FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 9, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (Nasdaq: TLF ) reported today that sales for the month of December were $7.6 million, equal to December 2012 sales. Sales for the year are up 8% at $78.5 million compared to $72.7 million last year.
Retail Leathercraft's sales of $4.8 million were flat against December 2012 sales. The 77 comparable stores' matched sales of December last year. The three stores opened after December 2012 added December sales of $55,000. 2013 sales for Retail Leathercraft are $47.1 million, up 11% over 2012 sales of $42.6 million. For the year, the comparable stores' sales were up 9% compared to sales reported for 2012.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.5 million for December, equal to December 2012 sales. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, compared to December 2012, wholesale same store sales were up 2% while the National Account group's sales were down 53%. National Account sales were $39,000 for the month compared to last year's December sales of $84,000. For the year, Wholesale Leathercraft sales were $27.5 million, up 2% from last year's sales of $26.9 million. The wholesale same store sales were up 4% compared to last year and the National Account group's sales were down 25%.
International Leathercraft reported December sales of $318,000, up 4% compared to December 2012 sales of $306,000. For the year, International Leathercraft sales were $3.9 million compared to $3.2 million last year, up 21%. All three stores in the segment have been opened for both periods, so same store sales for the month and year were the same as the segment's sales.
Chief Executive Officer and President, Jon Thompson, commented, "December sales, while not as strong as we have grown accustomed to in recent months, were in line with our internal projections. We were pleased that we were able to match last year's December sales without pressuring gross margins with excessive discounting. While continued sales gains can get more difficult to achieve year after year, we expect 2014 to continue our positive sales trend."
Shannon L. Greene, Chief Financial Officer added, "2013 marks our fifth consecutive year of sales gains, which we feel is a great accomplishment, and we met our revenue guidance for the year. We opened three new stores this year which is one more than we originally forecasted. As we move forward into 2014, we will continue our strategy of expanding or remodeling existing stores, as well as opening new stores in appropriate markets."
Tandy Leather Factory, Inc., ( 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, 79 Tandy Leather retail stores, located in 37 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.
Shannon L. Greene, Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (817) 872-3200 or Mark Gilbert, Magellan Fin, LLC (317) 867-2839 or
