Wal-Mart
won't cut fabrics
By Christina Merchant
The Lexington-area Wal-Mart will not downsize or close its fabric department, despite local rumors and national plans by the company to do so in most of its stores, according to the local store manager.
The huge chain plans to cut its fabric departments in 80 percent of its 3,000 stores in the next year, according to Forbes.com, quoting a crafts, home dŽcor and leisure analyst with BB&T.
But Lexington residents can rest assured that they will still have a place to go for cheap fabrics.Asked about the downsizing of the fabric department, Lexington Wal-Mart Manager John Wilson said, ÒSome stores are doing that, but we're not.
In other locations, Wal-Mart will be cutting fabric departments due to the amount of space and labor the full-service fabrics require. Employees are required to be available to cut the fabric, and it is a great expense for Wal-Mart to supply the inventory.
Laura Richardson, the BB&T analyst, told Forbes.com that Wal-Mart can generally expect $400 of revenue per square foot of floor space. However, for the fabric department they are only generating $100 per square foot. For the #1 retailer in the country, revenue generated seems to be the primary concern.
While cutting back on cut fabrics, Wal-Mart will apparently be increasing space for home dŽcor and crafts, which will ultimately generate more revenue, according to analysts.
A national spokeswoman confirmed this.
"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," said Marisa Bluestone, a Wal-Mart spokesperson. She said these celebrations include holidays, weddings, and birthdays.When asked about the discontinuation of the fabrics, Bluestone said, "As a part of this conversion, 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.
Richardson, the analyst, also said that all other general merchandise retailers have left the fabric business. Among these are Kmart, J.C. Penney, and Target Corp.
"The industry has changed, and now fabric stores have become very specialized," she said.
The general public is not in favor of the reduction or elimination of the fabric department. There are currently multiple online petitions attempting to generate enough signatures to try to prevent Wal-Mart from cutting the department. Whether or not these petitions will have an effect on the $98 billion company will have to be seen.
For Lexington residents, there are few other fabric stores that can be substituted for Wal-Mart. Jo-Ann and Hancock Fabrics are located in Roanoke, which is a good hour-long trip for local residents. Luckily at this point, area customers can remain confident that their Wal-Mart will continue to provide them with fabrics for the time being.
Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.
Lead supervisor: Prof. Claudette Artwick
Reporting supervisors:
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd