Product Selection at Local Scrapbook Stores

Each Wednesday, I write a post from my dissertation.

During the time of my interviews (2008), there was a clear distinction between the products that were available at local scrapbook stores and chain stores but the chain stores were encroaching on the local scrapbook stores’ product selection.

Once product becomes available at the chain stores it is more challenging for the local scrapbook stores to continue carrying it because they cannot get the volume discounts that the chain stores get and pass those savings onto consumers.

Some companies only want to do business with high volume retailers as can be seen by Martha Stewart’s entrée into the scrapbook industry. Originally Michaels and select local scrapbook stores were allowed to carry her scrapbooking products at the time of this debut. Michaels stores had to remodel their stores to her specifications in order to carry her product. One of the local scrapbook stores in this study was chosen to carry her products, but the store would have had to purchase a minimum of $10,000 in product. Most orders that came into the store were only a few hundred dollars, rarely ever an order over a thousand dollars. For this reason, this store could not afford to carry this line of products, though they would have been very popular.

Other scrapbook companies sign exclusive deals with chain stores so that local scrapbook stores cannot carry their product despite having carried it in the past. Today, local scrapbook stores are becoming harder and harder to find because it is not only difficult to compete with chains stores on price, but it can also be difficult to procure some products in the first place.

Local scrapbook stores face unique challenges with obtaining product making it more difficult to compete with chain stores.

Is there still a distinction between the types of products available at local scrapbook stores compared to chains? Join the conversation below or on facebook.

Photo by Sara Grafton. Sara can be found at 1200 Some Miles, @SaraGrafton on Twitter and on Pinterest.

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Stephanie