Tandy store closings

[Studio-N]

I drove by the Dallas store today. It is closed, empty, and the sign is down so there is truth to the rumors. The Mesquite store is still there although closed despite being allowed to open starting yesterday. Phoenix,Austin, Ny, St. Leonard are suppose to follow suit Monday although no formal announcement from TLF damagement. I'm guessing they are busy with all the lawsuits right now.

[Handstitched]

Law suits? Sounds messy.  Sounds like Tandy are in a lot of trouble.

This is an old report:

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/01/29/1707221/0/en/Tandy-Leather-Factory-Reports-Q4-18-Sales-Up-1-0-Over-Prior-Year-4th-Quarter-Announces-Three-Store-Closures-and-Schedules-Earnings-Announcement-and-Conference-Call.html

It does reference Texas 

HS

[AzShooter]

I just checked their website and it's still in business. I made a small order and go a response .  They've closed most or all of their stores because of Covid19 and are shipping everything from the warehouse in Texas.  

I'm hoping the Phoenix stores open soon.  I've been ordering everything on line but I'd like to peruse the store to see items I really need as I improve in my leather working skills.

[Handstitched]

Unfortunately , Tandy in Oz, closed down quite a while ago.I did buy a few things from  them at the time, but only when stuff was on special , otherwise they were too ex$y.  No wonder they didn't last . 

I've just found out about the law suits:

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/02/04/1979378/0/en/Lawsuit-for-Investors-in-Tandy-Leather-Factory-Inc-NASDAQ-TLF-announced-by-Shareholders-Foundation.html

O'h dear !! 

HS

[Studio-N]

yeah, I think they have pretty much burned thru all their cash reserves - mostly in bonus to upper management and they may get delisted from the stock exchange (the kiss of death).

seems that history is repeating itself. they may keep the stores closed and try a 'internet only' concept. we all know how well that worked for Tandy 1.0

I wonder if this will make my craftool USA tools more valuable? 

[AzShooter]

It's really a shame.  I worked for Tandy for 10 years when it was a great job.  Many of my friends became millionaires while working there.  The store managers made a lot of money but the hours were horrible.

 

[480volt]

I’ll stop by the local Tandy (San Bruno, California) on my way home from work Monday, and see if there is still product inside.

[480volt]

San Bruno store still has inventory. Not open at this time

[PhilK77]

placed an order with Tandy on tue received it wed from my local store (Berlin Ct), so it appears they are open for online orders at least.

[Chakotay]

I'm scheduled to get an online order today. It'll be sad to see their retail stores go away. Hopefully they at least maintain an online presence.

But it does make me wonder how they screwed this up: You're practically the only 'player' in the leather game (yes, I know there's other sources . . . you know what I mean). Was it just mismanagement? Poor quality? Bad customer service? Just a dying craft not enough people are interested in? 

[AzShooter]

Looks like they are going the way of Tandy Computers.  I hate to see that happen.

 

[Handstitched]

17 hours ago, Chakotay said:

Was it just mismanagement? Poor quality? Bad customer service? Just a dying craft not enough people are interested in? 

Here in Oz, they were too expensive  and I didn't like having to apply for ' club prices' , and I never applied, I  simply went somewhere else where it was  just cheaper ,  and trying to get wholesale , as in B2B , was like getting blood out of a stone . When I  once spoke to the manager for wholesale pricing, he wasn't very helpful , unlike their established competitor , down the road,  that were very accommodating. Needless to say TL in Australia  didn't last .

But I do think its  a dying art . But then again, I would have thought more people would be interested in leather during these  challenging times, but money is tight for many  atm . 

Hope they can find a way out of this mess and keep trading, it won't affect me, but it will affect the thousands of leather crafters across the US  and perhaps around the world . 

Watch this space I guess   

HS

[MikeF]

Yep, somethings afoot...I placed an order over a week ago, sent a message  to cancel before it shipped...never heard back and a week later get a message that the cancelled order shipped...sent another message asking why the order shipped...nothin but crickets. Just took a look at their website...ALL  their large Machinery tools are on close out...even the new stitch master.  Death rattle sounds like to me.

[Retswerb]

I swung by my local store here in Tacoma Wa, it’s closed up but still appears to be fully stocked for now.

[Handstitched]

' The game is a foot' , or in this case , financial trouble ' is afoot' .

This may have absolutely no bearing on whats happening,.... or has it?  

https://www.marketbeat.com/stocks/NASDAQ/TLF/

(As of 05/10/2020 07:02 AM ET)

Its all gobbledygook to me !! 

HS

[480volt]

There must be a few Tandy employees who frequent this website. Can any of you shed a little light on this situation without running afoul of a NDA?

[Tugadude]

I'll be keeping a watch on my local store.  They may be opening next Monday, as the county in which they are located is going top begin opening up by then.

If they do leave the business there will be quite a void to fill.  I've always believed that they had a niche where they catered to beginners and intermediates.  Sure, they did do business with producers, but there are a lot of people who first laid hands on leather courtesy of Tandy.  

Being able to bop in and grab a bottle of color or some hardware was a joy.  Not having them would definitely be felt.

[TonySFLDLTHR]

The Tandy store here in Springfield has yet to open. They could have opened almost 2 weeks ago.

[Arturomex]

2 hours ago, TonySFLDLTHR said:

The Tandy store here in Springfield has yet to open. They could have opened almost 2 weeks ago.

Perhaps that's a corporate decision. I'm in Canada right now and if I want to order anything it seems to go through the US (Fort Worth or El Paso - can't remember which) before it gets back to (I think) my closest store. I'm waiting on a small order from them right now and have no idea who filled it or where it will come from. While I understand what Tandy is doing and why they're doing it, I don't like it much. When my orders were being routed directly to my closest store and there was a problem (out of stock - that kind of thing) they'd call me. This time I received an email telling me that my aforementioned order shipped without 12 of the items I ordered. Had I known this before it shipped I would have cancelled it and saved the hassle of returning it.

Regards,

Arturo

Edited May 14, 2020 by Arturomex

[Handstitched]

13 hours ago, Tugadude said:

If they do leave the business there will be quite a void to fill.  I've always believed that they had a niche where they catered to beginners and intermediates.  Sure, they did do business with producers, but there are a lot of people who first laid hands on leather courtesy of Tandy.  

On top of that, theres a lot of history behind the company.I wonder how many leather workers  on here  started out as beginners  or as young kids even ,  and turned their ' little hobby' into a business, courtesy of TL? 

I have old  TL catalogues  from the 70's & 80's  that were given to me. I kept those, they're good to look through sometimes. 

HS 

[chrisash]

Few companies Tandy Leather size  go under fully the bones are sold on to someone who no doubt will just go online only to keep costs down. There is a proven market for the goods with little competition for many items as a one stop shop, but selling the odd stamp  or item at a local store, does not bring in much money and leather sales are more expensive than other retailers

Edited May 15, 2020 by chrisash

[Hardrada]

20 hours ago, Arturomex said:

Perhaps that's a corporate decision. I'm in Canada right now

Ditto. Earlier this week I noticed they redid their website—new look and all... and my account was gone. I had to open a new one and lost all my wish list items. Not impressed.

To-day, their site won't even open. As if getting Fiebing's products in Canada wasn't already such a chore.

[Arturomex]

Yeah, their website was down for a long time yesterday, came back up and then shut down again.

I hear you about Fiebings. I think I spend almost as much time tracking supplies down as I do using them. I try to buy a year's supply of dye and finish in the summertime. Don't know if you've run into it but I learned that some outfits don't want to/won't ship liquids in the winter. Alcohol based or not.

Regards,

Arturo

[Hardrada]

17 minutes ago, Arturomex said:

Don't know if you've run into it but I learned that some outfits don't want to/won't ship liquids in the winter. Alcohol based or not.

Yeah, that's why I didn't reorder Leather Balm and Tan Kote in the months before the current situation. Now they're all out. I might still be able to get Edge Kote at Longview Leather, but other stuff is out. Irritating too that the Pro dyes can't be sent by CanPost (more dangerous stuff is shipped, I reckon, but... ah well).

Looks like Lonsdale has a new line of products, some of which seem to be options to Fiebing's offerings:

https://www.lonsdaleleather.com/supplies

Tried any of them?

I'm also at pains to find something to thin Renia's Colle de Cologne with (as well as Barge), the 4oz jar I bought has gone super gummy.

[Arturomex]

I looked at the Lonsdale Leather dye offerings but I haven't tried them. Italian made, I think. They didn't have the color I was looking for but I hope to give them a test before the summer ends.

The Giardini edge finishing system looks interesting. I did some more investigation on their web site and received an email from them this morning touting some new colors. My understanding is that it goes: base coat, paint, top coat. Again, I'd like to test drive it before summer ends.

Have you tried Zelikovitz here: https://www.zelistore.com/

I'm actually waiting right now for a UPS delivery from them. Dye and finish. Had a difficult time finding Fiebings black and wound up having to buy four 4oz bottles for a project I'd like to get finished. Of course, why stop at that? LOL  It's a little early to start stocking up but I figured I might as well start while they still had some product. Hope you can do the same.

Regards,

Arturo