We are losing our nearest Woodcraft

In January I was in Spokane to see my HA audiologist and stopped in at Woodcraft. I bought several of my larger tools there including my Jet drillpress, both my Jet air filters and my PM3520B which the owners delivered, even helping me get it into the shop. Nick told me he had experienced some health issues including a battle with cancer. When I was looking at some chisels, I noticed some of the stock was getting thin.

In December I found and joined a local woodworking club. This past Wednesday night at the monthly meeting, one of the members mentioned that Woodcraft in Spokane was closing and the owners were trying to find a buyer. I wish he and his wife well! They are a nice couple.

The nearest Woodcraft stores will now be in Boise, Portland or Seattle. The nearest store will be 265 miles away but all about 6 hour drives away. Several of the local hardwood suppliers are reducing stock or going out of business too.

I am seeing the same thing happening with motorcycle shops. Either going out of business or selling mostly side by side four wheelers. The younguns would rather play with their cyber pacifiers these days.

Bicycle shops too. I buy everything I can from my local Woodcraft but I fear it's just a matter of time....

We lost ours ~ 2010 when the economy went south. I hated to see it go.

Sorry to hear that. I can’t imagine how I’d deal with a 6 hour drive for lumber or tools

Oh no! I most of the major tools for my shop from WoodCraft. (I prefer to support a local store if possible.) They were as helpful as your experience. The owner eventually sold out and the new owner is great but I've already bought all the big things! It's nice to be able go get the small stuff quickly though. (Our turning club meets in the WoodCraft classroom so I make the 30 mile drive once a month anyway.)

Hey, is this an opportunity for new Fitzgerald ownership?! ( :) I certainly wouldn't have the energy! )

Maybe your club could organize a WoodCraft store sharing system where people take turns making the drive. Or WoodCraft online? But I've never tried that, don't know how that works.

JKJ

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Originally Posted by Ken Fitzgerald

In January I was Spokane to see my HA audiologist and stopped in at Woodcraft. I bought several of my larger tools there including my Jet drillpress, both my Jet air filters and my PM3520B which the owners delivered, even helping me get it into the shop. Nick told me he had experienced some health issues including a battle with cancer. When I was looking at some chisels, I noticed some of the stock was getting thin.

In December I found and joined a local woodworking club. This past Wednesday night at the monthly meeting, one of the members mentioned that Woodcraft in Spokane was closing and the owners were trying to find a buyer. I wish he and his wife well! They are a nice couple.

The nearest Woodcraft stores will now be in Boise, Portland or Seattle. The nearest store will be 265 miles away but all about 6 hour drives away. Several of the local hardwood suppliers are reducing stock or going out of business too.

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Spokane is 110 miles away, much colder in the winter than living in what is locally referred to as "the Banana Belt" and my wife of 50 years would not move so ownership is out.

Besides missing the current owners who were extremely nice people, I will miss having a store where I could walk in, fondle, drool, make my decision and walk out with a tool hoping I could get it home before the rust from my drool appeared! LOL!

The club already does ride sharing when making lumber buying trips to Portland. I am debating renting a trailer to use when I go or just renting a van to drive there to make my lumber buys.

I always hate to see local stores close.
Having said that, I have not been in my local Woodcraft in years.Only about 20 to 25 min away. It is located is a very congested part of town I don't care to go. If I order before 2pm mail order, I have it next day on my door step.

Over the years at that Wood Craft store, I bought 2 Jet air cleaners, an 18" Jet drill press, a PM-3520B lathe, hundreds if not over $1,000 worth of Robert Sorby turning tools, a Wood River low angle block plane and glues, etc. My cyborg hearing requires I go to Spokane to my CI audiologist 1-2 times a year for mappings (tune ups) and to see my CI surgeon annually, it was really convenient to swing by Wood Craft if I needed shop supplies or to look at possible new tools for the shop. I will miss that luxury!

When I recently ordered a 1" chisel from Lee Valley I was a little nervous as I hadn't seen it, wasn't sure I'd like it. Seeing something first hand often gives me a little confidence when I purchasing something.

I will miss that store and yet, with Nick's brush with cancer, I can understand his desire to retire and enjoy life while he can! I wish him, his wife and his family well!

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Originally Posted by Ken Fitzgerald

Over the years at that Wood Craft store, I bought 2 Jet air cleaners, an 18" Jet drill press, a PM-3520B lathe, hundreds if not over $1,000 worth of Robert Sorby turning tools, a Wood River low angle block plane and glues, etc. My cyborg hearing requires I go to Spokane to my CI audiologist 1-2 times a year for mappings (tune ups) and to see my CI surgeon annually, it was really convenient to swing by Wood Craft if I needed shop supplies or to look at possible new tools for the shop. I will miss that luxury!

When I recently ordered a 1" chisel from Lee Valley I was a little nervous as I hadn't seen it, was sure I'd like it. Seeing something first hand often gives me a little confidence when I purchasing something.

I will miss that store and yet, with Nick's brush with cancer, I can understand his desire to retire and enjoy life while he can! I wish him, his wife and his family well!

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Yes, Nice to see a tool in person.
I tend to buy hardware and special stuff from Woodcraft. I did buy my JET jointer from Woodcraft when they first open
Guess I'm lucky to have a large woodworking tool equipment store that caters to the trade. They sell the home shop stuff as well as the big industrial stuff. That is my go to place for larger tools.

Brick and mortar retail is a tough place to be these days and that's especially true for franchise owners who either have personal issues like seem to be case here as well as when it comes to lease renewal time, often about 5 years in. They may not have as attractive deal financially at that point and the level of business that supported things on the original terms may not be enough to continue on new, more expensive terns. That combined with the "declining" demographics of the customer base and the attractiveness of ordering online instead of traveling a long way to visit a specialty store is also taking a toll. If I wanted to visit a Woodcraft physical store, it would effectively be a whole day outing. I don't actually buy a lot from them, but I do try to stop by that store if I happen to be up in the "Leaky Valley" (Lehigh Valley) for other reasons and browse, usually leaving with a few odds and ends. There are no brick and mortar woodworking specialty stores in this area anymore. I can certainly get electric powered hand tools in the local community including Festool, but larger gear is pretty much limited to lower-end stationary tools from the 'borg. (Not that I'm in the market) All of my original stationary tools (largely Jet) were purchased from local stores that existed back then, primarily a mom&pop (actually "friend and friend") woodworking store but also a Woodcraft franchise that was back then just around the corner from where I lived. There were also 2-3 other places like the dearly departed "Woodworker's Warehouse", etc.

Fortunately, there are plenty of local and near-local sources for hardwood material...and that counts a lot more for me at this stage. I'd never buy lumber from a retail tool store anyway.

I think Jim hit both relevant points.

The changing business world facilitated by the internet and SMC members. (Look in the mirror to see if you have hair, or any colour except grey) :D

Regards, Rod

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Originally Posted by Rod Sheridan

I think Jim hit both relevant points.

The changing business world facilitated by the internet and SMC members. (Look in the mirror to see if you have hair, or any colour except grey) :D

Regards, Rod

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I think it likely that those of us whose hair isn't gray or missing are likely to be more comfortable and confident buying online. Any business relying heavily on selling machinery and other long lived goods is in for a tough go I think, it's not an expanding market.

I have 3 woodcraft stores, each of them is about 80 miles from me in 3 different directions (2 in PA, 1 in DE). I pass the one in DE occasionally and stop in and typically buy something. If I happen to live closer, say 30 miles or less, i'd most likely buy a lot more from them, instead of going to online route. It's a 1/2 day of time (travel / shoppng) to go to any of the 3 woodcraft stores or 20 minutes to browse their web site and ship it for less than the cost of 160 miles of gas and tolls.

I am really excited - there is a rockler store a few miles from the hotel I am going to be at this weekend and i've already carved out time to stop in. :)

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Originally Posted by Curt Harms

I think it likely that those of us whose hair isn't gray or missing are likely to be more comfortable and confident buying online. Any business relying heavily on selling machinery and other long lived goods is in for a tough go I think, it's not an expanding market.

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Agree completely Curt, online shopping is very convenient and can be cheaper (not always, but often).

As you say it's not an expanding market, my daughter is interested in wood working however will likely never live where she could have a shop as she'll probably live in a condo...........Rod.

For the record, I do shop online frequently. I am an Amazon Prime member and buy a lot of things for my wife, I and our family online. I have bought a lot of shop essentials, glue, sandpaper, etc. on line. Tools, however, I prefer to see if for no other reason than how they might fit my hands in the case of hand tools ( I am a big guy and have very large hands((think XXXLarge gloves))). For power tools I prefer to see them so I can look for what I would consider design "flaws" that might make them unhandy for my intended use and style of use. As far as power tools, I actually ordered a new CMS from Amazon, but the model they advertised was a different version than what they delivered. While the return process is easy, it's a pain just to have to do it. If I could have seen that it was the newer version I wouldn't have ordered it in the first place.

BTW as stated earlier, buying online isn't always the cheapest or best deal for a given product. The same can be true about buying something at Costco though it took me a while to prove this to SWMBO.

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Originally Posted by Curt Harms

I think it likely that those of us whose hair isn't gray or missing are likely to be more comfortable and confident buying online. Any business relying heavily on selling machinery and other long lived goods is in for a tough go I think, it's not an expanding market.

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This is very true, and NOT a negative or positive comment on any particular generation. It's just a fact that each generation has certain consumer characteristics, habits and biases, most of which have been formed by the past. This has been studied in marketing school extensively. Retailing will always conform to the habits of the present and anticipated future consumer, not the past consumer.

One of the demographic changes I have noticed is a much greater awareness of the time invested in getting in a car and going to a brick and mortar store, walking around, etc. If I leave my house to go buy something it seems like an hour to an hour and a half at least, even if the place is only 15 minutes away. There was a time when we never thought about this, but online commerce has made it very obvious and now time investment is part of the overall equation of "cheaper".

I can't imagine many instances where it makes strategic sense to buy into a mom and pop brick/mortar franchise unless maybe the food service industry.

One other thought specific to Woodcraft - I would think if a person spends a dollar in a Rockler brick/mortar store OR on Rockler's website, it makes no difference because their stores are all owned thus no conflict of interest.

If a person goes to a Woodcraft store, handles some tools, goes home to think about it and then places their order online for the convenience, the store franchisee wouldn't benefit from the transaction. In this way, maybe Woodcraft online is in competition on some levels with the Woodcraft franchisee.

I am a gray hair, but at least 85% of all my purchases of everything are online. My last big power tool purchases (table saw, bandsaw, jointer, planer) have all occurred online without seeing the tools in person.

I'm old enough to remember when the salesmen at Sears knew what they were talking about, were helpful, gave good advise, and sold you what you needed.

At my local Woodcraft store, it's find someone, ask questions, be told that "Jim handles bandsaws and he's not in now," then they'll rush away to greet "Norm" when he walks through the door though Norm isn't buying anything. Five employees gathered around the front desk, yucking it up with the good old boys, and I've got money in my pocket to buy something.

They promote their "woodworking classes" as sales opportunities to tell you what you need to buy (from them).

Nope. Not going back to my local Woodcraft store. I can buy online cheaper, faster, and at least Grizzly seems to appreciate my business.

Woodcraft sucked, at least the few I visited.
We do have a local independent store. They are dealers for Laguna, Martin, sawstop, festool ( I buy all my consumables there, last trip was 500 bucks) I try to get there once a month.

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Originally Posted by Chapel Eastland

At my local Woodcraft store, it's find someone, ask questions, be told that "Jim handles bandsaws and he's not in now," then they'll rush away to greet "Norm" when he walks through the door though Norm isn't buying anything. Five employees gathered around the front desk, yucking it up with the good old boys, and I've got money in my pocket to buy something.

Nope. Not going back to my local Woodcraft store. I can buy online cheaper, faster, and at least Grizzly seems to appreciate my business.

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This sums up my Rockler experience as well. Maybe it's because I'm in my 30's, but it's just never a great experience. It's usually something like this:

Walk in, (maybe) receive a hello.
Tour store for a bit looking for what a need, not being approached by anyone. Ever.
Find what I need, and head to check-out. Guy One is off stocking shelves. Guy Two is having a conversation with "Norm" either at the counter or nearby. Guy Three just walked away from the counter and isn't seen for 10 minutes, when he comes back and helps me after Guy One never looks my way and Guy Two doesn't seem to care that I'm there to spend money.

When I wanted to buy a Revo 18/36 I asked the guy as I was checking out if they had them in stock. He didn't know what I was talking about until I pointed, then confirmed they had plenty in stock. When I was ready to buy I stopped in to pick it up, only to find out that it's a drop-ship only item. He didn't even ask if I wanted to order one, so I walked out and ordered it online.

You need to make it easy for people to give you their money, not make it a chore. Alienating people trying to get into the hobby because they aren't part of your Old Boy's club isn't going to help your sales either. I have a nearby Woodcraft that I might try, but Rockler is only a mile from my house.

Interestingly, I've been to the "HQ" Woodcraft store in Parkersburg WV a few times because one of my larger government clients prior to retirement was in that town and I always drove there rather than fly. (the time was about the same when you added in all the extra time for airport security stuff, getting a rental and still having to drive a couple of hours, etc.) It was pretty much the same experience as "local" Woodcraft franchise stores...a brief nod when I walked in the door and back to their conversation. I say this in relevance to what Wes just wrote. While I generally want to just browse in the rare moment I go into a retail brick and mortar store, a little more "welcome" would enhance the chance that I might buy "something". The only Rockler I've been in was in Denver years ago. I don't remember much about the experience...it was too long ago. Honestly, I'm not really a good prospect as a customer for these stores at this point anymore because what I mostly buy is material and supplies. For the latter, "click" is faster and easier and I can immediately go back to working on what I'm creating, especially since I have a computer in the shop because of the CNC and it cheerfully connects to Lee Valley and Amazon any time I ask it to. I order sheet goods via email...and they deliver. Hardwood I go pickup from various places...none of them outside of one is "retail" as in store-front.

Back in at the end of the 1990s when I was first setting up my hobby-focused shop, the local Woodcraft store as well as the local independent woodworking store were much more engaged when someone walked through the door and actively worked to get to know someone. They were not pushy, but were engaging and happy to see customers. I don't want this to sound the wrong way, but the employees tended to be younger at that point and many of them worked full time or close to it. Like so much of retail now, it's all part timers who are just putting in hours and the demographic "seems" to have aged in the same way that the larger percentage of the customer base has.

I’ve had a different experience with both my local Rockler and Woodcraft. May not get a welcome when I first walk in the door, but I’ve never spent much time in either with out someone coming over to see if I need help. While the sales folks do have their area of woodworking expertise, they all seem to have good general knowledge and able to help with whatever question I may have. Because Rockler is company owned, I don’t hesitate to order online. I do try to shop at the franchise owned Woodcraft.

Being a franchisee myself (not woodworking), Jim’s points are right on. 12 months or so before lease renewal, you take a hard look at the business trends and have to decide if you’re going to go another 5 years. Fortunately many of our products are managed by set advertised pricing, Amazon has a local warehouse so taxes apply, and our products are relatively expensive...items folks want to try before purchase. Once they see pricing is the same and we include assembly and delivery, we get very little loss to online sales. I hate to see franchise businesses go away, but I certainly can understand when they do.

Apparently, the Woodcraft store in Portland is also closing (I called the store, which is actually in Tigard, to make sure) - very unfortunate.

The one in Spokane reopened in the same location under a new owner. I have shopped there a couple times.

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Originally Posted by Edwin Santos

One other thought specific to Woodcraft - I would think if a person spends a dollar in a Rockler brick/mortar store OR on Rockler's website, it makes no difference because their stores are all owned thus no conflict of interest.

If a person goes to a Woodcraft store, handles some tools, goes home to think about it and then places their order online for the convenience, the store franchisee wouldn't benefit from the transaction. In this way, maybe Woodcraft online is in competition on some levels with the Woodcraft franchisee.

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The Woodcraft store in Portland has their own website > https://www.woodcraft.com/pages/store/portland < Not sure if that gives them a percentage on items sold through the site or not.

In Portland and two other cities in Oregon there is also Woodcrafters stores > https://www.woodcrafters.us/ < When asked about the name and conflict with Woodcraft, the person said they were in Oregon before Woodcraft expanded into the area.

To the best of my knowledge there are two Woodcrafters stores, Portland and Salem, that may not be under the same corporate banner.

When it comes to better wood for projects, it's a trip to Portland for hardwood or Vancouver for fir and some hardwoods.

Down in California the Woodcraft store in Berkeley moved when fourth street got to high rent. It finally closed in the 1980s. The store in Dublin closed in the late 1990s. Fortunately there were a few places other than the Borg to buy wood and other woodworking items.

jtk