FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (AMEX: TLF) reported today that sales for the month of February were $4.4 million, a decrease of 5% from $4.6 million last year. Year to date sales are down 4% to $8.9 million in the current year from $9.2 million last year.
Retail Leathercraft posted a 5% sales increase for February, with sales totaling $2.1 million compared to $2.0 million in February 2007. The 64 comparable stores' sales were down by 2% for the month compared to the same period last year. The 8 stores opened in or after February 2007 added February sales of $134,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $4.1 million this year, a 2% increase over sales of $4.0 million for the same period of 2007. As of the end of February, the 64 comparable stores' sales were down 4% compared to sales reported for the same period in 2007.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.3 million for February, a 12% decline from February 2007 sales of $2.6 million. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, the 30 wholesale centers' sales (which includes Mid-Continent Leather Sales) were down 10% for the month while the National Account group posted a February sales decline of 21%. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $5.0 million compared to $5.2 million in 2007.
The new UK store, which operates as a combination retail and wholesale store, added sales of $11,000 in February. It was opened on February 18th.
Chief Executive Officer and President, Ron Morgan, commented, "As expected, we're seeing continued weakness in our sales, although our retail stores looked a little better than they did last month. There are too many concerns about the economy right now on the part of consumers and until that changes, I expect retailers will continue to experience pressure on their sales. We will continue to invest in the development of our customer base so that at the time they have money to spend, we will be there."
Shannon L. Greene, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, added, "I think we are off to a good start in our UK store. Every day, there are new customers requesting catalogs and placing orders. We are confident in our UK store operations team to develop a solid business in hopes of offsetting some of the weakness we're experiencing here in the U.S.
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, 72 Tandy Leather retail stores, located in 32 states and 6 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.