FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 4, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (Nasdaq:TLF) reported today that sales for the month of July were $5.1 million, up 11% compared to July 2010 sales. Year to date sales are up 10% to $37.0 million in the current year from $33.5 million last year.
Retail Leathercraft's sales rose 16% to $2.9 million compared to July 2010 sales of $2.5 million. For the month, the 76 comparable stores' sales were up 15% compared to the same period last year. The one store opened since July 2010 added July sales of $26,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $20.5 million this year, a 15% increase over sales of $17.8 million for the same period of 2010. For the year to date, the 75 comparable stores' sales were up 14% compared to sales reported for the same period in 2010.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.0 million for July, up 5% compared to July 2010 sales. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, same store sales were up 6% for the month and the National Account group's sales were up 14% from July 2010. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $15.3 million compared to $14.8 million in 2010, up 3%. As of the end of July, year to date same store sales in the wholesale stores were up 5% compared to the same period last year and the National Account group's sales are down 2%.
International Leathercraft's sales rose 16% to $177,000 compared to July 2010 sales of $153,000. Year-to-date sales are $1.2 million this year, a 31% increase over sales of $929,000 for the same period of 2010. International Leathercraft consists of one store located in the UK.
Chief Executive Officer and President, Jon Thompson, commented, "We have started the third quarter with stronger sales than we expected, given that the third quarter is historically our weakest. We were fairly cautious in discounting selling prices in June and it showed in our sales. That caution on our part continued in July, but it didn't seem to affect customer buying habits as much this time."
Shannon L. Greene, Chief Financial Officer, added, "In our efforts to protect gross margins during a period of rising product costs, we have been careful to avoid promotional selling as a way to boost sales. We offered some very aggressive sales pricing on certain items last year in July which negatively affected our gross margin at the time. We believe we were successful in avoiding that scenario this year without sacrificing sales."
Tandy Leather Factory, Inc., www.tandyleatherfactory.com">(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, 77 Tandy Leather retail stores, located in 36 states and 6 Canadian provinces, and one combination wholesale/retail store located in the United Kingdom. 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">http://www.b2i.us/irpass.asp?BzID=1625&to=ea&s=0.
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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.