Tandy Leather’s new retail location
Betty Dillard
Tandy Leather Factory Inc. continued to see strong sales in the second quarter. The Fort Worth-based company said June 6 that sales for the month of May were $5.9 million, a 7 percent increase compared with May 2012 sales of $5.5 million. Year-to-date sales are up 10 percent to $32.5 million in the current year from $29.5 million last year. CEO and President, Jon Thompson, commented, “The second quarter is shaping up nicely as May’s sales add another month to our positive sales trend. The international stores continue to show strong sales as the customer bases there grow.” Retail Leathercraft’s sales rose 8 percent to $3.5 million compared with May 2012 sales of $3.2 million. The 77 comparable stores’ sales were up 7 percent compared with the same period last year. The one store opened after May 2012 added May sales of $38,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $19.4 million, a 15 percent increase over sales of $16.9 million for the same period of 2012. As of the end of May, the 77 comparable stores’ sales were up 14 percent compared with sales reported for the same period in 2012. The company said Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.1 million for May, up 3 percent compared with May 2012 sales of $2.0 million. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, compared to May 2012, the wholesale same store sales were up 3 percent and the National Account group’s sales were up 6 percent. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $11.4 million, even with sales for the same period last year. As of the end of May, the wholesale same store sales were up 5 percent compared with the same period last year while the National Account group’s sales were down 50 percent. International Leathercraft reported May sales of $329,000, up 11 percent compared with May 2012 sales of $298,000. For the year to date, International Leathercraft sales were $1.7 million compared to $1.3 million, 34 percent jump. All three stores in the segment have been opened for both periods, so same store sales for the month and year to date were the same as the segment’s sales. Tandy Leather Factory will host a grand opening June 7 and 8 of its new flagship store at its corporate headquarters, located at 1900 S.E. Loop 820 in Fort Worth. The new store, part of the company’s on-going expansion and growth strategy, will be the largest in its store chain at 22,000 square feet. The new building houses a state-of-the-art classroom for leathercraft classes and demonstrations by industry artists. Tandy Leather Factory 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 three Canadian provinces, 78 Tandy Leather retail stores, located in 37 states and six 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.”