Fortune Brands
But considering its first-quarter earnings results, Fortune Brands can't be too surprised, either. Home and hardware sales declined 12.5%. Golf product sales increased 8% year over year, while spirits sales fell by 0.8%. International sales contributed double-digit sales growth, but it wasn't enough to buffer the faltering home market, and total consolidated sales dropped 5.4%.
We all know that the housing market has wreaked havoc all around. Hit notably hard is anyone who makes or sells products related to housing, such as homebuilding retailers like Home Depot
Interestingly, management blamed its fairly flat spirits sales on "larger-than-usual" distributor inventory reductions, implying that lack of spirits was solely a distribution issue. Spirits competitor Constellation Brands
Fortune Brands' stock has dropped 24% from its 52-week high. Clearly, the housing market doesn't look poised to turn around anytime soon. Fortune Brands has a diversified base of product offerings, but it remains to be seen whether consumers will buy high-end golf balls and liquors in light of the housing crisis that is clouding the company's overall outlook.
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