Retail Leathercraft posted a 9% sales increase for May, with sales totaling $1.9 million compared to $1.7 million in May 2006. The 58 comparable stores posted a 1% same store sales gain for the month. The 9 stores opened since April 2006 added May sales of $153,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $10.1 million this year, a 13% increase over sales of $8.9 million for the same period of 2006. As of the end of May, the same store sales gain for the 53 comparable stores is 2% for the year.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.5 million for May, down 1% from May 2006 sales of $2.6 million. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, the wholesale stores' same store sales were down 5% for the month while the National Account group posted a May sales increase of 4%. Mid-Continent Leather Sales added sales of $74,000 for the month. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $12.8 million compared to $13.3 million in 2006, a loss of 4%. The comparable wholesale stores posted a 6% sales decline for the year, while National Accounts sales were also down 6%. Mid-Continent's year-to-date sales were $336,000.
Chief Executive Officer and President, Ron Morgan, commented, "May appears to be a continuation of the weak sales trend we've experienced so far this year. I would also point out that we were going up against the largest monthly sales increase in all of 2006. The Wholesale Leathercraft division continues to be affected more so than the Retail Leathercraft division. However, in analyzing the sales on a store by store basis, there are only a handful of stores in each division that are really struggling with significantly weak sales and in most cases, the cause is easily identifiable. For example, in one store, one of its larger customers closed its doors recently. In another store, the timing of orders from a manufacturing customer is causing fluctuations in sales on a month by month basis. It looks like our leather sales are beginning to pick up, with the exception of a few stores. While we still have a lot of work to do to get our sales where we want them, I am cautiously optimistic that things are beginning to improve."
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, 68 Tandy Leather retail stores, located in 32 states and 4 Canadian provinces, and Mid-Continent Leather Sales, one store located in Oklahoma. Its common stock trades on the American Stock Exchange with the symbol "TLF".
This news release may contain forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements made here or in other news releases issued by Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. are based on current expectations as of the date of the release. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the results of Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. to differ materially from management's current expectations. Many of these risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in TLF's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and the most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q. Investors are reminded that past performance may not be predictive of future results.
SOURCE: Tandy Leather Factory, Inc.
Tandy Leather Factory, Inc., Fort Worth
Ron Morgan, 817-496-4414
or
Shannon L. Greene, 817-496-4414
sgreene@tandyleather.com
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Tandy Leather Factory, Inc.'s business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.