too many quilt shops closing
01-27-2013, 03:27 PM
#61
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Illinois
Posts: 1,322
I think they close because they aren't business people. You have to merchandise have classes move inventory understand accounting be creative. Our LQS are booming. But they always have something going and they sell machines. I do not think it is the economy because people are still spending at joann s.
01-27-2013, 08:09 PM
#63
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 161
It is sad the lgs are closing but to be frank I think it is horrible to have to pay $20 a meter here at our lgs (Canada)I don't know many people who can afford that. The one and only time I went to the one here and asked a few questions about beginning to quilt the owner looked down her nose at me and told me if I had any questions I had to take a class before she would help me. Really put me off that store, the store closed down. I have a sneaky suspicion it may have been the lack of customer service more than the price of her fabrics. While i love to support local business it makes it close to impossible for people to keep at a hobby if they have to spend $20 or more a meter. Even on clearance the price for fabric is still $6+ a meter here. So if I want to quilt at all i can only afford most of my fabric from online sources.
01-28-2013, 05:54 PM
#65
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Pacific Northwest
Posts: 9,269
Originally Posted by fran624
Hi I don't come on very often but read most of all the threads. One thread is from Chasing Hawk. Read it a couple of times as she makes the most sense of it all. The middle class was not suppose to get hit. What a laugh. The small shops cannot compete with the larger ones. The problem high gas prices, taxes on payroll rent and expenses on store. And again the big manufactures of material same problem plus the price on the gas for the big trucks to deliver. They also employ many people so their cost is also high. Chasing Hawk ECONOMY is correct. By the way anyone notice food prices going up and packaging getting smaller. I guess we have to get used to the idea. Our beloved country is going down the drain.
I opened my box of Cherrios the other day, they got smaller......If they shrink them anymore they will be the size of pony beads....LOL
02-01-2013, 12:53 PM
#66
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 424
It's really bad. that most of the quilting shop is closing, due to bad economy. Anyway its because. It sooooo high the price of the fabric and the overhead (the utility, tax, rent,the employee etc....) The online sales, Joann fabric, the Walmart
they all pretty much carry a good fabric for reasonable price and having the sales and 50% sales.
they all pretty much carry a good fabric for reasonable price and having the sales and 50% sales.
02-01-2013, 01:20 PM
#67
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 538
Fabric, like anything else marketed to the consumer, is sold to retailers based on the size of their order. You can't buy fabric from a LQS at the same price as a big box store for the same reason that a Ring-Ding costs 99¢ at the gas station and 2/$1 at the grocery store. It's all about volume discounts. Same product, many many different prices depending on store size, store specialty, region, etc. It's all marketing and economics. And don't even get me started on where the product is manufactured...
Ultimately, though, the consumer is still a big factor, and as we've all talked about here, if we (as consumers) can get "it" cheaper somewhere else, that's where our dollars go.
As for WM...they make their own rules in this game of business, and many suppliers will tell you that WM dictates what the supplier will sell their product to WM for, not the other way around. They'll tout their business ethics from here to the moon though (rolleyes).
Ultimately, though, the consumer is still a big factor, and as we've all talked about here, if we (as consumers) can get "it" cheaper somewhere else, that's where our dollars go.
As for WM...they make their own rules in this game of business, and many suppliers will tell you that WM dictates what the supplier will sell their product to WM for, not the other way around. They'll tout their business ethics from here to the moon though (rolleyes).
Last edited by Teeler; 02-01-2013 at 01:26 PM.
02-24-2013, 09:57 AM
#68
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Midwest
Posts: 5,051
Originally Posted by BArnold
Well at the beginning of the week the county where I live had three quilt shops, but now all are closing. I really wish I knew how to go about opening one up. The only "quilt" shops are 40 minutes away from my home, other than JoAnns. I really like to quality of the material carried by the shops. I guess I will just have to stock up before they close for good.
Sandy
02-24-2013, 11:14 AM
#69
Super Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 3,699
Sorry to hear that they have closed or are closing. I figured that once the price of fabric got so high, a lot of shops would not be able to generate enough business to stay open. It's too back because the fabric is lovely, if expensive. I am not able to buy fabric right now until I find a job, so I am trying to make do with my stash for now. But I do love to go look at fabric at quilt shows and local shops....look but don't buy. (sigh)
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