Home goods firms among NYSE's best

Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 1/6/2003 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK —

The year's end and the New York Stock Exchange brought a modest shot of holiday cheer to a battered home fashions industry — two home goods companies, one a supplier and another a retailer, were among the Big Board's top 10 stock performers in 2002.

Dan River Inc., bounding back from lows earlier in the year, finished 2002 up 400 percent, closing the year with a trading price of $2.75. It was the third-largest gain recorded last year on the New York Stock Exchange.

On the other end of the pipeline, a retailer, JoAnn Stores, moved its share price up by 221.3 percent, to $22.97, on a strong turnaround in sales and earnings. JoAnn took down the number-eight position on the Big Board Top Ten.

In first place was China Yuchai International Ltd., whose stock jumped up by 485.9 percent, to $4.57.