I guess we saw the writing on the wall, even if we HOPED and HOPED it wasn’t going to happen! {I talked about Archiver’s danger signs HERE and HERE}.
As I said in the Chapter 11 post, I was really hoping they would pull it out and save their remaining stores . . . but as they announced today via THIS E-MAIL, they are closing after 14 years in business :(
I think the e-mail does a good job of explaining the timelines and process, so I won’t rehash that all here. You can find answers to Frequently Asked Questions HERE and they say more information will be forthcoming via e-mail next week.
Some wondered if the online store, Archiver’s Annex, would stay open but the e-mail says it will close also.
As I’ve said many times before, I’ve never even been to Archiver’s. I live in California and here is where their stores are:
But it was always on my Scrapbooking Bucket List to visit an Archiver’s in person . . . either that they would put one within reach of me, or that I would travel to a state with a store. Alas, it’s not to be! Those of you who got to shop an Archiver’s, consider yourselves lucky. And if there was one close by and you shopped there all the time, well . . . I hate you.
Just kidding. I get angry when I’m jealous :P
And I’m hangry right now. I’m dieting and have only had soup today. Hungry + angry = HANGRY. Sorry. I shouldn’t take out my jealousy and hangry-ness on you. Forgive me?
And I try to laugh and be sarcastic when I’m sad. I’m sad Archiver’s is closing. I’m sad for the scrap-shoppers, the company owners, and most of all for the employees. In all the talk about Archiver’s on the message boards, I hear over and over how NICE and HELPFUL the employees are. I hope they find new jobs soon that they love just as much <3. What are your thoughts about Archiver's closing?
9 Comments
Looking at that map they were in states hard hit by the economy. Maybe if they had ventured more east and west they could have survived. We still have a number of scrapbook stores in my little state and many crops and retreats.
That’s an interesting point I hadn’t thought of! I always found it interesting that they put so many Archiver’s where LSS’s already existed, even were plentiful. I guess that’s the proper decision business-wise (?) because you know there’s a SB market there and you hope to capitalize on those same customers. But as one of many customers who are STARVED for scrapbooking stores in Central California, I always wondered why they didn’t put Archivers at places like my area. SB’ers would come from far and wide – I’m talking hours – to shop at a store like that! {CA is huge and we are used to/expect to have to DRIVE far for things, lol}. And our county has one of the higher income levels, lots of families and retired folk, lots of tourist traffic. Ah well, guess that’s why I’m not a scrapbook store chain owner, LOL!
I too had Arhiver’s on my bucket list, and I join you in your sadness of their closure. My opinion, far and above the economy, the three biggest things that has hit the traditional scrapbooking industry the hardest is time, believe me people still spend money, but no one is taking the time to papercraft/scrapbook anymore, at my local LSS classes are attended by mostly those in the 40’s and older (I am 53), the trend for people to take photos with their phones which they share with others on social media sights or just keep them in the phone (their own personal digital scrapbook so to speak) and project life (BH philosophy) you don’t need all that stuff to create a page) although I think her business model is in response to the the two other items I already mentioned and and attempt on her part to keep the industry going.
I loved going to our local Archiver’s store and am sad that they are closing — though I didn’t go nearly as often as I would have liked. The really tough part of this for me, also being a former MemoryWorks consultant, is that I feel as though traditional scrapbooking is slowly going by the wayside. I am a touchy, feely scrapper. I don’t like digital scrapping becuase I feel like it loses it personal touch and the pocket books — quick to get it all done — for me, is nearly as impersonal. Don’t get me wrong, the pocket pages are great for some things and I have done my share but, for my personal books, the stories of my boys lives, I much prefer the traditional paper, tape runner, ink, buttons, ribbons, flower pages. Like Maribeth, I fear that social media and the fast pace of the 20 somethings is shrinking this industry. I hope that it can maintain somewhere, someway. I guess we’ll all be waiting to see what happens next.
The closet one to me is bout 4-5 hours away… but my mom and I go there anytime we’re even remotely close to Atlanta. We haven’t had any LSS in years. We still love to go see paper in person and buy that way… guess we’re going to be buying online exclusively now!
Younger people paper craft, they may not scrapbook but they like pretty paper and supplies too. The 20 something paper crafters I have met recently were more into cards and mixed media. Maybe if the scrapbook industry did even more to embrace all people that play with paper they would be surviving better.
There was a Archivers 1.5 hours away that closed last year. Loved the store. I’m sad they are closing. Will make the trip to get some things before they close. It will be Michaels’s, JoAnns and Hobby Lobby from now on.
Sadly I am from New York and never got to an Archivers. I had heard grat things about them and always thought someday…
I have an Archiver’s just an hour away, and I hadn’t been in quite a while, but I found myself on that part of town last week, so I stopped in. This was two days before the news broke of the company’s plans to close. I wandered around the store aimlessly and was really disappointed at the inventory. I asked a staffer a few questions about two or three specific items I was looking for, and she had no clue about any of them. I really struggled to find something to use my 40% coupon on! I ended up spending $3.50 and I walked out very disappointed and sad. So, I was not surprised to read the e-mail that came out a few days later. I had high hopes that the store would replenish inventory with new, fresh items after the holidays, but I guess the writing was on the wall.
I’m fortunate that I have two LSS within 20 minutes of my house, so I plan to spend all my scrappy dollars there. I can’t imagine not having any source of scrapbook supplies nearby, and if I had to rely solely on online stores, I’d be very sad indeed!