Tandy Leather sales up 7%
US-based leather and leathergoods retailer Tandy Leather Factory has reported that sales for the month of March were $5.7 million, up 7% compared to March 2010 sales. Year to date sales are up 9% to $15.9 million in the current year from $14.6 million last year.
“March adds another month to our positive sales trend,” said CEO and president, Jon Thompson. “We are expecting some pressure on gross margins in the next two quarters as leather prices remain high. Although we try to build cost increases into our selling prices, at some point, customer price resistance will come into play. We continue to look for unique buying opportunities in order to offset the higher prices on some of our everyday leathers. Without them, we could see gross margins decrease by up to 100 basis points in the second and third quarters. However, because leather is a commodity, we are not the only ones dealing with rising product costs.”
Retail Leathercraft’s sales rose 10% to $3.1 million compared to March 2010 sales of $2.8 million. There are no new stores in March so same store sales are also up 10% compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $8.7 million this year, a 14% increase over sales of $7.6 million for the same period of 2010. As of the end of March, the 75 comparable stores' sales were up 9% compared to sales reported for the same period in 2010.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.5 million for March, up 3% compared to March 2010 sales. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, the wholesale same store sales were up 5% for the month while the National Account group's sales were up 3% from March 2010. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $6.7 million compared to $6.6 million in 2010, up 2%. As of the end of March, the wholesale same store sales were up 4% compared to the same period last year and the National Account group's sales are down 2%.
International Leathercraft consists of one store in the UK. Sales there rose 16% to $177,000 compared to March 2010 sales of $152,000. Year-to-date sales are $509,000 this year, a 33% increase over sales of $381,000 for the same period of 2010.
Shannon Greene, CFO, added: “Sales are off to a good start in 2011, as we ended the first quarter with a 9% sales gain. While sales gains are good indicators of the market, gross margins and operating margins are more important. We will be working hard to reap the benefit of those sales gains by doing all we can to keep gross margins stable and operating expenses down. As Jon indicated, leather prices are up. The weakness in the US dollar is having a negative effect on product costs for anyone who imports product as well. With that said, these are not new issues for us. It is a normal part of being in the leather business."
