TANDY LEATHER FACTORY, INC.
FORT WORTH, Texas, July 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLF) reported today that sales for the month of June were $6.0 million, down 4% compared to June 2015 sales of $6.3 million. Year to date sales were $40.4 million, down 1% compared to $40.7 million of sales in the same period last year.
Retail Leathercraft’s sales decreased 5% to $3.9 million compared to June 2015 sales of $4.0 million. The 80 comparable stores’ sales were down 4% for the month compared to the same period last year and the one new store opened in 2016 added June sales of $85,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $25.9 million this year, up 0.4% from 2015 sales of $25.7 million. As of the end of June, the 80 comparable stores’ sales were equal to sales for the same period in 2015.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $1.9 million for June, down 5% from June 2015 sales of $2.0 million. The 27 same stores’ sales were down 3% compared to last year’s June sales. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $12.5 million, decreasing 4% from sales of $13.1 million for the same period a year ago. As of the end of June, same store sales were down 3% compared to the same period of 2015.
International Leathercraft reported June sales of $310,000, up 19% compared to June 2015 sales of $260,000. Same store sales were flat, with the one new store opened in October 2015 adding June sales of $50,000. For the year to date, International Leathercraft sales were $1.9 million, increasing 5% from sales of the same period in 2015. As of the end of June, the 3 comparable stores’ sales were down 12% compared to sales reported for the same period in 2015.
Chief Executive Officer, Shannon L. Greene, commented, “Overall, our June sales were disappointing but not unexpected as the retail environment continues to be somewhat choppy. Like other specialty retailers, we are having to compete for every available discretionary dollar the consumer is willing to spend. We are also carefully monitoring foreign currency rates, especially for our UK operations, as we look to the last half of the year. Brexit could have an unfavorable impact on our international sales but it’s too early to tell.”
Mark Angus, President, added, “Our focus remains on protecting profit margins in this tough retail environment. As is the case with sales, our store base has experienced mixed margin results, with a number of stores showing improvement, while others were maintaining.”
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 27 Leather Factory stores, located in 18 states and 3 Canadian provinces, 81 Tandy Leather retail stores, located in 36 states and 6 Canadian provinces, and four 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: Shannon L. Greene, Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (817) 872-3200 or sgreene@tandyleather.com Mark Gilbert, Magellan Fin, LLC (317) 867-2839 or MGilbert@MagellanFin.com
