Craft Business

The multichannel retailer, which has seen the number of subscribers to its Create and Craft Club more than double since 2007 reaching a whopping 26,000, has also experienced a 50% growth in sales on its Create and Craft website since its relaunch last month. The craft area performed better than many other areas of the business, particularly struggling sectors such as homewares and fashion, which led to the company recently issuing a profit warning announcing it did not expect to exceed last year's £6.3 million profit.

However, these reports have been met with hostility from some retailers who claim the sales are at their expense. “I wish I could say it has been the same for everybody,” says Sarah Martin of Craft Addicts Limited in Stoke-On-Trent. “Everybody is buying cheap materials off the internet nowadays and nobody wants to pay full price for anything anymore. We've really noticed the impact of the online businesses, particularly eBay and QVC. It has had a really big effect on smaller retailers and it isn't just because of the current economic climate. It has been going on for quite some time now. In fact, I'd say for the past three years retailers have been having a really tough time due to online sales, and these statistics just prove that.”

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