Closing Hancocks Fabric : Press Release
Cherrypops
| Posted in Fabric and Trim on
A lot of you mention Hancock’s Fabric Store.
I have heard some stores are closing.
To view press release:
http://www.hancockfabrics.com/index.jsp
- scroll down to bottom menu bar. click on Investors
- click on press release in left hand column
- file is dated March 20 (top of list when i checked in)
I tried adding a link to the page but it didn’t work, so you will need to go in the long way.
I have attaced a pdf file giving a list of Stores which are Closing, i found while searching.
CherryPops
Replies
Yeah WA is safe!!
Thanks for the info chickie
Blondie
Hate to burst your bubble But can you be sure?
I don't know if the pdf has been updated.
Give your store a call.
CherryP
I thought Alabama was safe, but called my store and they said that they were closing and they had just found out. They were pretty upset, naturally. My friend then called the corporate office and they said that there was some re-organization going on and they didn't have a complete list, but just because they were closing didn't mean they would not be coming back, so there is hope.
Marcy
Yes there is hope!
my favourite fabric store within my favourite shopping centre went into 'liquidation'. they cut staff, store product line, everything. the sales were great. the company kept a few stores but it meant more travel time for me, which i wasn't prepared to do, so i went back to the 'bargain fabric shop'. I buy bits and pieces needles and thread etc...another reason why i havent made clothing for myself, just wasn't happy with the fabric quality. anyway about 12mths later the better store reopened and is now closer to my home. but now they have limited supply of fabric. which is why i am looking at purchasing online from the states.
I hope for you and all hancocks customers in the states it returns and remains the same.
CherryPops (australia)
Hi! Have you tried Knitwit in W. A. [http://www.knitwit.com.au] -has wonderful knits and woven fabrics. Also Fine Wools Direct in Sydney and The Counry Mail in Swan Hill Vic. I have ordered from all 3 and have been very happy with the fabrics and the service.
Marg.
Hi MagieT
Thank you for your suggestions.
I haven't heard of Country Mail. I did quick google search but cannot seem to find it. Would you please give their website address?
Yes I have tried knitwit. I live in sydney so subscribe to get the swatch and newsletter mail outs. I do love their knits. I haven't ordered from them yet. That is on my list of things to do.
I was going to visit Fine Wools Direct in Newtown but they have closed. So I was off to Hornsby, closer to home, yet they have closed that store also. It will be a day out driving to Camperdown. A long way from the northern beaches. I'll organise myself and get down there. I like to feel before i buy. When I am satisfied then I will order from them online.
Regards, CherryPops
The Country Mail does not have a website - they will send you swatches [at a cost]. Their address is:
The Country Mail
PO Box 975
Swan Hill, Vic 3535.
ph [03] 5032 9185.
Did you see that Knitwit is due to have one of their fabric shows in Sydney on 13th April?
Marg.
Edited 3/21/2007 10:20 pm ET by MargieT
Thanks for the CM contact details Marg.
I wasn't aware of the Knitwit event, bit slow getting back onto that site, I have marked it on the calendar. Will you be going? Are you located in Sydney?
I emailed FineWoolsDirect for a mail order catalogue. and my free chosen swatches from emmaonesock are on their way.
regards, Anna-maree
Sorry Anna-maree I'm in Melbourne. [Go Hawks!] I think the Knitwit shows are good value not only because they are free but also I usually get lots of good ideas and the fabrics are beautiful.
Marg.
Melbourne is lovely. I spent a weekend there with hubby years ago, he took me for a drive down the great ocean road. It was beautiful.
I hope to go to the knitwit show, it would be great.
Thanks again, Anna-maree
Thanks again the hancocks fabric thats near my home is closing they just had a hiring sign up last week.They are the only 2 that I go to I guess I will have to go to the one in the mall but that store I really small to me.
As I live in Australia my way of visiting the states is via the internet. I have received many great online fabric sites to view from the laides here both in the states and australia. I liked looking at hancocks online, so in that respect i am disappointed for myself as well.
I don't think Hancocks online will be of any use to you, I'm in Canada and they don't ship anything up across the border. We'd usually drive down to Great Falls, Montana a couple of times a year which had the nearest store to shop, as well as a Joanns, Ben Franklin Crafts and Michaels. There are Michaels craft store here in Canada, but most times the prices are almost doubled, so I'm thankful for their 40% off coupons. Hancocks wouldn't even send their sales flyers up, Joanns does, although those are usually arrive a few days after the sale starts.
Hancocks online you say may not be of any use to me. I see websites online differently to you. I don't always purchase from these sites.
I use many different websites for: comparisons of products, product research, finding new materials and trends.
If websites do not ship to Australia, some do import products to our larger stores and distribute all over Australia within the smaller stores.
And as the seasons are opposite, it is good to be prepared for the new Fabric and Fashion Ranges.
CherryPops
Sorry, I misunderstood. From one of your previous posts I was under the impression you were searching for online sources of fabrics to order from.
Thank you for researching this issue and sharing it with us. Fortunately, there is not one store in my area of the country that appears to be on the closing list.
I would still check to be certain.
fabricholic stated alabama would be closing but may be re-opening in time. Alabama store was not on the closing list.
I did check. In fact, I called the day after I read the notice here about the closings. The sales person I spoke with had no knowledge of 'any' closings. With the posts I'm just reading tonight, I am not surprised as it seems more stores may be closing than originally anticipated. And, for the saleslady, are not the 'workers' most likely the last to get the word from up on high (corporate office)? Thanks for the heads up and I will still keep my ear to the ground. While Hancock's has their limitations, I've yet to go into a Joann's and find pure wool and silk, even if it was on a back table! Ugh, is that all I will have to look forward to without driving 2 - 3 hours. The Internet it shall be, I guess... but, we all know what drives the companies, and it sure is seemingly not quality, fashion/clothing-oriented fabric.
Edited 3/21/2007 10:41 pm ET by WandaJ
Thanks for letting me know. I do understand how you feel from a customers point of view. and As a previous employee in the retail (bookshop and craft) industry it can be awful to 'be the last to know'.
Chin up..Let me know how you go with your search for quality fabric.
Cheers, CherryPops
Hi Wanda,You are right. At the store I patronize, the saleslady said that they came in on Friday and there was a notice over their time clock that they would be closing in May. One lady had been working there for 21 years and this is how they tell her. I just received their sales paper and they will have to honor it, unless they close completely. I have found great fabrics at Hancock. We do not have a Jo Ann's, but even when we did, it was more craft than fabric.Marcy
Edited 3/22/2007 8:49 am ET by fabricholic
...more craft than fabric is exactly what it seems to be at the store nearest me. It's that coupled with synthetic fabric, which does not interest me. I doubt if I would go (like this AM) if it were not for the availability of sale patterns, and notions. Speaking of notions the local Joann's does not even carry a curve ruler for pattern alterations!! Talk about 'sewing' store...geez!
That is why I will miss this store. It has all of that. Every new thing, they will start carrying. They even have some Hot Patterns in there. They have the hot crystals and all the Olfa mats and needles. They have the lining and interfacing I need. They have fashion fabric and seasonal fabric and they always have something new. Tell on line, who updates their fabric regularly? I always see the same thing.Marcy
What are hot crystals?
I should have said hot fix crystals. It is those little crystals with a tiny bit of glue on it that you use the hot crystal wand to apply them to your garments.Marcy
Just returned from a few days in Great Falls, Montana, the Hancocks store there is on the closing list. I had gone in to ask for a sales flyer, Hancocks don't send them up to Canada, and was told the sale I was talking about wasn't on, it had ended the day before, (web-site told a different story). The clerks in the store were a tad on the rude side, but when I returned the next day, they both apoligized and told me what was happening, and that they were unable to let me know about the store closing the day before. I am disappointed this store is closing, perhaps Joanns will begin to carry more fabrics and less silk flowers and bushes. Does anyone even still buy them?
Dust catchers! Those plastic plants, yuck! Although my mother has always had a knack for making them look realistic and keeping them clean! They just don't work for me!
The Joanne's stores are large and impersonal here. Not enough employees at the registers so there are always long lines at the cutting area and then you have to go to the front of the store and stand in line again to pay. I have better things to do with my time than search all over for the few "natural fabrics" they stock, if I can find them at all! It feels like an overstuffed warehouse stocked to the ceiling, very claustrophobic for such a large space. It smells like chemicals and makes me sneeze!
It is so sad to continue losing our freedom of choice to these monopolies! Then they can set there own prices and sell poor quality goods and forget customer service. If they are the only game in town, what do they have to lose? History shows us that oppression and slavery follows.
Even though Hancock's is a chain store, I enjoy shopping there and find the customer service excellent! I hope they will survive the chapter 11 and come out on top!!!
I pray for those who will lose their income. I also pray that the hearts of the selfish money worshipers are not so hardened that they forget they too are part of the "human" in humanitarian before it is too late for all of us. Mary
I live in a small rural town, so when I get the opportunity to hit the big fabric stores whether it's here in Alberta or in the US, I don't hesitate! I have been going to Hancocks in Great Falls, Montana for years, it was Northwest Fabrics and Crafts way back. Even though it was usually three times a year, the gals that worked there would recognize me and while fabric was cut we'd have a nice chat. Joanns people are not so friendly, and in the three stores I stop at, one does not like to hand out the coupon sheets whenever they have one of the 50% off sales while another always gives me more than one. Definately all stores are not created equal!
One day on my lunch hour, I went to Hancock's, before the liquidation started. A lady there was cutting fabric and had to stop and go to the back. I was waiting in line, but I couldn't wait. I went to check-out and then in a little bit, she came running up to the front, with a yard stick and kept apologizing. She cut my fabric standing with no table and a yard stick. Pretty cool, hun? I think of those people as my friends, because I have been there so much and they are so friendly.Marcy
Wow! That's what I call service!
Mine was not on the list either, but I called my store and it was closing. They already have 50% off patterns.Marcy
Thanks for letting me know. I will stay in touch with the store by phone to see what's going on. The Burda Patterns would be a good one to buy on sale as they never seem to be.
They don't have Burda, I don't think, where I go. They do have Kwik Sew and they are never on sale. I called another store about 40 miles away and they said they will not close. I don't understand why my store is going to sell everything and they are not transferring merchandise, but if they must close, I am glad everything will be on sale. They will start putting fabric on the other side of the store and it will be where you must buy at least 5 yards and it will keep going down in percentages. They will then sale fabric by the rolls or bolts and go all the way to 90% off, she said.Marcy
I just read a press release stating that Hancocks had filed for Chapter 11 today and is closing an additional 104 stores.
With Wal Mart closing down all their fabric departments will we only be left with Joann's and a few independent stores? This is so sad for us that buy fabric online but prefer to "touch" the fabric before buying.
Karen
How sad! Thank you for your alert on Hancocks. I've been shopping there since 1960, and it always comes through in a crunch--those times when I need a particular color of a particular type of fabric as well as those times when I'm looking for something interesting as inspiration.
Hancock's recent foray into decorating items--chairs, lamps, etc.-- confused me and made me wonder whether it was a big for a broader customer base or a bandwagon move that was financially risky. I guess we'll see when they reorganize under bankruptcy protection.
Here is a link to the liquidator that is closing the stores...if you click on "store list" it seems to have the complete list of 130+ stores...
http://www.greatamerican.com/Services/liquidations.aspx
I'm so thankful my local Hancocks is not on the list...I love Hancock and I consider myself fortunate to have both Hancock and Joann nearby (not everyone's favorite, I know, but my local stores are pretty decent!). I'm originally from PA, and it seems all the Hancocks there have closed!
Fanshawe : Thanks for your updated link. Much appreciated.
I noticed Jo-Ann Stores (6) are on that list. OUCH!
Anna-maree (cherrypops Australia)
Thanks for that great list, Fanshawe. I mean, I hate,hate, hate to see a fabric store going out of business, but it's good to know WHERE it's happening.
I don't think that we can be sure where it is happening. I read the liquidator's list that was available through this forum, and the stores I saw closing in OH were in Toledo. Today, I went to the Hancock's nearest me to get a few Vogue Patterns at $3.99 ea that were on sale. When I arrived early this AM, the store was locked due to an alleged power outage. I went to the next closest one which was about another 15-20 miles away. Guess what? This Centerville Hancock's was not on the liquidation list, but signs were plastered all over the store windows indicating they were engaged in a liquidation sale. As I got off the freeway at the exit to the store men were out putting up the notice of the liquidation sale and all fabrics were 40% off. Please note that this particular store due to liquidation did not honor the national sales advertisement for the $3.99 pattern sale but they were being sold at 50% off, which is the normal everyday price!
Thanks for the link to the list of Hancock store closings! I have to drive half an hour either east or west to a Hancock's, and one is closing. Too sad, though I am not very surprised, as it was tucked away in a fading strip mall with no walk-by traffic.
Guess I'll be heading east, to the much larger store that has always had more fabric than crafts and lots of clearance tables....
THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP I JUST HAVE 1 ? DO U KNOW IF ANY STORES IN IL. ARE CLOSING I JUST TRIED TO CHECK I DID NOT FIND ANY THING THANKS AGIAN
Did you click on the updated link within post #25 provided by fanshawe, you may find your answer there. If it is not, just phone your store or coporate office, sometimes the staff at the individual stores are prohibited from speaking about matters like this.
CherryP
Well missy like I said in my first post here I went and saw the updated list on only 2 in WA are closing and both of those are on the East side of the Mountains...So I don't want to breath yet might get on that list but so far so good.I am really sorry to all of you who have had your stores near you closing..however they may not close forever!! As one of the posts say they always usually come back after restructuring...so who knows maybe just maybe!! Maybe someone will buy them out and it will reopen as a new name? Blondie
Blondie,, Thank You...CherryP
Hey girlie no Thank you!!
I love your wonderful 411'sThat is us Americans saying "info"I got the 411 Blondie
This is great ...another langage lesson.
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