Occasionally I have crafty opinions and news that do not relate to a project I have either finished or am currently working on. So, I figured I would make this post a "Crafty Side Note."
I have mentioned before that of the two Wal-Marts in town, only one carries fabric. Not a huge deal for me, since I usually shop at Hancock Fabrics or one of the local quilting shops. I also know how to use the Internet and can shop online if needed. (Another side note: One of the locals has closed its brick and mortar shop and now only operates online, which is a bummer. The online shop does not offer fabric, only Singer sewing machines, parts, etc.) I have purchased fabric at Wal-Mart on occasion, though; see the bridal shower gift for my newest sister-in-law. In my post for that project, I noted that Wal-Mart was planning to downsize and basically eliminate its fabric department, company-wide. Well, it has come to pass here in my town: no more fabric at Wal-Mart.
Again, not a huge deal for me (because I have other, I think better, options), but there seems to be a lot of upset consumers out there. Many people depend on Wal-Mart for their sewing needs, especially those rural consumers. And thanks to Wal-Mart, many towns no longer have the "mom-and-pop" fabric stores. (See a few comments about the disappearing fabric here, here, and here.) I did come across at least one website where several people said it was not a huge loss, that the super cheap fabric was usually really low quality. Some people think that the end of fabric at Wal-Mart (or most Wal-Marts) will signal the return of local quilt shops or chains like Hancock or Jo-Ann. I don't know about that. It could happen since Wal-Mart is out of the picture, but some retailers might be leery of entering a market that wrote them off before. Hancock (and I'm sure Jo-Ann) offers some good buys on fabric, but it is more expensive that the $1.00 or $2.00 per yard Wal-Mart offered on a lot of its fabric. Most of the fabric one can find at a local quilting shop is more expensive, but with the higher cost, comes higher quality. Anyhow, it's not cool that Wal-Mart is hindering sewers around the country.
OK. That's all I've got. What do you think about Wal-Mart's decision?
I have mentioned before that of the two Wal-Marts in town, only one carries fabric. Not a huge deal for me, since I usually shop at Hancock Fabrics or one of the local quilting shops. I also know how to use the Internet and can shop online if needed. (Another side note: One of the locals has closed its brick and mortar shop and now only operates online, which is a bummer. The online shop does not offer fabric, only Singer sewing machines, parts, etc.) I have purchased fabric at Wal-Mart on occasion, though; see the bridal shower gift for my newest sister-in-law. In my post for that project, I noted that Wal-Mart was planning to downsize and basically eliminate its fabric department, company-wide. Well, it has come to pass here in my town: no more fabric at Wal-Mart.
Again, not a huge deal for me (because I have other, I think better, options), but there seems to be a lot of upset consumers out there. Many people depend on Wal-Mart for their sewing needs, especially those rural consumers. And thanks to Wal-Mart, many towns no longer have the "mom-and-pop" fabric stores. (See a few comments about the disappearing fabric here, here, and here.) I did come across at least one website where several people said it was not a huge loss, that the super cheap fabric was usually really low quality. Some people think that the end of fabric at Wal-Mart (or most Wal-Marts) will signal the return of local quilt shops or chains like Hancock or Jo-Ann. I don't know about that. It could happen since Wal-Mart is out of the picture, but some retailers might be leery of entering a market that wrote them off before. Hancock (and I'm sure Jo-Ann) offers some good buys on fabric, but it is more expensive that the $1.00 or $2.00 per yard Wal-Mart offered on a lot of its fabric. Most of the fabric one can find at a local quilting shop is more expensive, but with the higher cost, comes higher quality. Anyhow, it's not cool that Wal-Mart is hindering sewers around the country.
OK. That's all I've got. What do you think about Wal-Mart's decision?
Comments
Wal-Mart is such a mess. They have their pros, like affordable prices and one-stop shopping, but there are so many cons, too. As a rule, I don't shop at Wal-Mart; the clientale, the lay-out of the store, sometimes even the cleanliness is lacking. I prefer to do my "discount" shopping at Target.
Eh, I could go on and on about Wal-Mart.
Where I live in coastal NC, we only had two Food Lion's when I arrived and those were BAD. Their food selection was horrifying, the stores were filthy, and the produce was generally rotting on the shelf. There are Wal-Marts and a Target about 20 miles away in either direction from my town, so Food Lion was basically our only option for quick, mid-week cooking needs. When Wal-Mart came to town this Jan, it cut down pollution and fossil fuel consumption for an entire town (wow, that sounds really eco-friendly of me) AND it forced the Food Lions to do some remodeling and upgrade their food selection all around so that Food Lion could compete.
Maybe it's a mega-mart, small town business killer but it's not all bad all the time.
Sorry...I know this was supposed to be about fabric!
I don't usually shop at Wal-Mart because I don't like a lot of their business practices (taking over a town and undercutting locals, controlling its suppliers, etc), store upkeep (or lack of), arguably poor wages and benefits for employees, etc. I like to shop at local stores, but that just isn't always possible. Wal-Mart does have low prices on a lot of goods and in harder economic times, that is what people look for.
We have an older Food Lion out here, too. It doesn't sound quite as bad as the FLs mentioned in your comments, but it needs a little TLC. It is definitely not as nice as the other FLs in town. I think one problem with Wal-Mart is they start out nice, but it seems they get rundown kind of quick. But I'm not saying you can't purchase quality goods and decent food there. Plus, maybe a lot of the store's condition depends on the manager.
I do think it's funny that people in Toledo were super excited when Wal-Mart opened a few years ago when I was still in college. Toledo is a town of approximately 300,000, so it's not like it didn't have a lot of choices out there for people. I guess Wal-Mart was just a new and exciting thing.
And also, why do folks refer to it as "The Wal-Mart" and not just "Wal-Mart?" I don't get it.