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NOTE 1 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
12 Months Ended
Jan. 29, 2012
Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]
NOTE 1 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Nature of Business

Hooker Furniture Corporation and subsidiaries (the “Company”, “we,” “us” and “our”) design, import, manufacture and market residential household furniture for sale to wholesale and retail merchandisers located principally in North America.

Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Hooker Furniture Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries.  All material intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. All references to the Company refer to the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless specifically referring to segment information.

Segments

We are organized into two operating segments – casegoods furniture and upholstered furniture.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

We temporarily invest unused cash balances in a high quality, diversified money market fund that provides for daily liquidity and pays dividends monthly.  Cash equivalents are stated at cost plus accrued interest, which approximates the market value.

Trade Accounts Receivable

Substantially all of our trade accounts receivable are due from retailers and dealers that sell residential home furnishings, which consist of a large number of entities with a broad geographic dispersion.  We continually perform credit evaluations of our customers and generally do not require collateral.  Our upholstered furniture subsidiaries factor substantially all of their receivables on a non-recourse basis.  Accounts receivable are reported net of allowance for doubtful accounts.

Fair Value Measurements

We utilize valuation techniques that maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs to the extent possible. We determine fair value based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability in the principal or most advantageous market. When considering market participant assumptions in fair value measurements, the following fair value hierarchy distinguishes between observable and unobservable inputs, which are categorized in one of the following levels:

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Level 1 Inputs: Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities accessible to the reporting entity at the measurement date.

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Level 2 Inputs: Other than quoted prices included in Level 1 inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability.

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Level 3 Inputs: Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability used to measure fair value to the extent that observable inputs are not available, thereby allowing for situations in which there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability at measurement date.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying value for each of our financial instruments (consisting of cash and cash equivalents, trade accounts receivable and payable, and accrued liabilities) approximates fair value because of the short-term nature of those instruments.  The fair value of our term loans, if any, are estimated based on the quoted market rates for similar debt with a similar remaining maturity.

Inventories

All inventories are stated at the lower of cost, using the last-in, first-out (LIFO) method, or the market value.

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment is stated at cost, less allowances for depreciation.  Provision for depreciation has been computed (generally by the declining balance method) at annual rates that will amortize the cost of the depreciable assets over their estimated useful lives.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets, such as property, plant and equipment, are evaluated for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable through the estimated undiscounted future cash flows from the use of those assets.  When any such impairment exists, the related assets are written down to fair value.  Long-lived assets to be disposed of by sale are measured at the lower of their carrying amount or fair value less estimated cost to sell, are no longer depreciated, and are reported separately as “assets held for sale” in the consolidated balance sheets.

Intangible Assets

We own certain indefinite-lived intangible assets related to Bradington-Young and Sam Moore. We may acquire additional amortizable assets and/or indefinite lived intangible assets in future asset purchases or business combinations. The principal indefinite-lived intangible assets are trademarks and trade names which are not amortized but are tested for impairment annually or more frequently if events or circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. The fair value of our indefinite-lived intangible assets is determined based on the estimated earnings and cash flow capacity of those assets.  The impairment test consists of a comparison of the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible assets with their carrying amount.  If the carrying amount of the indefinite-lived intangible assets exceeds their fair value, an impairment loss is recognized in an amount equal to that excess.

Trade names are tested for impairment annually as of the first day of our fiscal fourth quarter or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired.  Circumstances that could indicate a potential impairment include:

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a significant adverse change in the economic or business climate either within the furniture industry or the national or global economy;

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significant changes in demand for our products;

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loss of key personnel; or

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the likelihood that a reporting unit or significant portion of a reporting unit will be sold or otherwise disposed of.

The assumptions used to determine the fair value of our intangible assets are highly subjective, involve significant judgment and include long term growth rates, sales volumes, projected revenues, assumed royalty rates and various factors used to develop an applied discount rate. If the assumptions that we use in these calculations differ from actual results, we may realize additional impairment on our intangible assets which may have a material, adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations and consolidated balance sheets.

Cash Surrender Value of Life Insurance Policies

We own life insurance policies on certain of our current and former executives and other key employees.  Proceeds from the policies are used to fund certain employee benefits and for other general corporate purposes.  We account for life insurance as a component of employee benefits cost.  Consequently the cost of the coverage and any resulting gains or losses related to those insurance policies are recorded as a decrease or increase to operating income. 

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

We may use interest rate swap agreements to manage variable interest rate exposure on our long-term debt.  Our objective for holding these derivatives is to decrease the volatility of future cash flows associated with interest payments on our variable rate debt.  We have not entered derivative instruments for trading purposes.  Typically, we have accounted for our interest rate swap agreements as cash flow hedges.  For derivatives designated as cash flow hedges, the effective portion of changes in the fair value of the derivative is initially reported in “accumulated other comprehensive income or loss” on the consolidated balance sheets and subsequently reclassified to interest expense when the hedged exposure affects income (i.e. as interest expense accrues on the related outstanding debt).  Differences between the amounts paid and amounts received under the swap agreements are recognized in interest expense.

In some cases, such as upon the early repayment of a debt instrument, we may continue to hold an interest rate swap for a period of time after the related principal has been paid rendering the hedge ineffective.  In that case, changes in the ineffective portion of the fair value of an interest rate swap are accounted for each period through interest expense. We had no derivative instruments at January 29, 2012 or January 30, 2011.

Revenue Recognition

Our sales revenue is recognized when title and the risk of loss pass to the customer, which typically occurs at the time of shipment.  Sales are recorded net of allowances for trade promotions, estimated product returns, rebate advertising programs and other discounts. In some cases however, title does not pass until the shipment is delivered to the customer.

Cost of Sales

The major components of cost of sales are:

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raw materials and supplies used in our domestically manufactured products,

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labor, utility and overhead costs associated with our domestically manufactured products,

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the cost of imported products purchased for resale,

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the cost of our foreign import operations,

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charges or credits associated with our inventory reserves,

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warehousing and certain shipping and handling costs, and

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all other costs required to be classified as cost of sales.

Selling and Administrative Expenses

The major components of our selling and administrative expenses are:

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the cost of our marketing and merchandising efforts, including showroom expenses,

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sales and designs commissions,

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the costs of administrative support functions including, executive management, information technology, human resources, finance, and

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all other costs required to be classified as selling and administrative expenses.

Advertising

We offer advertising programs to qualified dealers under which we may provide signage, catalogs and other marketing support to our customers and may reimburse advertising and other costs incurred by our customers in connection with promoting our products.  The cost of these programs does not exceed the fair value of the benefit received.  We charge the cost of point-of-purchase materials (including signage and catalogs) to selling and administrative expense as incurred. Advertising costs charged to selling and administrative expense for fiscal years 2012, 2011, and 2010 were $2.2 million, $2.4 million and $2.9 million, respectively. The costs for other advertising allowance programs are charged against net sales.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method.  Deferred income taxes reflect the expected future tax consequences of differences between the book and income tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect in the years in which those differences are expected to reverse. 

We recognize positions taken or expected to be taken in our tax returns in the financial statements when it is more likely than not that the position would be sustained upon examination by tax authorities. A recognized tax position is then measured at the largest amount of benefit that is more likely than not to be realized upon ultimate settlement.  We classify interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions as income tax expense.

Earnings Per Share

We use the two class method to compute basic earnings per share.  Under this method we allocate earnings to common stock and participating securities according to their participation rights in dividends declared and undistributed earnings and divide the income available to each class by the weighted average number of common shares for the period in each class.  Unvested restricted stock grants to our non-employee directors are considered participating securities because the shares have the right to receive non-forfeitable dividends.  Because the participating shares have no obligation to share in net losses, we do not allocate losses to our common stock in this calculation. 

Diluted earnings per share reflect the potential dilutive effect of securities that could share in our earnings.  Restricted stock awarded to non-employee members of the board of directors and restricted stock units granted to employees that have not yet vested are considered when computing diluted earnings per share.  We use the treasury stock method to determine the dilutive effect of both unvested restricted stock and unvested restricted stock units. Shares of unvested restricted stock and unvested restricted stock units under a stock-based compensation arrangement are considered options for purposes of computing diluted earnings per share and are considered outstanding as of the grant date for purposes of computing diluted earnings per share even though their exercise may be contingent upon vesting. Those stock-based awards are included in the diluted earnings per share computation even if the non-employee director may be required to forfeit the stock at some future date, or no shares may ever be issued to the employees. Unvested restricted stock and unvested restricted stock units are not included in outstanding common stock in computing basic earnings per share. 

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of: (i) assets and liabilities, including disclosures regarding contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the financial statements; and (ii) revenue and expenses during the reported periods.  Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include the useful lives of fixed assets; allowance for doubtful accounts; deferred tax assets; fixed assets, our supplemental retirement income plan and stock-based compensation. These estimates and assumptions are based on our best judgments. We evaluate these estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors, including the current economic environment, which we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. We adjust our estimates and assumptions as facts and circumstances dictate. Illiquid credit markets and volatile equity markets have combined to increase the uncertainty inherent in such estimates and assumptions. Actual results could differ from our estimates.