Walmart and the Sewing Section

[Crycket]

@gotta_knit

Do you have a Len’s Mill Store around you? It’s nothing fancy, but there’s a pretty decent selection of crafts, yarn & fabric.

I don’t know…I have actually never heard of them…but I will look em up!

@cheekyprincess

I heard the same, that it was a corp. idea. In an attempt to reduce man hours. They do not want to pay someone to be there to cut fabric. They say they are not making money on the fabric. The last time I was in one near me there was a girl from the one hour photo that cut my fabric.

That is so flipping silly…Here is my stupid story…

I walked into a Walmart on a Saturday afternoon…looking for a replacement fishtank (my little 5 gallon tank had sprung a slow leak and I needed to replace it quickly, and inexpensivly…they are only goldfish) The only aquarium that was not an open box on the top shelf, so we went to get someone to help…we hunted down many a person, but it was the guy from the pet department who was the only one that could help us (or so we were told)…after waiting for him for way to long…we got a stepstool from houseware, and got it down ourselves…

Gosh darn it…I say that to make the point…if you had your staff cross department trained…it might not hurt so much!

Anyone got a little cash…lets get together and open up the best yarn/notions store ever!..jk - but not really

[LovelyLinda]

Crycket,

There are Lens Mill Stores in Hamilton, London, Cambridge, Guelph, Port Dover, Brantford, Waterloo to name a few. Unfortunately, none of them are close to us in the GTA. Their website is lensmill.com

Linda

[Crycket]

I am moving up to Kitchener…which would put me close to the Waterloo store… I will give it a look…smiles

[Inis]

@cacunn

This decision may well be driven on strictly a profit per square foot basis. They forget how many crafters/sewers/knitters come to the store for the craft section and then leave with a basket full of other items. If it were not for the craft section they would not have come to the store.

As an accountant I am ashamed of the number crunchers that do not understand what is behind their numbers.

I think I remember this as a “loss-leader”? Business class was so long ago

[GirlChris]

The reality with Wal Mart is you get what you pay for. It is cheap because it is what it is (not as clean, not as well staffed etc) so we make a sacrafice to get inexpensive stuff. I would love to only support small businesses unfortunately I can’t afford that. When I do go to the LYS I am shocked at the prices and thinking, “uh that would be a $20 pair of socks that’s nuts” so I have a hard time spending the $, I’m cheap. I know the yarn is much better quality though. I do have a Walmart, Michael’s, Joann’s and a few LYS close though so I am lucky to have a few options.

[cacunn]

@Inis

I think I remember this as a “loss-leader”? Business class was so long ago

It was when I was in school, but, I am not sure that they will accept anything that has the word “loss” in it.

@GirlChris

The reality with Wal Mart is you get what you pay for. It is cheap because it is what it is (not as clean, not as well staffed etc) so we make a sacrafice to get inexpensive stuff. I would love to only support small businesses unfortunately I can’t afford that. When I do go to the LYS I am shocked at the prices and thinking, “uh that would be a $20 pair of socks that’s nuts” so I have a hard time spending the $, I’m cheap. I know the yarn is much better quality though. I do have a Walmart, Michael’s, Joann’s and a few LYS close though so I am lucky to have a few options.

I can remember K-Mart over 30 years ago was like Wal-Mart when if first started. Low price, but in a clean friendly store. Then K-Mart started to look only at the profit line and the number of employees dropped, and the cleanliness of the store dropped, the quality of the product dropped and people stopped going there. This is the same thing that appears to be going on at Wal-Mart. I go there only for things I can’t get else were. I’d rather pay a little more and support a local shop owner and be treated nicely then go to Wal-Mart.

[Mike]

Ours is slowly going away, I think my sister’s has all but gone away.
Used to have buttons of all kinds, now has one bubble pack of regular buttons.
But the yarn is still there and getting stocked.
Every time I buy fabric I have to wait in line so I hope they won’t do away with that section.

There are times the yarn doesn’t get restocked for weeks but generally they are good about it.
The next nearest one is always well stocked but I think that’s because it’s stuffed way back in the far corner and nobody uses it.

If it’s true they’re doing away with it I guess I’d better go buy a bolt of duck cloth. We went from 3-4 Jo Ann’s in the area to 1 so it’s a trip to get to that store and from what I understand they’re not well stocked.

[Crycket]

@cacunn

I can remember K-Mart over 30 years ago was like Wal-Mart when if first started. Low price, but in a clean friendly store. Then K-Mart started to look only at the profit line and the number of employees dropped, and the cleanliness of the store dropped, the quality of the product dropped and people stopped going there. This is the same thing that appears to be going on at Wal-Mart. I go there only for things I can’t get else were. I’d rather pay a little more and support a local shop owner and be treated nicely then go to Wal-Mart.

Ah…I remember K-mart…yeah…good comparison!

[victoria_arms]

According to everything that I’ve been reading in the different forums Walmart will be doing away with their craft department in September 2008.

[Mike]

@victoria_arms

According to everything that I’ve been reading in the different forums Walmart will be doing away with their craft department in September 2008.

I just checked ours, it’s not thinned out anywhere.
I figured at least the fabrics would be thinner.

It would be pretty stupid of them if they do company wide without consideration to the community.
Further away from the bigger city is a town that is full of a religious sect that obviously makes their own cloths.

[Spikey]

As a long-standing WalMart hater (watch the movie). Nothing they do surprises me.

Amazon.com sells zippers, buttons, yarn, etc. with a reasonable variety. And you don’t have to use your own gas to get to a store.

For the person who wanted Peaches and Creme, that can be ordered directly from the company http://www.peaches-creme.com

Also an internet search will almost always turn up a free shipping coupon for Joann’s.

[cftwo]

I must admit that I hate the fact that WalMart no longer stocks embroidery floss. I’m moving later this summer, and it looks like it will be a 20 mile drive one-way to get a 30-cent skein of embroidery floss.

[Silver]

Fine by me. The fewer things I need from Wal-mart, the better. They can do away with the craft section, the home section, the pet section, food, clothes, everything.

[panchita]

I only shop at Mal*Wart if I have to. They’re the only place I can get miscellaneous items with a school purchase order (plus the best prices for my limited classroom budget). Unfortunately, one of the things I buy there is fabric to cover my bulletin boards… dang it!

I don’t shop for myself there, so I won’t miss the dwinding craft or sewing section.

I feel sad for our KH friends who don’t have any other “touch-it-feel-it-squeeze-it” buying options for their yarn.