WalMart is at it again. First they closed the layaway departments. They did it in "pilot" stores and them company wide. Now they are closing the fabric departments. This is on a "pilot" store basis now, but then they will close them all. Even if you do not sew I urge you to call 1 800 WalMart and lodge a complaint. What they are doing is trying to do away with all departments that require hands on customer service because that is a higher pay scale. Cutting fabric is hands on, layaway was hands on. They did away with meat cutting, now they don't have to hire butchers or even carry insurance on them because we can't even cut a roast into pieces for someone. Please consider this and make the call.
Not to make light of the situation Sharon, but I find it ironic that they are closing down the fabric departments. About 10+ years ago there was an article in a quilting magazine that quoted one of the Walmart execs saying that their plan was to have such a big and wonderful fabric department in every store that it would cause all the other fabric shops (and he specifically mentioned the quilt shops that sold the higher end fabrics and catered to quilters) to close down because they couldn't compete.
Ironic are not Toni, the wheels are in motion. They have a new board of directors that are geared to profit only. They say that the fabric department is not making enough profit per square foot to keep it open. Fact, not fiction.The same reason the layaway department was closed. It was no longer profitable to keep it open. If enough people do not call in it will happen.
Oh Cajunbelle that will be a sad day when that happens.I use to sew everything .I made everything Heather wore to school in the second grade except blue jeans.She knew at night when she went to bed she would have something new to wear to school.I always loved to sew.I have got to nervous now to do it any more.It seems Walmarts is trying to put people out of jobs.I dread the day.I wish another chain would come in and boot them out like they have done so many.I know somewhere there is someone with enough money to do this.Like Bill gates.I'll call them Cajunbelle.They need to find 1000s of women carring signs of protest some morning about the layaways and material to wake them up.
I am on the phone right now and making a complaint. I am so tired of the way people are it makes no sense. I am with you guys. Lets make a difference!
I've only been in a WalMart twice in my life, and never bought anything there... I deliberately go to the local shops to try to help them stay alive. So sorry to hear what is happening, but on the good side, maybe it will allow some of those little quilt shops to survive after all, paying their skilled workers real wages.
I don't know if Walmart exists over here - that is, I've never seen one, but I always felt it was not in any community's interest to support such large monopolising chains to the total exclusion of smaller businesses selling a similar line. Unfortunately people live for now, and are not too bothered about where they shop. Once the smaller outlets are driven out, so are all the options, and hyperstores can then do exactly what they want. And in your case, obviously plan to. Whatever anyone says they intend to do are words which can largely be ignored as PR bait/customer sweetening. Intentions can change overnight if it's in their financial interest...a few irate customers in their overall scheme of things count for nothing. Good luck with your protest. Pete.
Always happy to complain. We need fabric in Wal-mart here. Without it, you have to go 40 miles in the other direction to buy a piece of muslin.
I think 'Asda' is part of the Walmart group, Pete. However, I believe 'Tesco' is seen as the biggest threat to local producers over here though! :-?
Pete, you are spot on with your take on Megastores. They are only concerned with destroying any and all competition. Greed rules! dr
Sad but true DR and Pete.WalMarts is the only sote that sales fabric here.Same as Bethie. Have to drive for miles to get it.
Those big-box stores don't care much about the opinions of a few. A friend wrote a letter to Target to say he disagreed with a policy of theirs, and they didn't just ignore the letter like he thought they would- they wrote back and said straight up that they were sorry, but the opinions of a few unhappy people really didn't matter to them. How cold is that? I'm such a tightwad, my shopping habits don't have any effect on the local economy, but it's a sad overall picture.
