Tandy Leather Factory Reports September 2012 Sales Up 7% Over September 2011
Retail Same Store Sales Up 13%, Wholesale Same Store Sales Up 3%, Intl Same Store Sales Up 4%
FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 4, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (Nasdaq:TLF) reported today that sales for the month of September were $5.4 million, up 7% compared to September 2011 sales of $5.1 million. Year to date sales are up 10% to $52.0 million in the current year from $47.3 million last year.
Retail Leathercraft's sales rose 13% to $3.2 million compared to September 2011 sales of $2.8 million. All 77 stores are considered comparable stores in September, posting a same store sales increase of 13% over the same period last year. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $30.0 million this year, a 14% increase over sales of $26.4 million for the same period of 2011. As of the end of September, the 76 comparable stores' sales were up 13% compared to sales reported for the same period in 2011.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.0 million for September, down 5% compared to September 2011 sales of $2.1 million. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, the wholesale same store sales were up 3% for the month while the National Account group's sales were down 52% from September 2011. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $19.7 million compared to $19.4 million in 2011, up 1%. As of the end of September, the wholesale same store sales were up 5% compared to the same period last year and the National Account group's sales are down 35%.
International Leathercraft reported September sales of $262,000, up 64% compared to September 2011 sales of $160,000. September same store sales, representing the UK store, were up 4% compared to September 2011, while the new Australia and Spain stores, opened in October 2011 and January 2012, respectively, added September sales of $95,000. For the year to date, International Leathercraft sales were $2.3 million compared to $1.5 million in 2011, up 51%. As of the end of September, same store sales were down 2% compared to the sales reported for the same period in 2011.
Chief Executive Officer and President, Jon Thompson, commented, "For the first time in more than ten years, our third quarter sales exceed our second quarter sales. Our stores are generally performing well and gross profit margins remain strong. We introduced a number of new items in our annual catalog that was released October 1st and we are hopeful that our customers' acceptance of those new items will contribute to our sales through the remainder of the year and beyond."
Shannon L. Greene, Chief Financial Officer added, "Our inventory is holding steady at approximately $30 million at the end of the quarter. As we have mentioned numerous times in recent statements, we believe the increase in inventory at our stores is the contributing factor for the strong sales. We are carefully monitoring our inventory levels, balancing them against anticipated sales."
Tandy Leather Factory, Inc., (http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com), headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, is a specialty retailer and wholesale distributor of a broad product line including leather, leatherworking tools, buckles and adornments for belts, leather dyes and finishes, saddle and tack hardware, and do-it-yourself kits. The Company distributes its products through its 29 Leather Factory stores, located in 19 states and 3 Canadian provinces, 77 Tandy Leather retail stores, located in 36 states and 6 Canadian provinces, and three combination wholesale/retail stores located in the United Kingdom, Australia and Spain. Its common stock trades on the Nasdaq with the symbol "TLF". To be included on Tandy Leather Factory's email distribution list, go to http://www.b2i.us/irpass.asp?BzID=1625&to=ea&s=0.
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This news release may contain statements regarding future events, occurrences, circumstances, activities, performance, outcomes and results that are considered "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results and events may differ from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: changes in general economic conditions, negative trends in general consumer-spending levels, failure to realize the anticipated benefits of opening retail stores; availability of hides and leathers and resultant price fluctuations; change in customer preferences for our product, and other factors disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and except as required by law, we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Shannon L. Greene, Tandy Leather Factory, Inc.
(817) 872-3200 or sgreene@tandyleather.com
Mark Gilbert, Magellan Fin, LLC
(317) 867-2839 or MGilbert@MagellanFin.com