We have continued to increase our rate of production -- production weekly and are now operating at about 90% of prior-year levels.
For the entire La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery network, which accounts for about half of our wholesale business, written same-store sales increased 14.8% in the first quarter.
And to provide some additional perspective on the quarter, the cadence or written same-store sales by month was a decline of 13% in May, an increases of 30% in June and 32% in July.
These COVID-19 related closures and reopenings transferred to a 31% sales decline versus a year ago to $285 million for the quarter with GAAP operating income declining to $4 million and non-GAAP operating income to $9 million.
We are still -- we were still however able to generate $106 million in operating cash supported partially by strong customer deposits and end the quarter with a balance sheet that remains strong.
On a sales decline of 30% to $224 million [Phonetic], non-GAAP operating margin was 9.4%, principally the result of the decline in production for the period and the consequent lower absorption of our fixed cost, partially offset by temporary cost reduction actions related to our COVID-19 action plan, which we announced in March.
Written sales for the Wholesale segment were up 2.5% for the quarter with a decline of 38% in May, more than offset by increases of 29% in both June and July, respectively.
Written same-store sales for the Company-owned stores increased 11% for the quarter, even with the majority of stores closed for the month of May and some and still closed in June.
Again for perspective on how the quarter played out by month, written same-store sales for the Company-owned stores were down 26% in May, but up 29% and 37% in June and July, respectively.
For the quarter, delivered sales declined 36% to $91 million and non-GAAP operating margin for the segment was a loss of 6.8% due primarily to our inability to increase our production fast enough to meet the unexpected momentum in demand.
For the quarter, Joybird sales reported in Corporate & Other declined 22% to $13.4 million.
However, written sales increased 38%.
We expect quarter 2 delivered revenue rate to be restored to more normal levels, but anticipate it will continue to lag the strong written demand due to the short-term labor constraints.
Last year's first quarter non-GAAP results excluded a pre-tax charge of $1.5 million or $0.02 per diluted share related to the Company's supply chain optimization initiatives, which included the closure of our Redlands, California facility and a pre-tax purchase accounting charge of $1.5 million or $0.02 per diluted share.
As noted, on a consolidated basis fiscal '21 first quarter sales declined 31% to $285 million reflecting the continued impact from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Consolidated non-GAAP operating income was $9 million versus $26 million in last year's quarter and consolidated non-GAAP operating margin was 3.1% versus 6.3%.
Non-GAAP earnings per share was $0.18 per diluted share in the current quarter versus $0.42 in last year's first quarter.
Consolidated gross margin for the first quarter increased 30 basis points.
SG&A as a percent of sales increased 350 basis points reflecting the decline in sales relative to fixed costs.
On a GAAP basis, our effective tax rate for fiscal '21 first quarter was 19.8% versus 22% in last year's first quarter.
Our effective tax rate varies from the 21% federal statutory rate, primarily due to state taxes.
Absent discrete adjustments, the effective tax rate for fiscal '21 first quarter would have been 26.1%.
For fiscal year '21, absent discrete items, we continue to estimate our effective tax rate on a GAAP basis, will be in the range of 25% to 26%.
Turning to cash, we generated $106 million in cash from operating activities in the quarter, including a $61 million increase in customer deposits from written orders for the Company's retail segment and Joybird.
We ended the quarter with $337 million in cash, including $50 million in cash proactively drawn on the Company's credit facility to enhance liquidity and response to COVID-19 back in March, compared with $114 million in cash at the end of last year's first quarter.
We also held $16 million in investments to enhance returns on cash, compared with $33 million last year.
During the quarter, we repaid $25 million of the original $75 million drawn against our credit line based on business performance and ongoing liquidity.
Also during the quarter, we invested $10 million in capital, primarily related to machinery and equipment, upgrades to our Dayton manufacturing facility and investments in our retail stores.
We expect capital expenditures to be in the range of $40 million to $45 million for the fiscal year, although spending will be largely dependent on economic conditions, continued business recovery and liquidity trends.
We are pleased to announce -- we have announced that -- we are pleased to announce that yesterday, our Board of Directors elected to reinstate a regular quarterly dividend to shareholders of $0.07 per share.
This is 50% of the quarterly dividend amount paid prior to the pandemic, as we continue to monitor current business trends and remain vigilant with respect to the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.
There are currently 4.5 million shares of purchase availability under our authorized program.
First, a reminder that our expected non-GAAP adjustments will continue to include purchase accounting adjustments for acquisitions to date, which are estimated to be in the range of $0.04 to $0.05 for the full year.
And we anticipate pre-tax charges of $0.01 to $0.02 per share in the second quarter related to the completion of our recent business realignment, which included the closure of the Newton assembly plant and the 10% reduction in our global workforce.

Summary:
For the entire La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery network, which accounts for about half of our wholesale business, written same-store sales increased 14.8% in the first quarter.
Non-GAAP earnings per share was $0.18 per diluted share in the current quarter versus $0.42 in last year's first quarter.