of Ethan Allen (ETH): $20.21 In this article we take a more detailed look at Ethan Allen, a leading interior design company, manufacturer and retailer in the home furnishings marketplace.
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As of June 30, 2020, the Company operated 144 design centers (our retail segment) and our independent retailers operated 160 design centers. Our wholesale segment’s net sales include sales to our retail segment, which are eliminated in consolidation, and sales to our independent retailers and other unaffiliated third parties."
More About Ethan Allen
Founded in 1932 and incorporated in Delaware in 1989, Ethan Allen Interiors Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ethan Allen Global, Inc., and Ethan Allen Global, Inc.’s subsidiaries, is a leading interior design company, manufacturer and retailer in the home furnishings marketplace. Today we are a global luxury international home fashion brand that is vertically integrated from design through delivery, which affords our clientele a value proposition of style, quality and price.
We provide complimentary interior design service to our clients and sell a full range of furniture products and decorative accents through a retail network of approximately 300 design centers in the United States and abroad as well as online at ethanallen.com. The design centers represent a mix of independent licensees and Company-owned and operated locations. Our Company operates retail design centers located in the United States and Canada. The independently operated design centers are located in the United States, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. We also own and operate nine manufacturing facilities, including six manufacturing plants in the United States, two manufacturing plants in Mexico and one manufacturing plant in Honduras. Approximately 75% of our products are manufactured or assembled in these North American facilities.
We provide complimentary interior design service to our clients and sell a full range of furniture products and decorative accents through a retail network of approximately 300 design centers in the United States and abroad as well as online at ethanallen.com. The design centers represent a mix of independent licensees and Company-owned and operated locations. Our Company operates retail design centers located in the United States and Canada. The independently operated design centers are located in the United States, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. We also own and operate nine manufacturing facilities, including six manufacturing plants in the United States, two manufacturing plants in Mexico and one manufacturing plant in Honduras. Approximately 75% of our products are manufactured or assembled in these North American facilities.
Business Strategy of Ethan Allen
Our strategy has been to position Ethan Allen as a preferred brand offering complimentary design service together with products of superior style, quality and value to provide customers with a comprehensive, one-stop shopping solution for their home furnishing and interior design needs. In carrying out our strategy, we continue to expand our reach to a broader consumer base through a diverse selection of attractively priced products, designed to complement one another, reflecting current fashion trends in home decorating. We continuously monitor changes in home fashion trends through attendance at international industry events and fashion shows, internal market research, and regular communication with our retailers and design center design consultants who provide valuable input on consumer trends. We believe that the observations and input gathered enable us to incorporate appropriate style details into our products to react quickly to changing customer tastes. We are receiving strong customer interest in our recently introduced products including Lucy, a mid-century modern inspired upholstery collection and Farmhouse, a country cottage inspired furniture collection. Our strong network of North American interior design consultants continues to create design solutions that best satisfy our customers’ needs.
We believe changes in consumer spending and new habits being formed as a result of social distancing and sheltering in place brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic will create opportunities for our brand. Now more than ever, home is a haven, and we are here to help the customer reimagine their homes. We continue to generate business through our retail design center network and by interacting virtually with our customers through ethanallen.com. Our design consultants engage with customers working safely in our design centers and remotely utilizing technology, including the Ethan Allen inHome augmented reality app, the 3D room planner tool, Live Chat on ethanallen.com, Skype and FaceTime. At Ethan Allen, our internet strategy is to generate business by combining technology with excellent personal service. Though our customers have the opportunity to buy our products online, we take the process further. With so much of our product customizable, we encourage our website customers to get personal help from our interior design professionals either in person or by chatting online with one of our qualified design consultants. This complimentary direct contact with one of our knowledgeable interior design consultants, whether remotely or in-person, creates a competitive advantage through our excellent personal service. This enhances the online experience and regularly leads to internet customers becoming customers of our network of interior design centers. In the past three months, we have seen our internet business double as we have increased our use of technology and the related customer experience.
We plan to further invest in our digital footprint, including our website, in order to enhance our customer experience. We are also continually improving our customers’ journey from the time they land on our website to the delivery of their purchase through our white glove home delivery service. We view the combination of online traffic and design center traffic in a holistic fashion whereby our customer generally experiences our brand on our website before visiting a design center in person. Our online traffic continues to increase each year and our marketing teams remain focused on enhancing our digital outreach strategies to further drive more traffic and keep our brand relevant in today’s social media oriented world.
We believe changes in consumer spending and new habits being formed as a result of social distancing and sheltering in place brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic will create opportunities for our brand. Now more than ever, home is a haven, and we are here to help the customer reimagine their homes. We continue to generate business through our retail design center network and by interacting virtually with our customers through ethanallen.com. Our design consultants engage with customers working safely in our design centers and remotely utilizing technology, including the Ethan Allen inHome augmented reality app, the 3D room planner tool, Live Chat on ethanallen.com, Skype and FaceTime. At Ethan Allen, our internet strategy is to generate business by combining technology with excellent personal service. Though our customers have the opportunity to buy our products online, we take the process further. With so much of our product customizable, we encourage our website customers to get personal help from our interior design professionals either in person or by chatting online with one of our qualified design consultants. This complimentary direct contact with one of our knowledgeable interior design consultants, whether remotely or in-person, creates a competitive advantage through our excellent personal service. This enhances the online experience and regularly leads to internet customers becoming customers of our network of interior design centers. In the past three months, we have seen our internet business double as we have increased our use of technology and the related customer experience.
We plan to further invest in our digital footprint, including our website, in order to enhance our customer experience. We are also continually improving our customers’ journey from the time they land on our website to the delivery of their purchase through our white glove home delivery service. We view the combination of online traffic and design center traffic in a holistic fashion whereby our customer generally experiences our brand on our website before visiting a design center in person. Our online traffic continues to increase each year and our marketing teams remain focused on enhancing our digital outreach strategies to further drive more traffic and keep our brand relevant in today’s social media oriented world.
Products of Ethan Allen
The majority of the products we sell are built by artisans in our North American plants. Most upholstery frames are hand-assembled and stitching is guided by hand. We select international partners who are as committed to quality and social responsibility as we are. All case goods frames are made with premium lumber and veneers. We use best-in-class construction techniques, including mortise and tenon joinery and four-corner glued dovetail joinery on drawers. We combine technology with personal service and maintain an up-to-date broad range of styles and custom options in keeping with today’s home decorating trends. These factors continue to define Ethan Allen, positioning us as a fashion leader in the home furnishing industry. The interior of our design centers are organized to facilitate display of our product offerings, both in room settings that project the category lifestyle and by product grouping to facilitate comparisons of the styles and tastes of our customers. To further enhance the experience, technology is used to expand the range of products viewed by including content from our website and 3D digital images in applications used on large touch-screen flat panel displays.
Product Development of Ethan Allen
Using a combination of employees and designers, we design and build the majority of the products we sell. All of our products are Ethan Allen branded. This important facet of our vertically integrated business enables us to control the design specifications and establish consistent levels of quality across all our product programs. In addition to our six United States manufacturing facilities, we have two upholstery manufacturing plants in Mexico and a case goods manufacturing facility in Honduras. We selectively outsource the remaining 25% of our products, primarily from Asia. We carefully select our sourcing partners and require strict compliance with our specifications, quality and social responsibility standards. We believe that our strategic investments in our manufacturing facilities balanced with outsourcing from foreign and domestic suppliers will enable us to accommodate any significant future sales growth and allow us to maintain an appropriate degree of control over cost, quality and service to our customers.
Raw Materials And Other Suppliers
The most important raw materials we use in furniture manufacturing are lumber, veneers, plywood, hardware, glue, finishing materials, glass, laminates, steel, fabrics, foam, and filling material. The various types of wood used in our products include cherry, ash, oak, maple, prima vera, African mahogany, birch, rubber wood and poplar. Fabrics and other raw materials are purchased both domestically and outside the United States . We have no significant long-term supply contracts and have sufficient alternate sources of supply to prevent disruption in supplying our operations. We maintain a number of sources for our raw materials, which we believe contribute to our ability to obtain competitive pricing. Lumber prices and availability fluctuate over time based on factors such as weather and demand. The cost of some of our raw materials such as foam and shipping costs are dependent on petroleum cost. Higher material prices, cost of petroleum, and costs of sourced products could have an adverse effect on margins. Appropriate amounts of lumber and fabric inventory are typically stocked to maintain adequate production levels. We believe that our sources of supply for these materials are sufficient and that we are not dependent on any one supplier. We enter into standard purchase agreements with foreign and domestic suppliers to source selected products. The terms of these arrangements are customary for the industry and do not contain any long-term contractual obligations on our behalf. We believe we maintain good relationships with our suppliers.
Operating Segments Of Ethan Allen
We have strategically aligned our business into two reportable segments: Wholesale and Retail. Our operating segments are aligned with how the Company, including our chief operating decision maker, manages the business. These two segments represent strategic business areas of our vertically integrated enterprise that operate separately and provide their own distinctive services. This vertical structure enables us to offer our complete line of home furnishings and accents while controlling quality and cost. We evaluate performance of the respective segments based upon net sales and operating income. Inter-segment transactions result, primarily, from the sale of wholesale inventory to the retail segment, including the related profit margin.
As of June 30, 2020, the Company operated 144 design centers (our retail segment) and our independent retailers operated 160 design centers. Our wholesale segment’s net sales include sales to our retail segment, which are eliminated in consolidation, and sales to our independent retailers and other unaffiliated third parties. Our retail segment net sales accounted for 78.5% of our consolidated net sales in fiscal 2020. Our wholesale segment net sales accounted for the remaining 21.5%
We believe that the demand for furniture generally reflects sensitivity to overall economic conditions, including consumer confidence, discretionary spending, housing starts, sales of new and existing homes, housing values, the level of mortgage refinancing, debt levels, retail trends and unemployment rates. For both our segments, the second and fourth quarters are historically the seasonally highest-volume sales quarters. However, during fiscal 2020, we experienced our largest sales volume quarter for our wholesale business during the first quarter while our retail segment had its highest sales volume during the second quarter. We believe this fiscal 2020 experience was not an indicator that our seasonal trends are changing and was primarily due to disruptions in the market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the second half of fiscal 2020
Retail Segment
The retail segment, which accounted for 78.5% of net sales during fiscal 2020, sells home furnishings and accents to clients through a network of Company-operated design centers. Retail revenue is generated upon the retail sale and delivery of our products to our retail customers through our network of retail home delivery centers. Retail profitability reflects (i) the retail gross margin, which represents the difference between the retail net sales price and the cost of goods, purchased from the wholesale segment, and (ii) other operating costs associated with retail segment activities. We measure the performance of our design centers primarily based on net sales and profitability on a comparable period basis. The frequency of our promotional events as well as the timing of the end of those events can affect the comparability of net sales during a given period. Due to the nature of the business in which the retail segment operates, there are no customer concentration risks. The retail segment’s product line revenue, expressed as a percentage of net sales, is comprised of approximately 48% in upholstered products, 29% case goods and the remaining 23% in home accents and other.
Wholesale Segment
The wholesale segment, which accounted for 21.5% of net sales during fiscal 2020, is principally involved in the development of the Ethan Allen brand and encompasses all aspects of design, manufacturing, sourcing, marketing, sale and distribution of our broad range of home furnishings and accents. Wholesale revenue is generated upon the sale and shipment of our products to our retail network of independently operated design centers, Company-operated design centers and other contract customers. Sales to ten of our largest customers accounted for 27% of revenues within our wholesale segment during fiscal 2020. Within the wholesale segment, we maintain revenue information according to each respective product line (i.e. case goods, upholstery and home accents). Case goods include items such as beds, dressers, armoires, tables, chairs, buffets, entertainment units, home office furniture and wooden accents. Upholstery items include sleepers, recliners and other motion furniture, chairs, ottomans, custom pillows, sofas, loveseats, cut fabrics and leather. Skilled artisans cut, sew and upholster custom-designed upholstery items which are available in a variety of frame, fabric and trim options. Home accent items include window treatments and drapery hardware, wall décor, florals, lighting, clocks, mattresses, bedspreads, throws, pillows, decorative accents, area rugs, wall coverings and home and garden furnishings. Wholesale profitability includes (i) the wholesale gross margin, which represents the difference between the wholesale net sales price and the cost associated with manufacturing and/or sourcing the related product, and (ii) other operating costs associated with wholesale segment activities. The wholesale segment’s product line revenue, expressed as a percentage of net sales, is comprised of approximately 48% in upholstered products, 34% case goods and the remaining 18% in home accents and other.
As of June 30, 2020, our wholesale backlog was $63.8 million, up 37.6% compared with $46.4 million a year ago. Our backlog increased due to a 17.5% increase in wholesale orders booked in June 2020 combined with our inability to quickly return our manufacturing plants to desired staffing levels due to COVID-19 related restrictions, including safe workplace environment requirements and social distancing. These restrictions have kept production and net shipments below the prior year rate. The strong product demand, coupled with ramping up manufacturing, has also resulted in extended lead times between order and delivery and slower-than-normal delivered sales. We resumed production in our North American manufacturing plants during the second half of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, some in a limited capacity, and expect to work through this existing order backlog during the first half of fiscal 2021. Our wholesale backlog fluctuates based on the timing of net orders booked, manufacturing schedules and efficiency, the timing of sourced product receipts, the timing and volume of wholesale shipments, and the timing of various promotional events. Our independent retailers are required to enter into license agreements with us, which (i) authorize the use of certain Ethan Allen trademarks and (ii) require adherence to certain standards of operation, including a requirement to fulfill related warranty service agreements. We are not subject to any territorial or exclusive retailer agreements in North America.
As of June 30, 2020, the Company operated 144 design centers (our retail segment) and our independent retailers operated 160 design centers. Our wholesale segment’s net sales include sales to our retail segment, which are eliminated in consolidation, and sales to our independent retailers and other unaffiliated third parties. Our retail segment net sales accounted for 78.5% of our consolidated net sales in fiscal 2020. Our wholesale segment net sales accounted for the remaining 21.5%
We believe that the demand for furniture generally reflects sensitivity to overall economic conditions, including consumer confidence, discretionary spending, housing starts, sales of new and existing homes, housing values, the level of mortgage refinancing, debt levels, retail trends and unemployment rates. For both our segments, the second and fourth quarters are historically the seasonally highest-volume sales quarters. However, during fiscal 2020, we experienced our largest sales volume quarter for our wholesale business during the first quarter while our retail segment had its highest sales volume during the second quarter. We believe this fiscal 2020 experience was not an indicator that our seasonal trends are changing and was primarily due to disruptions in the market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the second half of fiscal 2020
Retail Segment
The retail segment, which accounted for 78.5% of net sales during fiscal 2020, sells home furnishings and accents to clients through a network of Company-operated design centers. Retail revenue is generated upon the retail sale and delivery of our products to our retail customers through our network of retail home delivery centers. Retail profitability reflects (i) the retail gross margin, which represents the difference between the retail net sales price and the cost of goods, purchased from the wholesale segment, and (ii) other operating costs associated with retail segment activities. We measure the performance of our design centers primarily based on net sales and profitability on a comparable period basis. The frequency of our promotional events as well as the timing of the end of those events can affect the comparability of net sales during a given period. Due to the nature of the business in which the retail segment operates, there are no customer concentration risks. The retail segment’s product line revenue, expressed as a percentage of net sales, is comprised of approximately 48% in upholstered products, 29% case goods and the remaining 23% in home accents and other.
Wholesale Segment
The wholesale segment, which accounted for 21.5% of net sales during fiscal 2020, is principally involved in the development of the Ethan Allen brand and encompasses all aspects of design, manufacturing, sourcing, marketing, sale and distribution of our broad range of home furnishings and accents. Wholesale revenue is generated upon the sale and shipment of our products to our retail network of independently operated design centers, Company-operated design centers and other contract customers. Sales to ten of our largest customers accounted for 27% of revenues within our wholesale segment during fiscal 2020. Within the wholesale segment, we maintain revenue information according to each respective product line (i.e. case goods, upholstery and home accents). Case goods include items such as beds, dressers, armoires, tables, chairs, buffets, entertainment units, home office furniture and wooden accents. Upholstery items include sleepers, recliners and other motion furniture, chairs, ottomans, custom pillows, sofas, loveseats, cut fabrics and leather. Skilled artisans cut, sew and upholster custom-designed upholstery items which are available in a variety of frame, fabric and trim options. Home accent items include window treatments and drapery hardware, wall décor, florals, lighting, clocks, mattresses, bedspreads, throws, pillows, decorative accents, area rugs, wall coverings and home and garden furnishings. Wholesale profitability includes (i) the wholesale gross margin, which represents the difference between the wholesale net sales price and the cost associated with manufacturing and/or sourcing the related product, and (ii) other operating costs associated with wholesale segment activities. The wholesale segment’s product line revenue, expressed as a percentage of net sales, is comprised of approximately 48% in upholstered products, 34% case goods and the remaining 18% in home accents and other.
As of June 30, 2020, our wholesale backlog was $63.8 million, up 37.6% compared with $46.4 million a year ago. Our backlog increased due to a 17.5% increase in wholesale orders booked in June 2020 combined with our inability to quickly return our manufacturing plants to desired staffing levels due to COVID-19 related restrictions, including safe workplace environment requirements and social distancing. These restrictions have kept production and net shipments below the prior year rate. The strong product demand, coupled with ramping up manufacturing, has also resulted in extended lead times between order and delivery and slower-than-normal delivered sales. We resumed production in our North American manufacturing plants during the second half of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, some in a limited capacity, and expect to work through this existing order backlog during the first half of fiscal 2021. Our wholesale backlog fluctuates based on the timing of net orders booked, manufacturing schedules and efficiency, the timing of sourced product receipts, the timing and volume of wholesale shipments, and the timing of various promotional events. Our independent retailers are required to enter into license agreements with us, which (i) authorize the use of certain Ethan Allen trademarks and (ii) require adherence to certain standards of operation, including a requirement to fulfill related warranty service agreements. We are not subject to any territorial or exclusive retailer agreements in North America.
Marketing Of Ethan Allen
“We Make the American Home TM,” Ethan Allen’s marketing mission statement, drives home our core brand values: Quality and Craftsmanship, Complimentary Design Service and Premier In-Home Delivery. We amplify those values through a dynamic brand story told across three predominant lifestyles—Classic, Country/Coastal and Modern—thus promoting a broad, yet curated range of products, resulting in a superlative combination of product value and personal service. By adopting a fresh, ever-evolving creative approach, we have reinvigorated our brand, enhancing its desirability and visibility while driving both new and repeat client traffic to our approximately 300 design centers network-wide and to our primary website, ethanallen.com. We consider the breadth and depth of our product offerings, enhanced by the countless custom options we offer, to be a key competitive advantage. Using our fully integrated customer relationship management system, we create personalized customer journeys, targeted communications, and retargeting campaigns. We develop persuasive, aspirational, and relevant messaging, and we convey it through a variety of media including direct mail, national and local TV and radio, digital and social channels and email marketing, which has positively impacted both traffic and conversion nationwide. As our e-commerce sales continue increasing at double-digit rates, we have implemented conversion rate optimization updates on both ethanallen.com and ethanallen.ca. We also invest in targeted search engine optimization and paid search marketing, for both national and local markets, driving both referral traffic to our website and physical traffic to our design centers. In addition, improved on-site search capabilities, expanded Live Chat services, online appointment booking capability, and product listing and display page enhancements have elevated the user experience. We have increased brand visibility on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, with a greater emphasis on visual and video-driven content. Both paid social media campaigns and organic social media presence have helped us grow our social following by 20%, drive revenue, and take a more prominent place in the cultural conversation. By investing in digital design technologies, we have expanded our virtual design appointment capabilities. EA inHome®, an augmented reality mobile app, empowers clients to preview Ethan Allen products in their homes, at scale, in a variety of fabrics and finishes. With the 3D Room Planner, our designers generate both 2D floor plans and immersive, incredibly realistic 3D walk-throughs of the designs they create. These technologies have been pivotal to our ability to serve clients remotely during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Clients can shop with confidence, knowing that they’re investing in beautiful, cohesive room designs and pieces that suit their space. Once clients reach the point of purchase, we offer enticing financing options through the Ethan Allen Platinum Card, a third party-administered consumer credit program. Designed to make Ethan Allen accessible to everyone, the card launched successfully nationwide and continues to attract both new and recurring clients, driven by a recent offer of 0% APR for 48-months, which aided conversion and order size
Competition of Ethan Allen
We believe the home furnishings industry competes primarily on the basis of product styling and quality, personal service, prompt delivery, product availability and price. We further believe that we effectively compete on the basis of each of these factors and that, more specifically under our vertical structure, our complimentary interior design service, direct manufacturing, white glove delivery service, product presentations, and website create a competitive advantage, further supporting our mission of providing customers with a complete home decorating and design solution. We also believe that we differentiate ourselves further with the quality of our interior design service through our intensive training and the caliber of our design consultants. Our objective is to continue to develop and strengthen our retail network by (i) expanding the Company-operated retail business through the repositioning and opening of new design centers, (ii) obtaining and retaining independent retailers, encouraging such retailers to expand their business through the opening or relocation of new design centers with the objective of increasing the volume of their sales, (iii) further expanding our sales network through our independent design associates and realtor referral programs, and (iv) further expanding our ecommerce
Retail Design Centres of Ethan Allen
We continue to strengthen the Ethen Allen brand with many initiatives, including the opening of new design centers and relocating or consolidating certain existing design and home delivery centers, regularly updating presentations and floor plans, and strengthening of the qualifications of our designers through training and certification. Combining technology with personal service in our design centers has allowed us to reduce the size of our design centers. In the past five years, we have either opened or relocated a total of 29 new design centers that have an average size of approximately 9,300 square feet. These smaller footprint design centers reflect our direction as we move forward in repositioning our retail design centers. These new and relocated design centers also reflect our shift from destination and shopping mall locations to lifestyle centers that better project our brand and offer increased traffic opportunities. Ethan Allen design centers are typically located in busy retail settings as freestanding destinations or as part of town centers, lifestyle centers, suburban strip malls or shopping malls, depending upon the real estate opportunities in a particular market. Our 144 Company-operated retail design centers average approximately 15,000 square feet in size with 59% of them ranging between 10,000 and 20,000 square feet, while 25% being less than 10,000 square feet and the remaining 16% being greater than 20,000 square feet. During the past 10 years, 52% of our design centers are new or have been relocated. We strive to maintain consistency of presentation throughout our retail design centers through a comprehensive set of standards and display planning assistance. These interior display design standards enable each design center to present a high-quality image by using focused lifestyle settings and select product category groupings to display our products and information to facilitate design solutions and to educate consumers. We also create a consistent brand projection through our exterior facades and signage
Distribution And Logistics Of Ethan Allen
We distribute our products through four distribution centers, owned by the Company, strategically located in North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Virginia. These distribution centers provide efficient cross-dock operations to receive and ship product from our manufacturing facilities and third-party suppliers to our retail network of Company and independently operated retail home delivery centers. Retail home delivery centers prepare products for delivery into customers’ homes. At June 30, 2020, our Companyoperated retail design centers were supported by 16 Company-operated retail home delivery centers and 10 home delivery centers operated by third parties. While we manufacture to custom order the majority of our products, we also stock certain case goods, upholstery and home accents to provide for quick delivery of in-stock items and to allow for more efficient production runs. We utilize independent carriers to ship our products. Our practice has been to sell our products at the same delivered cost to all Company and independently operated design centers throughout the United States, regardless of their shipping point. This policy creates pricing credibility with our wholesale customers while providing our retail segment the opportunity to achieve more consistent margins by removing fluctuations attributable to the cost of shipping. Further, this policy eliminates the need for our independent retailers to carry significant amounts of inventory in their own warehouses. As a result, we obtain more accurate consumer product demand information
Intellectual Property of Ethan Allen
We currently hold, or have registration applications pending for, numerous trademarks, service marks and copyrights for the Ethan Allen name, logos and designs in a broad range of classes for both products and services in the United States and in many foreign countries. In addition, we have registered, or have applications pending for certain of our slogans utilized in connection with promoting brand awareness, retail sales and other services and certain collection names. In addition, we have registered and maintain the internet domain name of ethanallen.com. We view such trademarks, logos, service marks and domain names as valuable assets and have an ongoing program to diligently monitor and defend, through appropriate action, against their unauthorized use.
Employees of Ethan Allen
Since our founding, we have built a collaborative culture that recognizes and rewards innovation and offers employees a variety of opportunities and experiences. After almost nine decades in business, the name Ethan Allen is well known and highly regarded in the home furnishings marketplace. Our employees are vital to our success and are one of the main reasons we continue to execute at a high level. We believe our employees have an entrepreneurial spirit, a passion for style, a drive for excellence, outstanding communication skills and create a culture that embraces creativity, integrity, diversity, innovation and inclusion of people from all backgrounds. Our continued focus on making employee engagement a top priority will help us provide high quality products and services to our customers.
At June 30, 2020 our employee count totaled 3,369, a decrease from 4,736 a year ago. We are gratified with the work and focus of our teams during the unprecedented crisis caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We have had to make many hard decisions including the furlough of approximately 70% of our global workforce in April 2020. Fortunately, we have been able to bring many associates back with 56% of them having returned to work by June 30, 2020. The majority of our employees are employed on a full-time basis and we believe we maintain good relationships with our employees. None of our employees are represented by unions or collective bargaining agreements.
At June 30, 2020 our employee count totaled 3,369, a decrease from 4,736 a year ago. We are gratified with the work and focus of our teams during the unprecedented crisis caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We have had to make many hard decisions including the furlough of approximately 70% of our global workforce in April 2020. Fortunately, we have been able to bring many associates back with 56% of them having returned to work by June 30, 2020. The majority of our employees are employed on a full-time basis and we believe we maintain good relationships with our employees. None of our employees are represented by unions or collective bargaining agreements.
Ethan Allen (ETH) stock price history over the last 5 years
The image below shows the stock price history of Ethan Allen (ETH). Over the last 5 years the stock of Ethan Allen has declined by -21.2%. Not the type of returns any investor would like to see over a 5 year period.