All,

It was in the paper here within the last 2 weeks or so that Hancock's was closing. I didn't read the article, heard about it at the fabric part of Walmart. I figured it was our local Hancock's. So people talked about the remodeling they just did and what a shame it was. I was at a quilt shoppe yesterday and the clerk and I were talking about it. She said according to the article it was Hancock's, Inc. and that ALL stores nationwide are closing. Have any of you heard about this??

Melissa

I sure hope you're wrong!!!! Not long ago a clerk in mine said it looked like they would be the only game in town since WM and Hobby Lobby were closing. I'm 70 miles from a quilt shop.

I just let off some steam. A google on the topic led me to a forum post by a quilt shop owner who says it's a shame more of us don't support our local quilt shops!!!!!

The [insert a long stream of really nasty words] NERVE!!!!

Since when did the customer have an obligation to the business? THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is the real reason for fabric prices. Snobbery. I'm no bleeding heart liberal, but such arrogance among the "haves" and contempt for the "have nots" really fries my bacon.

Here's a thought for the elitests: how about they charge a fair price so the rest of us can afford to flock to their shops like pilgrims to Mecca?

I agree. Most of my stash was given to me by lovely people who knew I'd give it a good home and that I made lots of baby quilts for charity. I can't afford to just shop at the high dollar fabric stores. That's not to say I buy junk, but anyone shooping carefully can get good fabric at Joannes and Wal Mart for less than say the "bernina" store in Raleigh that charges 8 or 9 dollars or more for fabric. Just the fine fuse that I use in applique is the equivilent of $8.00 a yd. If I use it, and that is because I don't enjoy needle turn applique, then there won't be a lot of expensive fabric in the quilt. I haven't won the lottery yet!
Even the mail order places charge quite a bit and then there is the ever rising cost of postage besides!

Hancocks had filed bankruptcy and downsized to get a handle on things from what I've been told. Not all Hancock stores are closing that I'm aware of. I might be wrong, but thats what I've heard thru the grapevine.

One across the river closed, but the one closest to me is open still. They are remodeling.

I have a JoAnn's locally, Wal-Mart and two local quilt shops within 10 miles.

The prices at the local quilt shops are comparable to online sites that I've seen so far. Not to say there aren't any deals to be had. Quilting is an expensive hobby no matter what way you cut it, but it's worth the price of addiction. :)

The Hancock store near me had a lot of cars in the parking lot today, but I had errands to run, and didn't stop in. They are usually busier than the Joanne store 12 miles away. I buy fabric wherever I find it. Yard sales, fabric shops, occassionally at the pricey quilt stores. Even the ugliest patterns can usually be transformed with a box of dye.

The Hancock's here just finished a remodeling...but it sounds like they will be closed soon anyway. Found another person today who read the article and they said that Hancock's Inc. can't file the chapter that they wanted to in the first place and all shops will close anywhere from 3-6 months fromnow...we'll see.

Hi Melissa i'm not sure how many Hancock stores are closing the 2 in my area are closing, there is one that will remain open which is about 15minutes from where i live. I live in Okla. city Okla. one of manager at walmart told me if they had known that Hancock was closing most of their stores in different areas all over the U.S they would have kept the Fabric Dept.I also heard on the news that Walmart sales was down, since they hired 2 managers from Target stores.
LOL
Annette

Amen to that. And some quilt guilds are just as bad. Same clientelle. They have lots of money, so everyone should. One I belonged to cost $30 - $40 every meeting to be able to participate in their selected classes. Then you have to buy the stuff to do it with.

Handcocks is closing nation wide.

DD

I know Walmart released that their sales were down 2% nationally. While I have friends who like the idea of calling Walmart and rubbing it in their face that they have forgotten their original customer base, I consider something else. I went to a Walmart that still had fabric the other day and asked how much longer it would go on. She says....indefinately. They are still receiving around 1,000 bolts per WEEK and they are the biggest money making department outside groceries. Perhaps Walmart knew this when they started...gave us a heart attack about gettting rid of all their fabric,then keeping it in some stores to see what happens. Hmmmm.....

Here is the link to their news release on March 21. That was about the time talk began to filter to us that they were closing stores. Is there anything newer?

http://www.globest.com/news/867_867/gsrsouthwest/159049-1.html

I wonder if your stores are among the 104 being closed?

June

ALL the stores are closing????? Oh no!!!!! I really like the fabric they carry, the discounts on the prices and the sales!

Walmart fabric selection is has gotten so slim. The quality isn't what it used to be either. However, I do like to get their $1 and $2 a yard fabric to practice different things with.

I do have a Ben Franklin Craft store about 30 miles away. It's the closest and a friend told me about some other fabric store across the river that's pretty cool, but I have yet to go. Don't even know the name of it actually.

Guess anytime you go on any kind of a trip, shop hop your way to your destination as much as possible. I did that when I was in the Suffolk, VA area. One shop sold scrap squares, various sizes. Wish I could find something like that again!

ok
I just went and talked to the manager of my local Hancocks to get the scoop and he said that all the hancocks that were going to be closed should have already done so.they are NOT closing all of them.He did go on to say that the sewing industry is a dying industry(Iassume this means clothing) and that even the vendors are having a hard time.that is why most of the walmarts are doing away with their fabric,it is too labor intensive having tohave some one available all the time to measure and cut fabric.they want customers to pick it up and take it already cut and go to the registers,But to say again they are not closing all the Hancock Fabric Stores :D

Thank goodness!! Let's hope he's right and not misinformed!!

The store manager of the Walmart here denied that they were losing fabric up until one week before it was gone!!!

Hi June as far as i know there is 2 stores( Hancock) that's close to where i live in Okla. city Okla. and edmond okla. which is about 10 mins. drive.
Annette

[b] Hi:

I had heard a while ago that Hancocks were closing some of their stores so I sent them an e-mail and asked if the one where I live would be closed and they responded back to me NO. So maybe not all of them will be closed. Keep your fingers crossed.

ef 8)

MIL called me this am. She has a friend that works at the one close to here. She said that her store is not closing as it is independantly owned. So it sounds like only the corporate ones closed.

I don't know what I'm going to do with all these shops closing. The closest quilt shop to me is quite a disance and quite expensive. Cant't afford the gas or the price on my small fixed income. Barley holding on now

The local Hancock's here closed down. I'll miss that store more so for the great quilting book selection they had. The closest quilt shop is about an hour away, which isn't too bad when I need material for a new quilt but bad when I only need a spool of thread. The WalMart here will keep the sewing dept for three more years. I buy Warm and Natural batting there and maybe a few basic notions but that's about all for quilting. I've found that online shops have sales on quality items that beats WalMart or JoAnn's regular prices. I love buying fat quarter packs. And I do order a lot from fabrics.

With Hancock's closing in most small towns, I think it makes an opportunity for a fabric shop to be opened in it's place, catering to fabric buyers and not all the home dec or craft stuff.

Ours here in central Florida is staying open, but stores on both coasts are closing. Seems like every time I enter that store, I spend more than I budget for. They do seem to have a higher quality fabric than our local WMs.

They also have started a discount card program, so I signed up for that.

We have a lot of quilters in western Pa. and that didn't stop our Walmart from closing the fabric section, and Hancocks never exsisted here.
We have 15 quilt shops in pittsburgh area and new ones opening.
This weekend is the shop hop and with gas prices they thought it would be a flop. However they sold over 600 passes(they cost $6). Personally I will not be doing the shop hop this year. it is just to costly to go to all the shops. Donna

There's always mail order? I got some nice, affordable fabric on sale at http://www.christaquilts.com/, and she offered a new customer discount, then sent another discount coupon with the order. Really nice lady.

Also, maybe eBay's worth trying? I find some good deals there. You don't have to auction if you don't want to. Lots of listings have "Buy it Now", which is as easy as buying from a regular store since there's no bidding.
Fabric at eBay

Hope this helps a bit,
Crystal

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I was in our Hancock store Saturday and asked my friends there about the closings, I got the same story.......the ones that are closing have closed and the ones that are in the bankruptcy restructure are in better shape and there's little to no chance of the rest of them closing.

I talked with the assistant manager there, she and I have worked together before, at school. So I trust her word. I would have to travel at least 45 minutes to an hour to be able to buy affordable fabric if they closed. I am much relieved!

Quilt shops buy the same fabrics that many of the major outlets buy, but because they have to buy in smaller amounts I guess it costs them more so their prices are so high that us poor people just can't afford to buy from them. But it would be wonderful to have a quilting coop or something where it was no long distance travel or waiting days for shipments.......SLAP! Ok, I'm awake, I'm awake the dream is gone. Back to work. :shock:

Well, I was relieved just to know that WM here will keep the fabric dept at least for now. The super WalMart hasn't officially closed theirs, but are just not reordering fabric. Not enough to say grace over! If they go, I'll have to dig into my stash :cry: We can't have that :!: Thats what I take out of th closet and pet and put back in the closet--can't bear to cut it :!:

I love hearing that other people treat their fabric as a cherished toy to be lovingly played with and then put up. I even have duplicates of some pieces and can't even think about cutting one of them. I keep promishing myself I will not buy any more until I use some of what I have, but then I never seem to have just the right color or print or whatever, so have to go see what I can find! :lol:

I too am glad that someone besides me does that :-)

Hi there,
Our large Hancocks store, Lawton, OK, closed June 17, 2007. I sure will miss it, they had everything a seamstress or quilter could want. I got in on lots of their markdowns, and bought trim at 75 to 80% off. The last day or two they sold fabric at $1.00 a yard, and people were buying it by the bolt. I was out of town then.
The store at Wichita Falls, TX is much smaller but is still open. We have two super Wal Mart stores and they are still stocking fabric.
There are not many quilting shops available, with the higher quality and very beautiful fabrics. But those specialty shops are usually very expensive.
That's my 2 cents, guess we shall see what happens next.
Blessings and happy quilting
Louise

I live in N.J. and all of the Rag shop stores are closing, totally going out of business, aarrrrrgggghhhh ;-( and the walmarts are so limited. I have a Fabric land 15 minutes away but my favorite shop Quilting possibilities is over 75 minutes away from me.

Sure hope they are not closing. I am 17 miles from any quilt shop and also from a Hancock store.

Louise,
My MIL bought a ton of fabric when their Hancock's closed. Her basement is stuffed with bolts of fabric. My FIL hopefully will never see her credit card bill or we will be saying RIP hahaha. But what made my husband very nervous was she kept stating that she was willing me all her fabric if something happened to her. I honestly believe he prays every night for her good health. Needless to say, she has won the most fabric contest in the family.

Does anyone have a close contact with anyone who has a quilt store. I would really like to know how much the markup really is. I know they have to make a profit but I can't afford to bankroll a get rich quick scheme. If joanns and walmart close here, I will have to quit. I have enough for about 10 quilts.

Ruth,

The markups, as with most any retail merchandise, is subject to corporate decision makers. The bolts are bought for "X" amount and the markup that follows will be based on quantity ordered, saleability of product, trends, the manufacturer, and things of this nature, all basically put into a mathematical formula that computes the markup value per product. Some margins are bigger than others.

Generally, the smaller specialty shops have a higher markup because it cost them more to buy the bolt. Factor in all the expenses of running a shop, rent, insurance, payroll, supplies, theft, wasted merchandise, advertising, utilities, well, you get the picture, it adds up to a tidy little sum, which we as consumers feel in our pockets and can't justify.

Hope that helps, at least some.

Have been reading your posts about stores closing. I've shopped online some, but it's way more fun to wander aisles of fabric and touch it to get the feel of it. I love just standing and looking around at all the colors and textures.