Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. Reports July 2015 Sales Down 1% From July 2014 Sales

FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 06, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. TLF reported today that sales for the month of July were $6.5 million, down 1% compared to July 2014 sales of $6.6 million.  Year to date sales were $47.3 million, up 2% compared to sales of $46.3 million in the same period last year.

Retail Leathercraft's sales rose 2% to $4.2 million compared to July 2014 sales of $4.1 million.  The 80 comparable stores' sales were up 1% compared to the same period last year.  The two stores opened since July 2014 added July sales of $60,000.  Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $29.9 million this year, a 6% increase over sales of $28.3 million for the same period of 2014.  As of the end of July, the 79 comparable stores' sales were up 4% compared to sales reported for the same period in 2014. 

Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.0 million for July, down 5% compared to July 2014 sales of $2.1 million.   Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, same store sales were down 3%.    For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $15.1 million, up 1% from sales of $15.0 million for the same period a year ago.  As of the end of June, the wholesale same store sales were up 2% compared to the same period last year.       

International Leathercraft reported July sales of $313,000, down 12% compared to July 2014 sales of $357,000. For the year to date, International Leathercraft sales were $2.1 million compared to $2.4 million in 2014, down 13%. All three stores in the segment have been opened for both periods, so same store sales for the month were the same as the segment's sales.  

Chief Executive Officer and President, Jon Thompson, commented, "July sales suffered as we were unable to anniversary some significant sales from last year.  Further, we were not as aggressive in our product features in July due to concerns about product availability – specifically in leather.  Said another way, we had a significant amount of leather on its way to us at this time last year.  That's not the case now as we are having a hard time finding those opportunity buys we enjoyed last year.  As a result, we are being a little more conservative in our monthly product features and it shows in our July sales.  The pendulum has swung the other way now from a year ago.  Last year, we were concerned about having too much inventory.  This year, we are concerned about not having enough."

Shannon L. Greene, Chief Financial Officer added, "At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the currency exchange rates are wrecking havoc on our international sales and negatively affecting our sales comparisons to last year.  Unfortunately, we don't expect the situation to improve this year so we will be dealing with that negative pressure for the foreseeable future."   

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, 82 Tandy Leather retail stores, located in 36 states and 6 Canadian provinces, and three 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.