Woodcraft

[Jerry Thompson]

The Woodcraft store in Jacksonville, FL is closing. The owner said he is closing his other store in Massachusetts.
He has had the one in Jax. for over twenty years.
There is a newly opened Rockler but I found it did not have an inventory comparable to Woodcraft.

[Richard Coers]

Woodcraft corporate really puts the pinch on franchise stores. The franchisees still have to pay the "tax rate" on sale items, back to corporate. Corporate puts items on clearance or sale with no concern to franchisees profit. Customers see those prices on the Woodcraft website or catalog, then the customers come in to the local store and demand the same deal. I taught at our local store until they closed. It's so difficult for the franchisees. They only make money on the items in the center of the store. All the items on end caps and near the cash register are very nearly loss leaders.

[Christian Hawkshaw]

The Woodcraft store in Jacksonville, FL is closing. The owner said he is closing his other store in Massachusetts.
He has had the one in Jax. for over twenty years.
There is a newly opened Rockler but I found it did not have an inventory comparable to Woodcraft.

Yep...I am on the email distribution for the store. They say they are retiring.

[Richard Coers]

Retirement and lack of new franchise owners is killing them all across the country. Woodcraft will probably have to go to corporate stores or eliminate stores all together.

[mike stenson]

I suspect they're just going to end up being mail-order.. wait, again, right?

[Jim Becker]

Brick and mortar stores that cater to many hobby (in general) type activities have been struggling for a very long time for a variety of reasons and yes, the franchise model with it's extra layer of financial burden doesn't help. Business owners want and need to make money and not just enough to get by. And that includes folks who own more than one franchise location. I remain surprised when one of the "names" opens a new store, honestly. It's nice that the folks at Rockler put a store over in Moorestown, NJ and I enjoyed my one visit there right after it opened. But there's no way I'd ever drive there again, even if I had to pay for shipping which costs less than gas and tolls and that's never going to happen because it's not really hard to order $50 of stuff to get free shipping. Same with Woodcraft. I'm not going to drive 50 miles to visit the closest store.

[Ted Baxter]

My son works at the local WC store the owner owns 4 stores in diferent states. He said the owner plans on closing each store as their leases come due. He said having to compeat with WC corprate and carry required stock is very costly. Maybe WC intends to become just an internet firm.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

The corporation and the buying public holds the keys for the franchisees. Should WC become an online store only, I for one, will miss having a local store even though it is 100 miles away. I am a big guy with extremely large hands. I much prefer seeing a tool, holding it in my hands, running it through its paces before buying it. Several of my power tool purchases have been influenced because I was able to see and move a tool through its range of of motion and decided "NO!".

[Ted Baxter]

The corporation and the buying public holds the keys for the franchisees. Should WC become an online store only, I for one, will miss having a local store even though it is 100 miles away. I am a big guy with extremely large hands. I much prefer seeing a tool, holding it in my hands, running it through its paces before buying it. Several of my power tool purchases have been influenced because I was able to see and move a tool through its range of of motion and decided "NO!".

I agree with Ken

[Melvin Feng]

I live in Atlanta, and have two each of Woodcraft and Rockler, along with Highland and Peachtree woodworking. I'm sure I'm missing some, but those are the main ones I frequent. I am very glad to have local stores to be able to browse, talk with experienced woodworkers, and get my hands on the tools. When I bought my Laguna 18BX, I bought it through woodcraft, had it delivered there to save on shipping costs, and they loaded it into my truck for me, which was great.

I live close enough to them that sometimes I just go to browse and look through everything that they have.

[Patty Hann]

My son works at the local WC store the owner owns 4 stores in diferent states. He said the owner plans on closing each store as their leases come due. He said having to compeat with WC corprate and carry required stock is very costly. Maybe WC intends to become just an internet firm.

That is just so sad. Very unfortunate that "corporate" is so short-sighted.

[Bob Jones 5443]

When I lived on the Peninsula (Bay Area), I’d drive over to Woodcraft whenever I needed anything. In those days I was building out my shop, so I bought a fair number of things. They moved to about twice as far from me, but I still went. There was no Rockler on that side of the Bay.

I moved to the East Bay in 2016. Rockler was a 9 minute drive; no Woodcraft nearby. I didn’t think much of their inventory then, but I learned why: they were moving to about three times as far from me. Lower lease rate. The new and still current location keeps the best stock I’ve seen in years, even a decent selection of hardwoods.

I still go there for stuff. Usually I shop online, then call the store to check in-stock status. If it’s in the store, I’ll drive over. Sometimes I just want a router bit today, but I also like having a rapport with the employees. Some have been there since the location opened. They always match the online price.

I hope we don’t lose that store.

[Bruce Page]

We had a Woodcraft here in Albuquerque that opened ~2006 and closed ~2008/2009 when the economy tanked. We also had a large Woodworkers Supply for many years that closed up last year. Both, especially WWS got a lot of my money.

[Rob Luter]

I don't have a local Woodcraft, but there are still a couple regional locations I visit when I'm road tripping. My perception is that the brand is in decline. I visited a Rockler store last year and was pretty disappointed as well. I have a Rockler affiliate nearby. They are a good place for stationary tools and hardwoods, but for hand tools, hardware, and shop supplies I have found using the Rockler website (or Amazon) is a better option.

Perhaps it's a sign of the times. I wish I had a store like Highland Woodworking near me.

[Robert M Richardson]

The nearest Woodcraft to me is 100 miles away in Roanoke Va but fortunately also in Roanoke are a couple of lumber suppliers. I always swing by the store when I go for material and try to put off purchases from Woodcraft that I might order on line until I can make them at the store. BTW the Roanoke store seems well stocked, prosperous with knowledgeable, helpful employees.