Fabric may be permanently pulled from Wal-Mart’s shelves
Fabric may be permanently pulled from Wal-Mart’s shelves
by Jaime Baranyai - Staff Writer
Published: Friday, January 5, 2007 6:00 PM CST
The fabric departments in several Wal-Mart stores may soon be done away with, which would mean more traveling and higher prices for those who sew or quilt in the area.
Although some customers who shop at the St. Robert Wal-Mart SuperCenter said the management there has told them the fabric department will be taken from the store sometime within the next four months, the management would not confirm that for the Rolla Daily News. Management at the Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Rolla also declined to say whether the rumor was true.
“We can’t really say anything,” a manager at the Rolla Wal-Mart SuperCenter who wished to remain anonymous said. “You’ll have to call corporate.”
After more than a dozen phone calls to corporate and two hours later, the Rolla Daily News received an e-mail from a Wal-Mart communications official relaying the following details.
“Wal-Mart will continue to carry cut fabric in most of our stores,” the letter from Jami Arms, Wal-Mart spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Corporate Communications, stated. “In keeping with our emphasis on being a store of the community, Wal-Mart is converting the fabrics and crafts department in some stores to a newly expanded assortment of merchandise that focuses on life’s celebrations. We are thrilled to offer our customers this exciting new crafts and celebrations center that makes available craft and party planning needs along with information on current trends and new ideas in the area of life’s celebrations such as holidays, weddings and birthdays.”
The letter went on to say that in those stores where the new crafts and celebrations center is placed, merchandise commonly referred to as notions, such as sewing machines, yarn, needles, thread, etc., will continue to be included in the product offerings.
“As part of this conversation, most of our new and remodeled stores opening in early 2007, as well as a small number of existing stores, will feature the new crafts and celebrations center in place of cut fabrics,” Arms wrote. “Because the evaluation of stores is still in progress, we do not have available to share a list of stores scheduled to receive the new crafts and celebrations center.”
While there is still no official word on whether the fabric departments in Wal-Mart area stores will stay or go, area residents aren’t taking the rumors lightly. One from St. Robert is even starting her own petition against it.
“I’ve been told that all the fabric departments in Wal-Mart stores nationwide are going to be shut down and be replaced with those celebration centers,” Judy McFarland of St. Robert said. “Sam Walton would roll over in his grave if he knew what was happening. I’ve made phone calls, written letters, sent e-mails and now I’m trying to get a petition together. I don’t usually do this kind of thing, but this really hit me hard and it’s something that means a lot to me.”
Her reasons for wanting to keep the fabric departments open in Wal-Mart stores are many. McFarland is most concerned about the price she and others will have to pay, as well as the distance they’ll have to travel, to buy material and sewing or quilting supplies if the Wal-Mart fabric departments close.
“For many people, Wal-Mart is the only store that has affordable sewing materials and is within a reasonable driving distance,” she said. “For the people who sew and make quilts in the Rolla, St. Robert, Salem, Houston and Lebanon areas, Springfield would be the next closest place for us to find what we need and that’s about a two-hour drive away. Many of the women in my community and quilting club wouldn’t even be able to make that kind of a drive.”
Nina Decker, of Rolla, has some of the same concerns.
“It would be especially bad for the Rolla area because Wal-Mart is the only store where you can buy fabric at a reasonable price,” she said. “There are a few other places, but they charge higher prices and I can’t afford that.”
Decker is also apprehensive about having to drive outside the area to get the sewing supplies she needs.
“I’m concerned that if the fabric department leaves Wal-Mart then I’ll have to drive to Jefferson City to get what I need to make clothes for my grandchildren,” she said. “That’s a bit far to drive just for some sewing supplies, but I guess that’s where I’ll have to go if this ends up happening.”
If Wal-Mart decides to get rid of its fabric departments, Decker hopes the store will keep stocking basic items needed for sewing and quilting such as buttons, zippers and thread.
“If they have to pare it down I hope they can keep the basics, even that would help,” she said. “People in this area just don’t have anywhere else to go for these things.”
McFarland is also worried about the wide range of people who will be affected if Wal-Mart decides to discontinue its fabric departments.
“This isn’t just going to affect women who like to sew,” she said. “Mothers who sew their children’s clothes, schools and home economics departments who teach sewing projects, church groups who quilt blankets, wives from the fort who work on fabric projects, people in nursing homes who sew and quilt, and many others rely on the Wal-Mart fabric department for affordable supplies, patterns and material. ‘What’s going to happen when they can no longer get what they need?’”
McFarland said she learned of a managers’ meeting scheduled to take place in Kansas City in a few weeks during which closing the fabric departments will be discussed. She would like to have her petition ready by then.
“The managers can’t just go up there and say, ‘I don’t think we should do this,’” she said. “We have to give them the backup they need. They need signatures, letters and phone calls so corporate realizes it doesn’t have to do this. I think the managers really want to be there for us, but they’re stuck in the middle. If we give them some backup, then maybe they’ll have some more power. I’m sure they’re trying their best, but I know their hands are tied.”
Those wishing to make comments to Wal-Mart can do so by calling 1-800-Wal-Mart or writing a letter to Wal-Mart Headquarters, 702 S.W. Eighth St., Bentonville, AR 72716. To sign the petition, visit the Web site: http://www.petitiononline.com/savefab/petition.html, or call Judy McFarland at (573) 336-7482.
Copyright © 2006 GateHouse Media, Inc. Some Rights Reserved.
by Jaime Baranyai - Staff Writer
Published: Friday, January 5, 2007 6:00 PM CST
The fabric departments in several Wal-Mart stores may soon be done away with, which would mean more traveling and higher prices for those who sew or quilt in the area.
Although some customers who shop at the St. Robert Wal-Mart SuperCenter said the management there has told them the fabric department will be taken from the store sometime within the next four months, the management would not confirm that for the Rolla Daily News. Management at the Wal-Mart SuperCenter in Rolla also declined to say whether the rumor was true.
“We can’t really say anything,” a manager at the Rolla Wal-Mart SuperCenter who wished to remain anonymous said. “You’ll have to call corporate.”
After more than a dozen phone calls to corporate and two hours later, the Rolla Daily News received an e-mail from a Wal-Mart communications official relaying the following details.
“Wal-Mart will continue to carry cut fabric in most of our stores,” the letter from Jami Arms, Wal-Mart spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Corporate Communications, stated. “In keeping with our emphasis on being a store of the community, Wal-Mart is converting the fabrics and crafts department in some stores to a newly expanded assortment of merchandise that focuses on life’s celebrations. We are thrilled to offer our customers this exciting new crafts and celebrations center that makes available craft and party planning needs along with information on current trends and new ideas in the area of life’s celebrations such as holidays, weddings and birthdays.”
The letter went on to say that in those stores where the new crafts and celebrations center is placed, merchandise commonly referred to as notions, such as sewing machines, yarn, needles, thread, etc., will continue to be included in the product offerings.
“As part of this conversation, most of our new and remodeled stores opening in early 2007, as well as a small number of existing stores, will feature the new crafts and celebrations center in place of cut fabrics,” Arms wrote. “Because the evaluation of stores is still in progress, we do not have available to share a list of stores scheduled to receive the new crafts and celebrations center.”
While there is still no official word on whether the fabric departments in Wal-Mart area stores will stay or go, area residents aren’t taking the rumors lightly. One from St. Robert is even starting her own petition against it.
“I’ve been told that all the fabric departments in Wal-Mart stores nationwide are going to be shut down and be replaced with those celebration centers,” Judy McFarland of St. Robert said. “Sam Walton would roll over in his grave if he knew what was happening. I’ve made phone calls, written letters, sent e-mails and now I’m trying to get a petition together. I don’t usually do this kind of thing, but this really hit me hard and it’s something that means a lot to me.”
Her reasons for wanting to keep the fabric departments open in Wal-Mart stores are many. McFarland is most concerned about the price she and others will have to pay, as well as the distance they’ll have to travel, to buy material and sewing or quilting supplies if the Wal-Mart fabric departments close.
“For many people, Wal-Mart is the only store that has affordable sewing materials and is within a reasonable driving distance,” she said. “For the people who sew and make quilts in the Rolla, St. Robert, Salem, Houston and Lebanon areas, Springfield would be the next closest place for us to find what we need and that’s about a two-hour drive away. Many of the women in my community and quilting club wouldn’t even be able to make that kind of a drive.”
Nina Decker, of Rolla, has some of the same concerns.
“It would be especially bad for the Rolla area because Wal-Mart is the only store where you can buy fabric at a reasonable price,” she said. “There are a few other places, but they charge higher prices and I can’t afford that.”
Decker is also apprehensive about having to drive outside the area to get the sewing supplies she needs.
“I’m concerned that if the fabric department leaves Wal-Mart then I’ll have to drive to Jefferson City to get what I need to make clothes for my grandchildren,” she said. “That’s a bit far to drive just for some sewing supplies, but I guess that’s where I’ll have to go if this ends up happening.”
If Wal-Mart decides to get rid of its fabric departments, Decker hopes the store will keep stocking basic items needed for sewing and quilting such as buttons, zippers and thread.
“If they have to pare it down I hope they can keep the basics, even that would help,” she said. “People in this area just don’t have anywhere else to go for these things.”
McFarland is also worried about the wide range of people who will be affected if Wal-Mart decides to discontinue its fabric departments.
“This isn’t just going to affect women who like to sew,” she said. “Mothers who sew their children’s clothes, schools and home economics departments who teach sewing projects, church groups who quilt blankets, wives from the fort who work on fabric projects, people in nursing homes who sew and quilt, and many others rely on the Wal-Mart fabric department for affordable supplies, patterns and material. ‘What’s going to happen when they can no longer get what they need?’”
McFarland said she learned of a managers’ meeting scheduled to take place in Kansas City in a few weeks during which closing the fabric departments will be discussed. She would like to have her petition ready by then.
“The managers can’t just go up there and say, ‘I don’t think we should do this,’” she said. “We have to give them the backup they need. They need signatures, letters and phone calls so corporate realizes it doesn’t have to do this. I think the managers really want to be there for us, but they’re stuck in the middle. If we give them some backup, then maybe they’ll have some more power. I’m sure they’re trying their best, but I know their hands are tied.”
Those wishing to make comments to Wal-Mart can do so by calling 1-800-Wal-Mart or writing a letter to Wal-Mart Headquarters, 702 S.W. Eighth St., Bentonville, AR 72716. To sign the petition, visit the Web site: http://www.petitiononline.com/savefab/petition.html, or call Judy McFarland at (573) 336-7482.
Copyright © 2006 GateHouse Media, Inc. Some Rights Reserved.
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