A Hancock employee told me that since Hancock changed ownership they have no say about what is sold at the shop and they can't even change the quantity ordered. They are frustrated because they had a huge amount of quilters for customers and now can't order the amounts they know they need for them. The inventory is computerized and when the amount of an item get's below the pre-set minimum, that item automatically goes on the order at the pre-set amount. It's very frustrating to the employees at the shop most who are very good at serving us. They have very few blender fabrics and often run out of high demand items that quilters use. Not ever enough batting unless you get in there the day the order comes in. I needed 3yds of 108" wide white muslim for the backing of a quilt awhile ago and I went to the shop 3 wks in a row and they had the same 1.3 yds on the roll. I expressed my frustration to the guy waiting on me and he at first said the same thing I'd been hearing, "it should be in on the next order". When I said it's been 3 wks he checked the inventory in the computer and it was incorrect...it said 8yds and apparently that wasn't low enough to trigger an order to be sent.
As for the quality, they don't carry as much good fabric as before but I still find some there, it's just not often the color or pattern I'm looking for. I find myself looking for trusted brands at my LQS, Hobby Lobby(Northcott) and online shops more and more.