FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (AMEX:
TLF -
News) reported today that sales for the month of May were $4.5 million, down 1% from May 2007 sales of $4.6 million. Year-to-date sales are down 4% to $22.6 million in the current year from $23.5 million last year. Tandy
's new UK store, which opened in mid-February, reported May sales of $58,000.
Retail Leathercraft posted an 8% sales increase for May, with sales totaling $2.0 million compared to $1.9 million in May 2007. The 67 comparable stores posted a 3% same store sales gain for the month. The 5 stores opened in or after May 2007 added sales for the month of $86,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $10.4 million this year, up 3% over last year's sales of $10.1 million. As of the end of May, same store sales were down 3% for the year.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.4 million for May, down 8% from May 2007 sales of $2.6 million. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, the wholesale stores' same store sales were down 10% for the month while the National Account group posted a May sales gain of 3%. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $11.7 million compared to $12.7 million in 2007, a loss of 8%. The comparable wholesale stores posted a 9% sales decline for the year, while National Accounts reported an 8% sales loss. Mid-Continent's year-to-date sales were $260,000, down 22% from the same period in 2007.
Chief Executive Officer and President, Ron Morgan, commented, "For the retail stores, this is the first back-to-back same store sales gain since July/August of last year so that is good to see. The wholesale stores struggled in May, which is frustrating after performing so well in April. The Canada stores are still outperforming the US stores in terms of sales gains. All nine Canada stores, retail and wholesale, reported sales gains in May. Our UK store is ramping up well as its sales have increased nicely every month since we opened the store. In this tough economic environment, particularly in the US, we'll take all of the small successes we can get and do what we can to keep the disappointments to a minimum."
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 34 states and 5 Canadian provinces, one combination wholesale/retail store located in the United Kingdom, 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.