Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. Reports August 2009 Sales up 2% Year over Year

Retail Same Store Sales up 9% for the Month; Retail Up 12%; Wholesale Down 5%

• Press Release
• Source: Tandy Leather Factory, Inc.
• On 8:00 am EDT, Thursday September 3, 2009

FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (AMEX: TLF - News) reported today that sales for the month of August were $4.1 million, up 2% from August 2008 sales of $4.0 million. Year to date sales are down 1% to $35.0 million in the current year from $35.4 million last year.

Related Quotes

Symbol	Price	Change
TLF	3.35	0.00

{"s" : "tlf","k" : "c10,l10,p20,t10","o" : "","j" : ""}

Retail Leathercraft’s sales rose 12% to $2.1 million compared to August 2008 sales of $1.9 million. The 72 comparable stores’ sales were up 9% for the month compared to the same period last year. The 3 stores opened since August 2008 added August sales of $61,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $17.5 million this year, a 7% increase over sales of $16.4 million for the same period of 2008. As of the end of August, the 72 comparable stores’ sales were up 4% compared to sales reported for the same period in 2008.

Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $1.8 million for August, down 5% from August 2008 sales of $1.9 million. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, the wholesale centers’ sales were down 6% for the month while the National Account group’s sales were up 1% against August 2008. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $16.2 million compared to $17.9 million in 2008, down 10%.

The UK store, which opened in February 2008 as a combination retail and wholesale store, added sales of $113,000 for the month and $820,000 for the year, compared to $119,000 and $444,000 for the comparable periods in 2008, respectively.

Chief Executive Officer and President, Jon Thompson, commented, “I am very pleased with the performance of the retail stores. Retail’s August sales gain is the highest of the year, beating July handily. And the 9% same store sales gain in the retail stores is exceptional, given the state of the economy. We have not achieved gains of this magnitude since mid-2007. The Wholesale story has not changed as we continue to report sales declines, although the declines appear to be less severe in the last several months.”

Shannon L. Greene, Chief Financial Officer, added, “We will continue our efforts to maintain sales in both retail and wholesale. However, we expect more of the same sales results for the remainder of the year. Our UK store is reporting a sales loss in August. However, that is all because of currency fluctuation. The store actually had a 9% gain in its local currency for the month. Given its performance so far, it is very likely that the UK store’s sales will top $1 million in 2009.”

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, 75 Tandy Leather retail stores, located in 36 states and 5 Canadian provinces, one combination wholesale/retail store located in the United Kingdom, and Mid-Continent Leather Sales, one store located in Oklahoma. Its common stock trades on the NYSE Amex 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.

Tandy Leather Factory, Inc.
Shannon L. Greene, 817-872-3200
sgreene@tandyleather.com
or
Magellan Fin, LLC
Mark Gilbert, 317-867-2839
MGilbert@MagellanFin.com