Yesterday, Amazon shut down Fabric.com, a business it acquired back in 2008 to bolster its craft and hobby materials sales.
Fabric.com has been selling fabric since 1993 when former owner Phoenix Textile Group set it up to sell by-the-yard fabrics direct to consumers. It clearly worked as the Amazon acquisition proved 15 years later, but recently vendors working with the site noticed problems with the business.
As Craft Industry Alliance (CIA) reports, Fabric.com had started paying vendors late over the past few years for no apparent reason. Then six months ago, Amazon contacted vendors stating all fabric would soon be sold directly on Amazon.com in one, three, and five-yard increments. They were also expected to ship orders overnight for free.
A former employee CIA spoke to said Amazon had repeatedly asked if selling pre-packed cuts of fabric would work and were always told it wouldn't. An unnamed fabric company executive commented that "they don’t understand fabric at all."
Employees working at Fabric.com were offered a severance package and opportunity to move to another role within Amazon. Meanwhile, Fabric.com disappearing from the fabric marketplace may not ultimately be a negative.
Gina Pantastico, co-founder and Director of Operations at Cloud9 Fabrics and Felicity Fabrics, believes it's probably a positive:
"I think the exit of Fabric.com in this market will ultimately open up opportunities for more business for independent quilt shops, as well as an opportunity for new shops to open ... This will be an adjustment for fabric manufacturers, but once we all get over our initial shock and surprise I think this could be a positive change for the fabric industry as a whole."