Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. Reports September 2016 Sales Down 5% Compared to September 2015

FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 06, 2016 -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLF) reported today that sales for the month of September were $6.1 million, down 5% compared to September 2015 sales of $6.5 million.  Year to date sales were $59.1 million, down 2% compared to sales of $60.1 million in the same period last year.

Retail Leathercraft’s sales decreased 3% to $4.0 million compared to September 2015 sales of $4.1 million.  The 80 comparable stores’ sales were down 2% compared to the same period last year.  The one new store opened in 2016 added September sales of $97,000.  Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $38.0 million this year, a 0.3% decrease over sales of $38.1 million for the same period of 2015.  As of the end of September, the 80 comparable stores’ sales were equal to sales reported for the same period in 2015. 

Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $1.8 million for September, down 9% compared to September 2015 sales of $2.0 million.   Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, same store sales were down 7%.    For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $18.2 million, down 5% from sales of $19.2 million for the same period a year ago.  As of the end of September, the wholesale same store sales were down 4% compared to the same period last year.       

International Leathercraft reported September sales of $312,000, down 3% compared to September 2015 sales of $321,000. Same store sales decreased 18%, with the one new store opened in October 2015 adding September sales of $49,000.  For the year to date, International Leathercraft sales were $2.8 million compared to $2.7 million in 2015, up 2%.  As of the end of September, year to date same store sales were down 14% compared to the same period last year.  

Chief Executive Officer, Shannon L. Greene, commented, "This continues to be a challenging environment with lower sales volumes and store traffic than what we’d like to see this time of year.  However, as we head into the fourth quarter, we expect to open several new stores in markets that we believe will help us gain market share and contribute positively to our top line over time.”

Mark Angus, President, added, “While we expect the external headwinds to continue for the foreseeable future, our team is focused on enhancing our customer experience, brand awareness, and store performance, all of which will help drive improvement to our bottom line.” 

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 27 Leather Factory stores, located in 18 states and 3 Canadian provinces, 81 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.

Contact:
Shannon L. Greene, Tandy Leather Factory, Inc.  (817) 872-3200 or [email protected]
Mark Gilbert, Magellan Fin, LLC  (317) 867-2839 or [email protected]