Store Spotlight: Warehouse Fabrics Inc.

I’m re-decorating this week’s Store Spotlight with the help of Warehouse Fabrics Inc., a fabric and design supplier from Alabama that boasts an unyielding supply of materials and customer service.  Their store’s story is a realization of the American Dream, altered to their liking.

Larry and Betty Whitehead opened their doors in 1984.  The store was small: 1000 square feet, filled with fabric and other do-it-yourself (DIY) materials.  Over the years, through persistence, customer loyalty and careful planning the store grew tremendously.  They’ve moved into a 30,000 square foot building that is stacked wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with fabrics.  In 2001, after 17 years of operating, Warehouse Fabrics Inc.., opened an online store. The combination of the online and physical business has helped the Whitehead’s become one of the biggest and best suppliers of DIY fabrics in the country.

Landing on their site, a warmth of friendliness oozes through your monitor.  The about us page introduces every member of the Warehouse Fabric team as an employee and person.  They sell decorating fabric in about any style/design you could think of.  There’s outdoor designs to match your patio or pool furniture, velvet and suede to keep your sofa looking trendy.  Take a trip back in time with their retro fabrics, or create your own style with their plaid and novelty pieces that thematically match the sea, sports, wildlife/nature, the southwest and more.  If sprucing up your drapes is what you have in mind, they carry trims and tassels to match any color or make of fabric you want.  They carry bridal fashions to create a gown or give that personal touch to wedding favors or supplies.  There’s no style that’s unattainable with the myriad of fabrics they carry.  Specialty fabrics, like vinyl or camouflage, let your imagination be the limit.  You can also find supplies, tools and accessories, like curtain rods, to make sure your decorating goes as planned.  As an added bonus, they have a product they put on sale each month to help during these tumultuous economic times.

Warehouse Fabrics shows their customer appreciation with their Frequent Shopper Program.  This program is available to anyone for free and becomes advantageous after the first purchase.  It works quite effectively and easily: for every dollar spent, one bonus point is earned.  Every 100 points equals $5.00, this can be applied to the next order you make.  It’s a reliable and extremely helpful system any returning customer will undoubtedly take advantage of.

Since Warehouse Fabric’s online inception they have been using Miva Merchant’s shopping cart software.  They “especially like their [Miva Merchant] dedication to improving and growing the software. This dedication allows us [Warehouse Fabrics] to grow and build our businesses.  And, the streaming updates are great too.”  At the beginning of this year, Warehouse Fabric hired Bill Mann of Pointe Design to re-design their website, making it easier to navigate and adding a more pleasing aesthetic for the customer.  “We [Warehouse Fabrics] rely on our Miva store to provide customers the products and services we’ve built our reputation on.”  This reputation has them ranking #1 in Google, which gives them the ability to serve more consumers.

It’s hard to find a site in this day and age that practices such astounding customer support, with outstanding and reliable products at such a low cost.  If you feel like it’s time to redecorate, or you’re looking to add a little panache to a room, check out Warehouse Fabrics.