Note 17 - Leases and Lease Guarantees

12 Months Ended

Nov. 30, 2013

Leases Lease Guarantees And Loan Guarantees [Abstract]

Leases Lease Guarantees And Loan Guarantees [Text Block]

17. Leases and Lease Guarantees    

Leases

We lease land and buildings under operating leases that are used in the operation of our Company-owned retail stores as well as in the operation of independent licensee BHF stores. Our decision to exercise renewal options is primarily dependent on the level of business conducted at the location and the profitability thereof. Some store leases contain contingent rental provisions based upon sales volume. Additionally, we lease showroom space from IMC (and from its predecessor, IHFC), which is priced at what we believe to be a market rate. Lease terms range from one to 15 years and generally have renewal options of between five and 15 years. The following schedule shows future minimum lease payments under non-cancelable operating leases having remaining terms in excess of one year as of November 30, 2013:

Fiscal 2014	$	18,053
Fiscal 2015		16,077
Fiscal 2016		13,089
Fiscal 2017		10,708
Fiscal 2018		8,823
Thereafter		29,671
	$	96,421

Lease expense was $18,403, $17,123 and $16,406 for 2013, 2012, and 2011, respectively.

In addition to subleasing certain of these properties, we own retail real estate which we in turn lease to licensee operators of BHF stores. We also own real estate for closed stores which we lease to non-licensees. The following schedule shows minimum future rental income related to pass-through rental expense on subleased property as well as rental income on real estate owned by Bassett, excluding subleases based on a percentage of sales.

Fiscal 2014	$	3,034
Fiscal 2015		2,465
Fiscal 2016		1,341
Fiscal 2017		960
Fiscal 2018		726
Thereafter		81
	$	8,607

Real estate rental income (loss), net of expense (including lease costs, depreciation, insurance, and taxes), related to licensee stores and other investment real estate, was $(594), $(468) and $285 in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively, and is reflected in other expense, net in the accompanying consolidated statements of income.

Guarantees

As part of the strategy for our store program, we have guaranteed certain lease obligations of licensee operators. Lease guarantees range from one to ten years. We were contingently liable under licensee lease obligation guarantees in the amount of $3,698 and $2,007 at November 30, 2013 and November 24, 2012, respectively.

In the event of default by an independent dealer under the guaranteed lease, we believe that the risk of loss is mitigated through a combination of options that include, but are not limited to, arranging for a replacement dealer, liquidating the collateral, and pursuing payment under the personal guarantees of the independent dealer. The proceeds of the above options are estimated to cover the maximum amount of our future payments under the guarantee obligations, net of reserves. The fair value of lease guarantees (an estimate of the cost to the Company to perform on these guarantees) at November 30, 2013 and November 24, 2012, were not material.