FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (AMEX: TLF - News) reported today that sales for the month of June were $4.5 million, the same as in June 2007. Year-to-date sales are down 3% at $27.1 million in the current year from $28.0 million last year. Tandy's new UK store, which opened in mid-February, reported June sales of $94,000 and $237,000 year-to-date.
Retail Leathercraft posted a 2% sales increase for June, with sales totaling $2.1 million compared to $2.0 million in June 2007. The 68 comparable stores posted a 1% same store sales loss for the month. The 4 stores opened in or after June 2007 added sales for the month of $72,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $12.5 million this year, a 3% increase over year-to-date 2007 sales of $12.2 million. As of the end of June, same store sales were down 3% for the year.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.3 million for June, down 5% from June 2007 sales of $2.4 million. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, the wholesale stores' same store sales were down 7% for the month while the National Account group posted a June sales gain of 13%. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $13.9 million compared to $15.1 million in 2007, a loss of 8%. The comparable wholesale stores posted an 8% sales decline for the year, while National Accounts reported a 5% sales loss. Mid-Continent's year-to-date sales were $312,000, down 20% from the same period in 2007.
Chief Executive Officer and President, Ron Morgan, commented, "All things considered, we're holding our own on the Retail side of the business, although the slight same store sales loss is disappointing after achieving gains for the two prior months. Wholesale continues to show significant weakness although the majority of the sales losses are contained within a handful of stores. Our UK store continues to be a bright spot for us. We held its grand opening the last week of June and were very pleased with the response from customers. I expect we'll see steady top-line growth from that store for a while."
Shannon Greene, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, added, "For the second quarter, we ran a 3% sales gain, with Retail Leathercraft up 5% and Wholesale Leathercraft being flat. The retail same store sales were up 1% for the quarter. That is good news in this economic environment. We also got through the second quarter without a reduction in our cash balances, which is a huge improvement over last year's second quarter when our cash dropped by almost 40% in the second quarter."
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.
Contact:
Tandy Leather Factory, Inc.
Shannon L. Greene, 817-496-4414
sgreene@tandyleather.com
or
Magellan Fin, LLC
Mark Gilbert, 317-867-2839
MGilbert@MagellanFin.com
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