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Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. Reports January 2009 Sales Same as Last Year

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  Published in House and Home on Thursday, February 5th 2009 at 8:17 GMT, Last Modified on 2009-02-05 08:18:43 by Market Wire

FORT WORTH, Texas--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (AMEX: TLF) reported today that sales for the month of January were $4.4 million, equal to that of January 2008.

Retail Leathercraft's sales rose 5% to $2.1 million compared to January 2008 sales of $2.0 million. The 72 comparable stores' sales were up 3% for the month compared to the same period last year. The 2 stores opened since January 2008 added January sales of $43,000.

Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.1 million for January, down 10% over January 2008 sales of $2.3 million. Within the Wholesale Leathercraft division, the wholesale centers' store were down 12% for the month while the National Account group posted a January sales gain of 8%.

Chief Executive Officer, Ron Morgan, commented, "Despite what the media is saying, the retail customer is finding money to spend, even though they're spending less per ticket. Our retail stores continue to show relative strength as we start the year and the 3% same store sales gain is very encouraging. Unfortunately, our wholesale stores continue to report weak sales. We expect 2009 to be a continuation of 2008 in that we will measure our success based on maintaining gross profit margins and controlling expenses, not on sales gains."

Shannon L. Greene, Chief Financial Officer, added, "We rolled out our new website in January and are getting great feedback from customers on the new look and ease of use. Coupled with our emails to customers, we consider our website to be an efficient, cost-effective advertising method to drive traffic to our stores while also generating sales we wouldn't otherwise get from customers because of where they live in relation to our stores. We expect the new site will contribute to our sales in all channels as more customers become aware of it."

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, 74 Tandy Leather retail stores, located in 35 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 American Stock Exchange 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.