Here is a website for Quilting in America 2010 and its stats:

http://www.quilts.com/announcements/...0_OneSheet.pdf

Quilting is a $3.58 Billion dollar industry. Myself and many, many other people wrote, texted, emailed, etc. Walmart about 2 years ago about how important their fabric department and quilting was to us.
I emailed the stats page to them also when I wrote to them. After so many responses to them closing fabric departments, maybe they got to thinking about the billions of dollars they were losing not having fabric centers and they also know fabric stores are going out of business and they can pick up on those markets as well. Just a thought...

We have a Hobby Lobby, Hancock Fabric, Ben Franklin Crafts and a Walmart. I have seldom been in either fabric dept. when it wasn't busy. Our Hancock Fabric was spared when they did all their closings. Our store and the one in Johnson City, TN are some of their highest grossing stores, with upwards of million dollar sales yearly.

Walmart really shot themselves in the foot when they took out fabric.

Very interesting stats in link.
There are 5, yes 5, Walmarts within 30 minute driving distance of my house. One never had fabric, two lost theirs, and the other two still have fabric. One of these stores is becoming a SuperWalmart and I have the feeling it will be the only one to carry fabric, leaving the others with yarn and crafts only.

I was told back in August, at Wal Marts Managers meeting in AK it was decided they are putting fabric back into stores that it was removed from They are not going to add fabric to stores that have never had any. Some of the stores here that did not lose all their fabric have added some more to their stores, and it is a better quality. It does cost a few dollars more, but it is worth it.

This cant be right: two hours a week on quilting web sites.
I spend that each day.

It's no joke that quilting is big business. It's why this board exists. This place isn't like Knitters Review which was started by a (gasp!) knitter. It's a good business model if anyone else wants to glom onto the advertizing drivebys.

I've never seen a Walmart fabric section. I'll check it out next time I'm in the South. Interesting that they reversed their decision.