Tandy Leather posts monthly sales over $7m
US leather retailer Tandy Leather Factory has reported that sales for the month of December 2011 were $7.2 million, up 16% compared to December 2010 sales of $6.2 million. 2011 sales are up 11% to $66.4 million in the current year from $59.9 million last year.
Retail Leathercraft’s sales rose 20% to $4.4 million compared to December 2010 sales of $3.7 million. For the month, the 76 comparable stores’ sales were up 19% compared to the same period last year. The one store opened since December 2010 added December sales of $43,000. 2011 sales for Retail Leathercraft are $37.5 million, a 16% increase over sales of $32.3 million for 2010. 2011 sales for the 75 comparable stores were up 15% compared to 2010 sales.
Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.7 million for December, up 10% compared to December 2010 sales of $2.4 million. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, same store sales were down 2% compared to December 2010 while the National Account group’s sales were up 273% for the month. For the year, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $26.7 million compared to $25.9 million in 2010, up 3%. 2011 same store sales increased 4% compared to last year and the National Account group’s sales were up 4% from 2010.
International Leathercraft, consisting of two stores, reported December sales of $186,000, up 25% compared to December 2010. The UK store posted a sales decline of 6% in December, while the new Australia store, opened in October, added December sales of $46,000. 2011 sales totalled $2.1 million this year, a 26% increase over sales of $1.7 million for 2010. The UK store reported a 20% sales gain for 2011 while the Australia store added 2011 sales of $107,000.
CEO and president, Jon Thompson, said: “We had a strong sales finish to 2011 and for the second year in a row, 90% of our stores reported sales gains for the year. We moved a lot of inventory in the fourth quarter, resulting in a decrease in our investment in inventory and an increase in our cash at year-end.”
Shannon L. Greene, CFO, said: “We beat our 2011 earnings guidance, estimated at $64-66 million, and are certainly pleased with that. We set new monthly, quarterly, and annual sales records in 2011 – a nice achievement – and we did so without pressuring gross margins with excessive discounting.”
