FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 08, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLF) reported today that sales for the month of September were $6.5 million, up 3% compared to September 2014 sales of $6.3 million. Year to date sales were $60.1 million, up 2% compared to sales of $59.1 million in the same period last year.
Retail Leathercraft’s sales increased 6% to $4.1 million compared to September 2014 sales of $3.9 million. The 80 comparable stores’ sales were up 5% compared to the same period last year. The two stores opened since September 2014 added September sales of $65,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $38.1 million this year, a 5% increase over sales of $36.3 million for the same period of 2014. As of the end of September, the 79 comparable stores’ sales were up 3% compared to sales reported for the same period in 2014.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.0 million for September, down 1% compared to September 2014 sales of $2.1 million. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, same store sales were up 1%. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $19.3 million, down 2% from sales of $19.7 million for the same period a year ago. As of the end of September, the wholesale same store sales were up 2% compared to the same period last year.
International Leathercraft reported September sales of $321,000, down 5% compared to September 2014 sales of $339,000. For the year to date, International Leathercraft sales were $2.7 million compared to $3.1 million in 2014, down 13%. All three stores in the segment have been opened for both periods, so same store sales for the month were the same as the segment’s sales.
Chief Executive Officer and President, Jon Thompson, commented, “Our September sales results were positive – and expected due to the timing of our Labor Day sale, which we discussed last month. We will do what we can to keep the positive momentum going into the fourth quarter.”
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Shannon L. Greene, added, “Our international segment continues to struggle on paper due to the currency exchange rates compared to a year ago but it is achieving a sales gain in the local currencies. If the exchange rates were comparable this year to last year, our international segment would have reported an 8% sales gain for the month, and our consolidated sales gain would have been another percentage point higher. So the positive sales trend is there – until the local results are converted to US dollars.”
Tandy Leather Factory, Inc., (http://www.tandyleather.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 28 Leather Factory stores, located in 19 states and 3 Canadian provinces, 82 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: Contact: Shannon L. Greene, Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (817) 872-3200 or [email protected] Mark Gilbert, Magellan Fin, LLC (317) 867-2839 or [email protected]