Canadian Retail Prices...

I don't have to tell anyone that, once again, the value of our Canadian dollar is impacting the price of goods sold here in Canada. We all feel it when we go to buy our groceries. Well, that dollar value definitely affects quilt shops both brick and mortar and online. In one year, the wholesale price of fabric has jumped $1.70/m and is at the highest price I have seen it in five years. The wholesale price of EQ6 Full Version jumped $29.00 since my last order 8 months ago. At present wholesale prices, a retailer thinks long and hard about what stock to order and how much of it to bring in.

For example, I was thinking about bringing in a line of Judi Rothermel fabric; however, when I checked with the Canadian distributor who carries the Marcus Brothers lines that idea quickly evaporated. Believe it or not, my wholesale price would be the same as the retail price in American quilt shops! How can this be, you ask? Well, to begin with the distributor says Marcus Brothers charge more for their fabrics; that's number one. Secondly, there are the import duties and taxes; thirdly, the impact of the lower Canadian dollar when buying from the States; and, finally, purchasing through a distributor who has to earn something, too.