Tales Of A Fourth Generation Textile Executive: The Yenta Is Baaaaack!
Happy Monday Yentees,
The Yenta is back with another installment of news a.k.a. gossip. Like I mentioned last time, I don’t really consider it to be gossip since it really is all fact in spite of what some want to believe. The only thing is that it might be gossip to you since you haven’t heard it until now. Before I get in to the heart of the Yenta for this week, I wanted to clarify one thing from the first Yenta installment. Regarding the contraction that I predicted in the fabric industry, you should know that the contraction will affect everyone including my companies too. Unfortunately, no one is immune. So in spite of what some might have thought I said, the contraction is hitting everyone, but it just hits everyone differently….some worse than others.
Anyway, last week I discussed the unfortunate demise of a couple companies/divisions to the benefit of the rest of the industry, but this week I am discussing the combination (mergers & acquisitions) of others. I have two to discuss:
- This is old news by now, but news nonetheless. On or around the time of the 2016 October Quilt Market, Wyndham bought Anthology Fabrics.
- Just this past week, it was announced that the distributor, Troy Corporation, out of Chicago, Illinois was purchased by a company that I had never heard of before, Midwest Embroidery Supplies out of Farmington, Missouri. I look forward to meeting the new owners and working closely with them as we have had a longstanding and fantastic relationship with the Troy’s.
Congratulations to all companies involved with these deals. Good luck!
My brief comments on the M&A are this. The Wyndham deal is a good one for our industry as it combines two entities that can now benefit from the synergies of being one combined entity. More deals like this would be welcomed in our industry as far as I am concerned. It would also help to reduce the number of suppliers as there is just an overabundance. On the other hand, the Troy/Midwest deal doesn’t really have any major benefit to the future of our industry because it really just keeps Troy in the game under a new owner who isn’t a big player in fabric at all. That being said, it is probably a good deal for Troy, but it doesn’t help the other fabric distributors or convertors who are dealing with the contraction.
I unfortunately have some very sad news to report. This past Friday I got an email informing me that Mary Jo Cloninger of Mary Jo’s Cloth Store in Gastonia, North Carolina passed away at 85 years old. Since I go down to the Carolina’s most frequently on business, I often had the opportunity to work with Mary Jo on various occasions. The one thing I would never forget about Mary Jo was how she would always insist on 20-25 yard bolts. She would always say anything less than that is a remnant. She was always shocked to hear that the chain stores were taking 8 yard bolts. Anyway, the fabric industry is losing a true gem. Rest in peace Mary Jo, you will be missed. My thoughts and prayers go out to your family.
On a lighter note, as a follow up to my previous blog about Monopoly changing their game pieces, it’s official that the thimble, shoe, wheelbarrow and iron are gone. In is the rubber duck, penguin and Tyrannosaurus rex…really? They will join the Scottie dog, top hat, cat, race car and battleship. Next year, we fabric people should vote for the sewing machine. The Yenta is now out of ammo for the time being.
Until Next Week,
This is Scott Fortunoff the fabric yenta signing off.
PEACE!