FORT WORTH, Texas, June 04, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (Nasdaq:TLF) reported today that sales for the month of May were $6.1 million, down 5% compared to May 2014 sales of $6.4 million. Year to date sales were $34.5 million, up 2% compared to sales of $33.7 million in the same period last year.
Retail Leathercraft’s sales fell 3% to $3.8 million compared to May 2014 sales of $3.9 million. The 80 comparable stores’ sales were down 4% compared to the same period last year. The two stores opened since May 2014 added May sales of $58,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $21.7 million this year, a 5% increase over sales of $20.6 million for the same period of 2014. As of the end of May, 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 May, down 5% from May 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 $11.2 million, decreasing 2% from sales of $11.4 million for the same period a year ago. As of the end of May, the wholesale same store sales were up 3% compared to the same period last year.
International Leathercraft reported May sales of $271,000, down 27% compared to May 2014 sales of $369,000. For the year to date, International Leathercraft sales were $1.5 million compared to $1.7 million in 2014, down 11%. 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, “As we expected, May was a difficult month for sales. We have mentioned several times recently that our inventory is lower than it should be due primarily to delivery issues. Deliveries picked up in the last half of the month, but that didn’t give us enough time to get the product into our stores before month-end. We expect sales to improve in June and the last half of the year as we should be able to fill the stores consistently with product. The international stores had an especially tough month as they continue to deal with a strong US dollar.”
Shannon L. Greene, Chief Financial Officer added, “We were able to match last year’s May gross profit margin this month, and we expect it to improve through the last half of the year. Further, inventory should build heavily in the third quarter, getting us back to a more normal product mix, which should have a positive effect on margins.”
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 18 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.