Haverty looks to gain share in furniture slowdown

HIGH POINT, N.C., April 9 (Reuters) - Haverty Furniture Co Inc (HVT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) expects to gain market share as tougher economic times force smaller retailers to go out of business, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

"I think we can gain share because there's going to be a lot of people that are not going to be able to make it," Clarence Smith, Haverty president and CEO, said in an interview at High Point Market, the home furnishings show held twice a year in North Carolina.

"I think that's how we're going to get most of our growth" against the backdrop of slower consumer spending, he added. (Reporting by Karen Jacobs)