FORT WORTH, Texas, April 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLF) reported today that sales for the month of March were $7.2 million, up 2% compared to March 2015 sales of $7.1 million. Year to date sales were $20.8 million, down ½% compared to sales of $20.9 million in the same period last year.
Retail Leathercraft’s sales increased 4% to $4.6 million compared to March 2015 sales of $4.5 million. The 82 comparable stores’ sales were up 2% for the month compared to the same period last year and the one new store opened in 2016 added March sales of $80,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $13.3 million this year, up 1% from 2015 sales of $13.2 million. As of the end of March, the 82 comparable stores’ sales increased ½% from comparable sales for the same period in 2015.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.26 million for March, down 1% from March 2015 sales of $2.28 million. The 28 same stores’ sales were down 1% for the month. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $6.5 million, decreasing 3% from sales of $6.7 million for the same period a year ago. As of the end of March, same store sales were down 3% compared to the same period of 2015.
International Leathercraft reported March sales of $327,000, up 1% compared to March 2015 sales of $324,000. Same store sales were down 13%, with the one new store opened in October 2015 adding March sales of $46,000. For the year to date, International Leathercraft sales were $926,000 compared to $955,000 in 2015, down 3%. As of the end of March, the 3 comparable stores’ sales were down 18% compared to sales reported for the same period in 2015.
Interim Chief Executive Officer, Shannon L. Greene, commented, “Our sales increased modestly this month and a majority of our stores reported sales gains over March last year. Our store base had mixed results, however, with a number of stores reporting very solid gains while others were down significantly. The current business climate continues to be a challenge overall as we did not see any pockets of regional strength or weakness throughout North America.”
Mark Angus, Interim President, added, “Our gross profit margins improved again this month compared to the same period last year. We are committed to maintaining or improving margins while working on some initiatives to reduce the number of stores struggling to reach what we consider acceptable sales levels.”
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 28 Leather Factory stores, located in 19 states and 3 Canadian provinces, 83 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.