Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. Reports March 2009 Sales Up 4% From March 2008

Business Wire, April 02, 2009

Retail Same Store Sales Up 5%

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (AMEX: TLF) reported today that sales for the month of March were $4.6 million, up 4% from that of March 2008. Year to date sales are now even with 2008 at $13.3 million.

Retail Leathercraft’s sales rose 7% to $2.3 million compared to March 2008 sales of $2.1 million. The 72 comparable stores’ sales were up 5% for the month compared to the same period last year. The two stores opened since March 2008 added March sales of $42,000. Year-to-date sales for Retail Leathercraft are $6.6 million this year, a 5% increase over sales of $6.3 million for the same period of 2008. For the year, the 72 comparable stores’ sales were up 3% compared to sales reported for the same period in 2008.

Wholesale Leathercraft posted sales of $2.1 million for March, down 1% from March 2008 sales of $2.2 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 62% against March 2008. For the year to date, Wholesale Leathercraft sales are $6.3 million compared to $6.7 million in 2008, down 7%.

The UK store, which opened in February 2008 as a combination retail and wholesale store, added sales of $96,000 for the month compared to $30,000 in March 2008. Year to date sales are $292,000 compared to $42,000 in 2008.

Chief Executive Officer, Ron Morgan, commented, “We were fairly pleased with our March sales. A 7% gain in our retail stores is the highest so far this year and makes our fourth consecutive month of sales gains in our retail stores. We were especially pleased with the 5% same store sales gain. While we still had a sales decline in Wholesale in March, it was the smallest this year at 1%. And the 6% decline in the wholesale stores, while still a loss, is the lowest so far this year. National Accounts had a good month as we have gained placement of some additional items with several customers. We are up against tough comparisons for April as it was our second highest sales month last year. We have our work cut out for us to match those numbers although we are certainly trending in the right direction through the first quarter.”

Shannon L. Greene, Chief Financial Officer added, “As a result of the March sales gain, we ended the first quarter matching the sales of the first quarter of 2008. Retail ended with a 5% sales gain and a same store sales gain of 3% for the quarter. Wholesale is still struggling, ending the quarter with a 7% sales decline. The recent appreciation of the US dollar against major world currencies has negatively impacted our Canadian sales when converted to US dollars. Our Canadian stores actually ran a 4% sales gain in March, but when converted, they had a 16% sales loss. We expect the same issue to arise in the UK going forward.”

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.