AC Moore comes to Newton

Newton — No more lines, A.C. Moore is here. Those with little time to browse tended to become frustrated with the long lines when they tried for a quick trip to the old Rag Shop on Route 206. “It always seemed managers were available to help a flustered sales girl with her register if it malfunctioned, but never willing to open one themselves to get things moving,” said Louise Bella, of Wantage. Bella said she’d love to go to The Rag Shop during her break from her nearby job, because of the wonderful selection, but it became “a race to beat the clock back to work due to the long lines.” In the wake of the announcement they were closing, both Rag Shops here and in Franklin were immune to frustration about the lines. In mid-July, the stores were packed for the liquidation sales. Once Rag Shop closed its doors forever, crafters began the speculation about what could take its place. The nearby Wal-Mart has a craft department, but without many specialty items. New Jersey-based crafts retailer A. C. Moore took advantage of Rag Shop’s demise to open stores in several former Rag Shops. A.C. Moore was already in an expansion phase, opening 10 to 15 stores a year, and since the market research had already been done regarding Rag Shop locations, it was a natural for A.C. Moore to move in where it could. During the Spring of 1985, A.C. Moore opened the doors of its first store in Moorestown, N.J. offering a vast assortment of arts, crafts, florals and more. The company was founded by Jack and Pat Parker, along with William Kaplan America’s Research Group called the fight between craft stores, “A knock-down, drag-out battle“ which is why Craft Retail Holding Corp., owner of Rag Shops Inc., went bankrupt. Rag Shop was hurt by its own debts, and the company lost in its battle to win customers from Michaels and Wal-Mart. A.C. Moore’s company goal is finding locations for expansion within its existing markets. Janney Montgomery Scott analysts call this time for expansion a challenging time for all retailers. The craft industry has been stronger in years past, but is now showing a slow increase. Newton A.C. Moore manager, Shirley Clark, said the store is attracting former Rag Shop patrons, but “we also have a lot of customers who seek out A.C. Moore locations.” The opening of the Newton store in November meant much shorter ride for some of Clark’s customers at the Parsippay A.C. Moore, where she had been a manager for the past decade. As for other Sussex County sites: there aren’t any. “The company did not move into the Rag Shop building in Franklin,” Clark said, “And I don’t know of plans for any more stores in Sussex County. Newton is a nice central location.” Clark added that she wouldn’t be surprised to see another store in this area in the future, though. “The company is opening a bunch of stores each year, so you never know.” Craft stores have reinvented themselves over the past decade, expanding to include more home decorating items in addition to crafts. One of AC Moore’s trademarks is its store set up. The stores include 50,000 different products, including craft essentials, children’s crafts, art supplies, floral and wood crafts and scrap-booking supplies. The current AC Moore management is focused on profits, and is doing this by streamlining its supply chain and buying products directly from factories overseas. This seems to be paying off. A.C. Moore narrowed its losses in the third quarter to $400,000, or two cents per share, from $2.6 million, or 13 cents per share, for the same period in 2006. Analysts also say the company has cut back on offering deep discounts to attract buyers. They still publish a circular listing sales. A.C. Moore is based in Berlin, and it’s stock is traded publicly on NASDAQ. The company’s “target market” is women aged 25 to 55, and the crafty superstore stocks silk and dried flowers, as well as art and scrapbooking supplies and picture frames (which account for about one-third of sales), yarn, seasonal items, fashion crafts, beads, and everything else needed to glue, paint, or arrange. A.C. Moore also offers in-store arts-and-crafts classes for children and adults. Its 120-plus stores (up from just 17 in 1997) are located in the eastern US. With Rag Shop gone, A. C. Moore, Michael’s and Jo-Ann Fabrics are the three major players left in the craft retail industry, each trying to outmaneuver one another. On top of that, large retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. dip their toes in the craft market as well, selling an assortment of products. “We’ve received lots of compliments since opening here in Newton,” Clark said, “People say they love the selection and the service.” She also said a number of new customers are “pleasantly surprised.” The Saturday before Christmas, the store was so busy, that parking spaces were hard to come by. Allison Yen drove down from Vernon to shop at AC Moore. “In my opinion, this store blows away its competition. It’s great to finally have one in Sussex County.”