Ya unfortunately Joann’s really was the big chain for that. We bought my niece a starter sewing machine for Xmas at one last year. Michael’s has some stuff, maybe they can fill the gap. Hobby Lobby can burn.
Who knows, maybe Michael’s will see the market opportunity and expand into fabrics.
Maybe not for a long while though, building that kind of inventory and supply chain takes a hell of a long time across 1200 individual stores, and the sheer square footage required to have the wide selection of fabrics needed in retail might not work for Michaels. My sample size is small but the Michaels I’ve been in are significantly smaller than the Jo-Ann’s.
They don’t need to mirror inventory across all stores. They could rebrand some of the redundant stores to set them apart from their general craft stores
Big name chains often do similar things, splitting off more niche or focused locations
I confess to not being in many Michael’s… I had wondered if they could buy up what Joann will likely liquidate but of course I imagine they are operating on a similarly strained budget. A smaller footprint would make it totally unrealistic unless they swapped stores.
That’s interesting to hear. I remember that from when I worked for them approximately… a long time ago, and sometimes cut fabric, but their stores were different then. I imagine they will be the option for many folks anyways, but even more so now.
Ya unfortunately Joann’s really was the big chain for that. We bought my niece a starter sewing machine for Xmas at one last year. Michael’s has some stuff, maybe they can fill the gap. Hobby Lobby can burn.
Who knows, maybe Michael’s will see the market opportunity and expand into fabrics.
Maybe not for a long while though, building that kind of inventory and supply chain takes a hell of a long time across 1200 individual stores, and the sheer square footage required to have the wide selection of fabrics needed in retail might not work for Michaels. My sample size is small but the Michaels I’ve been in are significantly smaller than the Jo-Ann’s.
They don’t need to mirror inventory across all stores. They could rebrand some of the redundant stores to set them apart from their general craft stores
Big name chains often do similar things, splitting off more niche or focused locations
I confess to not being in many Michael’s… I had wondered if they could buy up what Joann will likely liquidate but of course I imagine they are operating on a similarly strained budget. A smaller footprint would make it totally unrealistic unless they swapped stores.
It’s not a wonderful alternative and way less choice, but Walmarts still have a fabric section.
That’s interesting to hear. I remember that from when I worked for them approximately… a long time ago, and sometimes cut fabric, but their stores were different then. I imagine they will be the option for many folks anyways, but even more so now.