Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. Sets Monthly Sales Rec

Retail Same Store Sales Up 3%; Wholesale Same Store Sales Down 3%; Intl Same Store Sales Up 7% Will no longer report monthly sales, consistent with the practice of most other retailers

FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLF ) reported today that sales for the month of December were $9.3 million, up 2% compared to December 2015 sales of $9.1 million.  2016 sales of $83.2 million were down 1% compared to 2015 sales of $84.4 million.

Retail Leathercraft’s sales rose 3% to $6.2 million compared to December 2015 sales of $6.0 million.  The 80 comparable stores’ sales were up 3% for the month compared to the same period last year.  2016 sales for Retail Leathercraft of $53.9 million were equal to 2015 sales.  The 80 comparable stores’ 2016 sales were equal to sales reported for 2015. 

Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.6 million for December, down 3% or $85,000, compared to December 2015 sales of $2.7 million.   Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, same store sales were down 3%.    For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales were $25.5 million, down 5% from sales of $26.8 million for the same period a year ago.  The wholesale same store sales were down 3% for the year. 

International Leathercraft reported December sales of $400,000, up 7% compared to December 2015 sales of $374,000. All four stores in the segment have been opened for both periods, so same store sales were the same as the segment’s sales. For the year to date, International Leathercraft sales were $3.9 million compared to $3.7 million in 2015, up 5%. As of the end of December, same store sales were down 8% compared to the same period last year.  

Chief Executive Officer, Shannon Greene, commented, “We set a new monthly sales record in December, with sales of $9.3 million.  While it has been a year marked with some uncertainty, we finished the year on a strong note.  We appreciate all of the efforts from our employees and the continued support of our customers.”

Mark Angus, President, added, “We are pleased with our December sales results which mark the eighth consecutive year of year-over-year growth for the month.  We look forward to 2017 and continuing to build our retail footprint.”  

To be consistent with the practice of most other retailers, we are discontinuing our monthly sales disclosures on a go forward basis, with this disclosure as our last.  Rather, we believe reporting sales on a quarterly basis reduces the intra-period volatility related to events such as calendar shifts and aligns with our longer-term view to build shareholder value.

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, 84 Tandy Leather retail stores, located in 38 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 sgreene@tandyleather.com Mark Gilbert, Magellan Fin, LLC (317) 867-2839 or MGilbert@MagellanFin.com