Much to the chagrin of quilters and other fabric enthusiasts prices for fabric are on the rise as never before. Furthermore, a number of well-respected mills have gone out of business reducing the selection of novelty fabrics. If you have felt the pinch you may very well have asked whyprices are on the rise now. In a previous blog we outlined how manufacturers blame their elevated prices on the cost of the “grey goods” they print on. This trickles down to customers who pay more for the fabrics from said mills. Nevertheless, there is more to the question than the cost of “grey goods”. The absence of Wal-Mart in the fabric industry has been a contributing factor in shutting down some mills and encouraging others to raise their prices. How so?
Let’s take a look at one example: Shamash & Sons Fabrics. Shamash had been one of the original novelty fabrics mills and had been in business for decades. Wal-Mart eventually became one of the primary purchasers of Shamash’s novelty prints. When Wal-Mart dropped fabric from most of its stores, Shamash couldn’t cope with the lack of volume and closed shop.
Individual mills are also responsible for rising fabric costs. Spectrix is using higher quality “grey goods” than previously. This is reflected in the cost of their product. So even though Spectrix’s quality is not at the same level, they are still charging as much as Alexander Henry and other high quality novelty mills.
VIP Cranston is another example; at one time the VIP line was sold almost excusively to Wal-Mart, while the Quilting Treasures line of novelty fabrics was for smaller retailers and more expensive. Since the demise of Wal-Mart’s fabric department, both lines have gone up in price considerably despite not using as high quality “grey goods” as Timeless Treasures or other premium mills.
On the other hand, Timeless Treasures, Alexander Henry and Robert Kaufman either never sold to Wal-Mart or never allowed themselves to be engulfed. Not coincidentally, those three companies have raised their prices the least among the major mills.
Unfortunately, the rising costs to manufacturers translate into higher prices for retailers. In turn, the consumer pays more. Because of that, J&O Fabrics has been making every effort to keep our prices low. It’s what we’ve been known for for over forty years. We look forward to providing our customers with the best products, selection and prices available for another forty years and beyond.
