FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 1, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (Nasdaq:TLF) reported today that sales for the month of August were $5.3 million, up 20% compared to August 2010 sales of $4.4 million. Year to date sales are up 11% to $42.2 million in the current year from $37.9 million last year.
Retail Leathercraft's sales rose 33% to $3.0 million compared to August 2010 sales of $2.3 million. For the month, the 76 comparable stores' sales were up 32% compared to the same period last year. The one store opened since August 2010 added August sales of $19,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $23.5 million this year, a 17% increase over sales of $20.1 million for the same period of 2010. For the year to date, the 75 comparable stores' sales were up 16% compared to sales reported for the same period in 2010.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.1 million for August, up 6% compared to August 2010 sales of $2.0 million. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, same store sales were up 13% for the month while the National Account group's sales were down 25% from August 2010. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $17.4 million compared to $16.8 million in 2010, up 3%. As of the end of August, year to date same store sales were up 6% compared to the same period last year and the National Account group's sales are down 5%.
International Leathercraft's sales rose 30% to $149,000 compared to August 2010 sales of $115,000. Year-to-date sales are $1.4 million this year, a 31% increase over sales of $1.0 million for the same period of 2010. International Leathercraft consists of one store located in the UK.
Chief Executive Officer and President, Jon Thompson, commented, "One of our many priorities is to balance sales and inventory. Our inventory has been increasing over the past several quarters as we have purchased larger quantities of certain items that we can sell aggressively and still meet our gross margin targets. Our August sales results are evidence that we are on the right track."
Shannon L. Greene, Chief Financial Officer, added, "We have talked for months about taking advantage of those special buying opportunities as they present themselves and it certainly paid off for us in August. Generating strong sales while protecting gross margins is a win-win."
Tandy Leather Factory, Inc., http:/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.