Hello and how are you today?
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Well it's official. Joann's is closing 500 stores in the USA
Liquidation companies are vying to buy the company and I think it won't be too long until the "going out of business" sales.
It's hard to know REALLY why it went out of business. In court, the company cited "an unexpected ramp down" as well as severe and unexpected inventory shortages.
Early 20th century dry goods store in my valley (Macungie, PA)
Joann's opened in 1943 in Cleveland Ohio and the name "Joann" wasn't actually used for the business until 1963.
The only thing I often bought at the store was batting, especially when they had their sales. I have enough fabric at home.
Still, there are many areas in this country that relied on Joann's as their main source of fabric. I remember about 20 years ago, Walmart closed their fabric departments. The online quilting group I belonged to had lots of midwest and southern quilters, many were panicked because that was their main source of cloth.
Will the closing of Joann's impact you?
Tomorrow I'll delve into other trends I see these days.
Have a safe and happy day!
I do shop at JoAnn's when I want to buy something like a ruler or batting but I don't depend on it for fabrics. In my area there are multiple quality quilt/fabric stores but it will definitely effect those who can't afford the higher prices. They just built our new JoAnn's 10 less than 10 years ago!
ReplyDeletehonestly not too much at this point in my quilting life...i had already decided not to make any more bed size quilts so no more big batts or backings will be needed....i think joann's problem was they tried to be all things to all crafts...in their desire to grab every customer regardless of her interest, they cut corners and stockpiled merchandise that just didn't fly with customers...
ReplyDeleteI hate to see it. That has been my source for project boxes -- inexpensive (relatively) and big enough to hold a 12" block.
ReplyDeleteMy main purchases at Joann's are sewing thread (I like Gutermann and they have such a good selection of it), embroidery floss, and Aida cloth for cross-stitching. I know I can find those items elsewhere, but I always use a coupon and the military discount at Joann's. Our Joann's is one of the ones on the list to close, but there is another one just a few miles further away in the next town to the north, so I can keep shopping there for now.
ReplyDeleteI used to only shop at Joann's for crafty stuff, but in the last few years have found some surprisingly lovely fabric at Joann's. I am really sad about the closing. It is one of the "anchor" stores for one of the nicer outdoor malls nearby, and it will be missed.
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