Article Excerpt:
TWST: It's been about a year since we spoke about The Leather Factory. What's gone on at the company over the last year that investors should focus on?Ms. Greene: A year ago, we were in the middle of our third year of an eight to 10 year expansion program, growing the Tandy Leather retail store chain. At that time, we had 30 stores opened. As of today, we've opened 44 stores and will continue to do so for the next several years. Our goal is to have 50 or so retail stores by the end of 2005. If we can do that, we'll be at the halfway point in our overall plan.
TWST: What has been the rationale behind this aggressive expansion
program? What's ticking at Tandy Leather Stores?
Ms. Greene: Tandy Leather has historically been the leader in the retail
leathercraft industry. We acquired Tandy at the end of 2000, knowing
that their name recognition and reputation was the best in the industry.
We believe customers are very familiar with the brand name and associate
it with a serious commitment to the promotion of the craft. That's been
the motivation behind the expansion, and we'll continue on this path
until we feel we've achieved a reasonable level of market saturation.
Tickers included in this excerpt: TLF
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