Founded in 1995, Hobbycraft has grown into the UK’s largest arts and crafts retailer, operating more than 100 stores nationwide and offering more than 25,000 products across categories such as art, knitting and crochet, haberdashery, papercraft, wedding and party supplies, baking and jewellery-making.
The Hobbycraft Ideas Hub is a hugely popular UK craft blog, which supports and inspires crafters of all levels and a Small Business Information Hub is aimed at people with craft businesses. Hobbycraft has placed digital innovation and customer experience at the heart of its strategy. The digital product experience is “as important or adjacent to the product and services that any brand sells,” Jennifer North, head of digital experience, told the RetailCraft podcast.
Discounts and bulk purchasing options
The company launched its Hobbycraft Plus subscription in October 2022. Priced at £80 a year, the membership offers a 15% discount on all Hobbycraft products, free next-day delivery on orders over £25, as well as access to bulk purchasing options for products and packaging.
Subscribers also benefit from free and detailed product information and seminars designed to help small business owners and serious hobbyists grow their craft-related enterprises, covering topics such as selling on marketplaces, marketing and customer service.
The Cut and Create subscription (£39.50 a year) is targeted at digital crafters who use cutting machines. This service also offers a 10% discount on consumables such as iron-on and adhesive materials, free next-day delivery and access to exclusive digital designs.
A new digital clubcard allows instant access to exclusive Club vouchers and rewards, 2,000 free project ideas, the ability to check stock availability and detailed product information and customer reviews using a barcode scanner.
Recent challenges
Despite these innovations, Hobbycraft has faced a few challenges in recent years. In 2024, private equity firm Modella Capital acquired the Hobbycraft company and in early 2025 announced a major restructuring plan to secure its long-term viability. As part of this plan, Hobbycraft announced a number of closures, the next phase of which will see stores in Bromborough, Southport and Stratford upon Avon close in early August.
However, the company’s subscription services remain a key pillar of its strategy to engage customers beyond the physical store footprint.
This case study is one of a number featured in the recent SubscriptionX report published by RetailX. To find out more about the subscriptions market in 2025, as well as key players within it, you can download the report here.
