Craft store chain forced to shutter more of its 800 stores as retail demolition continues

Daily Mail UK ^ | January 8, 2025 | Daniel Jones

[Morgana]

A beloved craft and fabric retailer with a history spanning over 80 years has quietly closed several locations across the country in recent months.

Joann, which operates in nearly every US state, has recently shuttered six of its 815 stores. Until 2018, it was known as Jo-Ann Stores but rebranded as 'Joann' to move beyond fabrics to embrace a wider range of crafts.

Shoppers impacted by the closures can score steep discounts during liquidation sales, with markdowns ranging from 50 to 90 percent in affected locations.

The affected stores are in Burlington, Iowa; Owings Mills, Maryland; Holyoke, Massachusetts; Ithaca, New York; Hickory, North Carolina; and Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Joann filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March last year after pandemic-era sales growth faded, leaving the retailer with $1.2 billion in debt.

It emerged from bankruptcy the next month - with 815 stores across 49 states - after creditors agreed to cancel $505 million in debt in exchange for ownership of the company.

Joann is the latest retailer to face challenges after experiencing a pandemic-era sales boom. With Americans now returning to work, the surge in home crafting has significantly declined.

Home organization specialist The Container Store suffered the same fate, and filed for bankruptcy last month.

[dfwgator]

We hardly make any apparel fabrics in the USA any more due to minimal demand. Fabric is made where the clothes are made. It is expensive to import, and since sewing is now a lost art few companies bother bringing in anything suitable for garment making.

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