Walmart fabric department closings

16 years ago

Our Joann's has a new manager who is horrible....rude to customers and, apparently staff as well, as 2 long time employees have quit. So, I decided to check out our Walmart, not knowing if they still had fabrics, etc or not. They do, and when I asked if they knew if they would be closing, the woman who is head of the department told me that all are closing except the top 25 sellers.....and, that this one is #13, so will remain open. She said this info came from 'corporate headquarters"....I know lots has been posted about Walmart, but had never heard this comment....have any of you?

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Comments (11)

laurainsdca
16 years ago
I am in San Diego and asked at one of our Walmarts and she said that particular store was "#1 in America" for fabric sales so THEY were safe." So that's similar to what yours said.

She also said that Asians were a huge part of their fabric buying market. I thought that was ironic since so much Walmart stuff comes FROM China. Though, I don't think we get a lot of Chinese out here in San Diego on vacation... Probably more people connected to the military.

At another store that used to have a great selection it was sparse and the lady said that they got a new manager who closed their dept. but so many complained he reopened it. She was happy for now but unsure of the future.
gillian_41
16 years ago
I hope your store does stay open for you Sandra here we were told the same thing by the dept. manager 2 months before everything left overnight.
Gillian.
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Our town has 3 walmarts, two are SuperWM. I haven't been to one of them for some time, since I live smack inbetween the other two. One has a limited fabric section, and I've noticed that it's getting smaller and smaller, and being taken over more by the home decor section. The other one has a pretty good size area, still has plenty of patterns to chose from, and any time I go there, it's always got shoppers. The 3rd one (the 1st in town) had a better notions and craft area, but as I said, I haven't been there in a while. I DID notice that all of our WMs are going 'high end'. They're carrying more Pier One and Target style stuff, and the prices reflect that. WM used to be where you could buy cheap stuff, but now I find that I can go to Target and get better deals on NICER stuff. From my experience, it does no good whatsoever to write to WM and complain. They're the biggest retailer, they won't kowtow to the 'little guy'...and I don't think they look too much at their demographics. At least in my area, they're trying to bring in organic foods, and trendy stuff, but the people who can afford those things already go to the boutique shops or local grocery stores, they'd NEVER set foot in WM. And most of the WM shoppers don't have those kinds of 'sophisticated' tastes. (Do not mean to offend anyone, it's that my town is either high end or not...no middle ground!) Luckily for us here, we've got many choices for fabrics...2 Joannes, a half dozen quilt shops, a craft world with a huge fabric area, I could go on...and we're an hours drive from Portland, where you find even better deals. I also have a great local store for fabric right down the street, and it carries home decor fabric lengths and often has great sales. I am sorry for the folks that WM is the best choice for one-stop shopping, and the only real source for shopping...when they pull tricks like this. They must figure people will take what they can get when they're the monopoly in town.
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Check with someone at your Walmart that REALLY knows what they are talking about! I talked to my two fav ladies today and we are not on the list to close! YEAH!!! They said they are closing 10 fabric centers locally this year, then after that they will do a yearly evaluation of each store. They are saying for us right now, 2009! I had gotten a totally different answer from someone else there, that apparently didn't know the right info! These two ladies are like the dept manager and her right hand woman. So..check with your local store! Lisa
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I hardly ever buy fabric from Wallies. Most of it is pretty lousy. The only time I have a substantial amount of it in my home is when there is a community theater project going. I doubt our two or three productions a year will make or break Walmart. The same goes, actually, for Joann's. The fabric there is more expensive, but except for home dec, there's hardly a natural fiber to be found. Making clothing is more expensive than buying it, and has been for years. I'd only want to make something I can't buy. See "natural fiber" comment above. (Those communities in Utah are seriously misguided! if they really are sewing that much) So-Fro fabrics went out of business by refusing to admit that the days of garment sewing were virtually over. They continued to sell garment quality linens, silks, and wools, while Joann's sold junk and became wildly successful. Our Joann's has as much floor space devoted to candy, lawn ornaments, and plastic dishes as fabric. One wag has commmented that the Joann's, Etc. name stood for Joann's, Experience The C**p. For all those abandoning Wallies for Target: actually, Walmart is changing to be specifically more like Target. Walmart's sales are backsliding, and the surveys say: people want wider aisles, more attractive, fashionable, merchandise (less stodgy, less utilitarian) Hmmm...sounds like...Target. I replaced a zippers in jackets yesterday at work, three or four of them. At least two of the jackets were made in Bangladesh, and one of those two was from LL Bean. A lot of companies who used to proudly tout their merchandise as "made in America" have begun to quietly do otherwise. Since American worker won't sew for twenty-five cents an hour, and since the people who ask me to sew for them are shocked! shocked! at what I charge per hour, I don't see a quick fix.
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I live in the heart of Wal Mart country and ours did away with the craft dept several years ago, too. We went from having Hobby Lobby, Hancocks and Wal Mart, all within one block of each other, down to just Hobby Lobby and their fabric dept isn't what it used to be, either. And now, Wal Mart has it back. Not quite as big as before, but way better than it was a few months ago with the 3 spools of thread and 2 zippers. I rarely buy the fabric there but sometimes I'll get muslin or interfacing, basics like that.
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lucyh_quilts
16 years ago
I don't buy fabrics in Walmart, but I do know several that do. They had asked at our Supercenter and was told they would not be closing and now the employees were told it was.

Our closet city is 50 miles away so I know that quite a few people will be effected by the fabric department closing in our area which is quite a shame. Their better fabrics run at $3.96 a yard and I just bought gorgeous fabrics from Quilt in a Day at $3.00 a yard without shipping because I spent more then $100, but I also know not everyone can afford to do that. Even if you can't afford to spend that much to eliminate the shipping, it still would not cost .96 a yard to ship, so happily their closing will not effect me.

Even our Joann's (50 miles away) gets more then $3.00 a yard for their fabrics. So, if you consider the gas prices as they are now and the tax on top of that, I may be purchasing all my fabrics from here on in on the internet.
rosajoe_gw
16 years ago
I have 3 Walmarts close to an hour driving time in different directions. They are the closest to me. I ask them around Christmas and 2 said they didn't know, but they do not carry a wide range of fabrics or quilting items. They started stocking more scrapboooking supplies and beading (jewelry) rather than sewing.
The other one in Jesup GA told me that she knew for a fact they would be open at least for 2 more years, and they have a wider range of fabrics including Disney and the sports mascots.
Rosa
wanda_va
16 years ago
I just got back from Walmart, and talked to my friend in the fabric department. She said they are cutting way back on fabric (there's very little now), and may stop carrying fabric altogether. What's wrong with them? Quilters are growing in number, and we certainly spend a lot on fabric.

Also went to Joann's. Their inventory is significantly less than it was this morning! No fabric diet here!!!
Woodsy
16 years ago
Our walmart fabric dept. didn't know for the longest time if they were closing or not. Now, I'm told that they will be staying open for at least 3 years...then walmart will do a re-evaluation to see if it will close. The woman wasn't very sure about all this, as she says they tell them one thing, then do another. The bad thing about the department is that they don't have anyone there all the time. I always have to go to the lay away dept. or shoe department to get someone to cut fabric.
The other thing she told me was that their inventory this year showed that they "are giving away too much fabric"...meaning that they cut the fabric an inch or two bigger than the lenght asked for. They will be cutting much closer to the exact length...and in my store, that means I'll be getting LESS, because none of them can cut a straight line!
biwako_of_abi
16 years ago
Laura: Which WalMart was it that is #1, I wonder? Those Asians may be mostly Japanese. There are quite a few of them here because the husbands' companies often send them to supervise operations in Mexico, and--as I know from the mothers of the Japanese kids I teach--the wives really "get into" various crafts. Crafts are big in Japan and here, tole painting lessons, egg decorating lessons, etc., (and, for all I know, quilting lessons) are a place for them to meet other Japanese speakers and make friends. One woman to whom I complained about not being able to find a certain Moda fabric brought out a large plastic container full of Moda FQs! Unfortunately, she didn't have the one I needed.

Well, I am happy to hear that at least one local WalMart is likely to continue offering fabric.
quilter_mom
16 years ago
I did not know this at all! I need to contact the 2 Walmarts that I am near and see if they are closing. I hope not. I get most of my quilting fabric from them, especially when it is going for $1-2 a yard!
bonica
16 years ago
I find it curious that any of you are actually finding employees in Wal Marts fabric areas!!
JoAnn's here is worse. One day I waited and waited and finally yelled really loud "I'M READY TO CHECK OUT". Other customers stared at me like I was crazy until I said "Hey! There's no bell!!!" It got me a check-out lady tho.
Bon
:)
laurainsdca
16 years ago
Biwako,
It is the on Murphy Canyon Rd. near Aero Dr. and I-15.

You're right it probably is Japanese, I was thinking we have a lot of Philipinos here through the military but it's probably more likely that Japanese come here to visit. And I'm thinking their dollar would go further here.

Whoever it is, I think of my stash and imagine shipping all that fabric home! A quilter will not be stopped!!!

Below is the link to the specific store. I didn't know it was such a big Walmart -- they're open 24 hours. (ANd very close to my husband's office! ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Number 1 Walmart for Fabric
quilter_mom
16 years ago
Is there a list somewhere of which stores will remain open?

Walmart fabric department closings

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