Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. Reports January 2013 Sales Up 5% Over January 2012
Retail Same Store Sales Up 14%; Wholesale Same Store Sales Up 8%; Intl Same Store Sales Up 49%
FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 7, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (Nasdaq:TLF) reported today that sales for the month of January were $6.3 million, up 5% compared to January 2012 sales of $6.0 million.
Retail Leathercraft's sales rose 16% to $3.7 million compared to January 2012 sales of $3.2 million. The 77 comparable stores' sales were up 14% for the month compared to the same period last year. The one store opened since January 2012 added January sales of $43,000.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.2 million for January, down 13% over January 2012 sales of $2.5 million. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, the wholesale stores' sales were up 8% for the month and the National Account group's sales were down 82%.
International Leathercraft reported January sales of $363,000, up 49% compared to January 2012 sales of $244,000. January same store sales, consisting of all three stores that make up the segment, were up 49% compared to January 2012.
Chief Executive Officer and President, Jon Thompson, commented, "2013 has started off well, with all stores performing solidly. Our Spain store is a year old this month and continues to build its business, despite the European economic issues. Our decision to eliminate certain products from our line has resulted in the decline in sales in our National Account group. However, we believe focusing on the expansion of our own store chain, both by increasing the size of our existing stores and opening new ones as appropriate, is our best avenue for company growth."
Shannon L. Greene, Chief Financial Officer added, "The stores continue to offset the sales declines in National Accounts, which supports our belief that our stores are the key to our sales growth. We plan to continue enlarging our stores in existing markets as acceptable space becomes available. We will also continue to invest in our international stores to grow their local customer bases which will add to our overall growth."
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.
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