cashs_mom

I seem to get a lot of emails and mailers from them. I had a 25% off the entire purchase that I used last weekend since I had to buy a lot of zippers, interfacing, poly beads and small stuff for the professional tote and a tablet holder I was making. Those are about the only things I buy there any more.

tranum

I only get them in the mail. I hesitate to sign up online because I don’t want constant contact. Our store is pretty busy and they are so short of help.

canmitch1971

They used to send some to me in Canada but stopped

zozee

Yes, and yes. Many coupon bombardments weekly, and the store is struggling. My sister was employed there for Christamas, when you'd think she'd get plenty of hours, right? Wrong. They often sent employees home early for lack of traffic in the store. Then, with fewer employees, lines get long, people get cranky, or they come in for one or two things (like I have), see the 20 people in line w/ 2 registers open, and decide it's not worth the wait.

My sister says that online shopping is killing retail, even the big chains. She saw her former company, Kitchen COllection, close its store where she managed for 12 years. Sad. She encourages me to shop local whenever possible, to keep neighbors employed.

illinois

Yes, online shopping is definitely impacting our stone and mortar stores. There is definitely a shift in our society that we no longer have to interact with others. Even on the phone, so many calls are answered by robots, not an actual person.

I wonder about the influx of coupons--is it time for inventory and they are trying to downsize for that?

willferg

I wondered about post-holiday sales and/or inventory as well, but it's been awhile now that I've been getting these coupons. I used to shop there a lot, but when they were bought out a few years ago and rearranged the stores, it lost its appeal for me. I find the aisles too narrow and long, and the organization of the fabrics doesn't feel welcoming to me, at least compared to how the store was before. It makes me wonder if their sales are down for that reason. They sell online as well, so they aren't missing out on that revenue.

klswift

No, Joanns is doing fine. It is the time of year. Traditionally folks slow down their sewing and buying right after Christmas. Folks are a bit burned out and want to take some down time. The stores like to do whatever they can to get you back into the shopping and making mode.

klswift

Joanns was not 'bought out' a few years ago. It is still headquartered in Hudson Ohio where the family started the business. What has happened, as with any business, is that they have tried to modernize and keep up with changes in the creative community. This requires bringing in more and newer products and with the limits of size, it means closing out some items. To attempt to balance this, they have tried to have the smaller (traditional) stores with one superstore per district. This superstore has the framing dept, the educational dept and usually a viking sewing center. They have also developed a very comprehensive online store to help with the limited space of the 'brick and mortar' stores. When working in the store, you quickly learn that the new layout of the departments is actually a lot better than the 'olden' days. It is just that it takes folks awhile to adjust if they aren't there daily. Aisles may be a bit narrower but that is because they are trying to get as much product in there for the customers.

lynnie

i always get a bunch, i'm signed up and so is my cat

Faintly Artistic

Sometimes I get several a day from them. I hardly go in anymore. I no longer purchase their fabric as I have sources for designer fabrics cheaper than their everyday stuff and I prefer better quality. I will buy batting or notions when I need them, but they often don't even have what I'm looking for. Our JAF is not doing well, sometimes you go in and whole aisles have nothing in them. Hobby Lobby moved in across the street, online sales, and the fact that some of their stuff just isn't very good quality has hurt them. The coupons are kind of misleading, they jack the prices up so that you get to feel like you got a bargain, HL does the same thing. Sometimes it really is a bargain, but frequently it's probably what they should be charging anyway, but big coupons tend to bring people in.