I think the volatile nature of the business is everyone use to make their clothes, and home decor items. It was cheaper, and better. Now people have one or more jobs outside the home and ready made items are more affordable. God knows I purchase quite a bit of fabric, but not as much as my mother did. I also don't purchase as much at $12 a yard as I did at $8 a yard.
There's also a lot of brands of fabric. Kinda like jelly beans, there use to be Brach's, Jelly Belly's and Just Born. Now in addition there's Lifesavers, Starburst, Gimbals, Jolly Rancher, Mike and Ikes, and Laffy Taffy just to name a few. I'm bet Just Born make more on Peeps than their jelly beans and they probably will concentrate their efforts on the peep market. I think Red Rooster was the jelly beans in the PB Textiles peeps in the General Fabrics lines.