Joann Fabrics will be closing most stores after previously declaring bankruptcy

[slo]

This is a shame.
Sadly, the store by me used to be really nice and now it’s a dump. You walk in the door and it’s a disaster. Litter all over the floor, unopened boxes of products in the aisles, the product on shelves all messy - just terrible! I’m not sure if they don’t have the employees to keep up the store or management doesn’t care or both. If the store by me closes I will be bummed out, because I like them for inexpensive artificial greenery.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Yay! Mine is staying open! I don't shop there often--Hobby Lobby is closer--but definitely for fabric. They have a HUGE selection--Hobby Lobby's is just "meh". Every year, I make my kids sleep pants. 13 pairs, I think, this year. I buy the flannel during Joanne's Black Friday sale. I also love poking through their remnants, and occasionally sew other things--when the kids were little, I'd make elaborate Halloween costumes every year.

I don't care to order fabric online. I find it tedious, looking through page after page when picking out, say, 9 types of flannel. OTOH, the bolts in the store typically have 6 (maybe 8?) yards each these days--it used to be 10. If I'm making matching sleep pants for DD21 and her 2 roommates, I need 9 yards. They were able to find 2 identical bolts with a cute print this year. I also make my younger two matching holiday-themed sleep pants, so that's 6 yards total.

I had actually kind of hoped the sleep pants thing would die out--my youngest is almost 19, and I had foot surgery in November. But, no--the kids were begging for them, DD21 went and got the fabric, and then cut out all 13 pairs on our ping-pong table (since I'm still using a walker).

 

[lanejudy]

Our local Joann’s closed a few years ago. Walmart has some fabric bolts and sewing supplies, but nowhere near the variety Joann’s carried. But I don’t sew anymore, and mainly only did Halloween costumes for several years. It used to be less expensive to sew my own clothes but that hadn’t been true for a long time now.

 

[LoveDaisy]

@BlueStarryHat I am assuming I understand why you don’t shop at HL. No issues with that. I am curious how much their viewpoints do impact their business. Any idea? I haven’t seen any big article about this in several years and I am wondering if people have forgotten. Kinda like CFL. But for them, people said I’ll forgo my values as I like the product, whereas others have now forgotten. Which I really don’t get. If I have time later I will see if I can find any recent ones on HL.

I don’t shop at hobby lobby or eat a CFL. Never been to either and don’t plan on ever going to either. Personal choice.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I am curious how much their viewpoints do impact their business. Any idea?

I don't think it impacts their business much at all. Whenever we're in that particular area, their parking lot is always pretty full. Many people just know it as a big craft store and have no idea of their stance.

 

[FreeTime]

I don't think it impacts their business much at all. Whenever we're in that particular area, their parking lot is always pretty full. Many people just know it as a big craft store and have no idea of their stance.

You are probably right :-/

 

[Mama2alltheEs]

I'm bummed about this because they have a MUCH better selection of yarn compared to their competitors. The yarn section is at least 5 times as big and I'm going to miss it so much. I like to see and feel it in person rather than purchase online.

 

[Nayan]

And with Hobby Lobby and Michael's being the top craft stores in the entire world I think Joann Fabrics was scared of being in competition with Hobby Lobby and Michael's

Joanns has been around since 1943, Michaels since 1973 and HL since 1972. Joanns is NOT scared of being in competition with the other stores (what a weird thing to say) . What has changed is shopping habits. Why should I drive an hour to go the craft store when I can order what I want from Amazon, eBay or from the companies site directly. I buy yarn from indie makers themselves and have only gone into a crafts store if I needed a new hook or some other notion right at that moment. All my craft shopping is done online.

 

[Meriweather]

Material is going to be the hard one.
I don't want to order it online.
I need to see it, and feel it.

 

[cabanafrau]

Fabric is absolutely going to be a big issue. I don't even sew much and on that front it's going to be a loss.

I cannot understand how and why their stores became such a messy free for all. Several years back I went in one that had only been open two weeks at most. Looked like a bomb had gone off or the video you see on the news of the after effects from an earthquake.

 

[cabanafrau]

So Joann is closing and another avenue to the past closes. Nowadays, I doubt the average American can even thread a hand needle and by their way of thinking why should they? There’s lots of less expensive clothing stores out there and when the poorly constructed items fall apart it’s easier to just buy a something new and the cycle continues.

The day we can put fast fashion in an avenue of the past will be better for everybody. I saw a horrific documentary a few months back about what's happening with the downstream results of fast fashion. Terrifying. Cannot remember the name of the film.

 

[bcla]

Joanns has been around since 1943, Michaels since 1973 and HL since 1972. Joanns is NOT scared of being in competition with the other stores (what a weird thing to say) . What has changed is shopping habits. Why should I drive an hour to go the craft store when I can order what I want from Amazon, eBay or from the companies site directly. I buy yarn from indie makers themselves and have only gone into a crafts store if I needed a new hook or some other notion right at that moment. All my craft shopping is done online.

[Edit] The Joann name wasn't adopted until the 90s. But large companies like Joann have a cloudy origin story because of mergers and acquisitions.

Just as a practical matter, a lot (possibly most) of the stuff they sell is imported. A lot of retailers are going to be hurting soon as consumers scale back their purchases when they cost more.

 

[dizneegirl]

Michael's took out 2 of the other craft stores we had here, Pat Catan's and A.C. Moore... was really hoping Joann's would make it. I preferred that to Michael's most days.

 

[NYCgrrl]

This info may be important to some posters:

“
Going-out-of-business sales at stores could start as early as Saturday, according to a customer FAQ shared by the company.

The retail chain is also seeking court authorization to stop accepting gift cards both online and in stores within the next two weeks. Joann has already stopped selling gift cards and no longer accepts them on its website. Returns will stop being accepted two weeks after the court’s approval of Joann’s restructuring plan, the company said.”

 

[fla4fun]

I just searched again and found the full list of closures. I'm feeling grateful tonight that my local store survived the cut (but wow that's a long list of stores!) I may have to go by there in the next couple of days and buy some celebratory yardage.

My closest store (about 15 miles away) is closing. The store that is about 35 miles away is not closing but will be a lot less convenient to shop in. I am just glad I will still have access to one at a semi reasonable distance. The next closest would be over 100 miles away now. It seems strange that the ones in Orlando are closing, but the ones in smaller communities aren’t.

 

[ottawamom]

I was shocked when I saw this thread. I don't get to the US often to shop but I do enjoy stocking up on my quilting supplies when I'm there. I think one store on our usual travelling route may be staying open. I hope so but only time will tell.

I've really enjoyed picking things up at various Joann stores around the northeast. Sorry to see it go.

 

[disneyseniors]

I'm not sure exactly who is their competitor these days. Possibly Michaels and Hobby Lobby in crafts, but I can't think of any major national retailers for sewing and fabrics.

https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/joann-fabric-store-closings/​

Fabric and crafts retailer Joann announced Wednesday it will be closing about 500 stores nationwide, almost a year after filing for bankruptcy.​

​

The Hudson, Ohio-based company, which operates more than 800 stores, declared bankruptcy in March 2024 while reporting between $1 billion and $10 billion in debt. In court documents, the retailer blamed higher costs from shipping overseas products, as well as waning consumer demand.​

I'm not really that big into sewing, but I have bought stuff there because it was convenient (there's a really close store) and they often had 40-50% coupons off single items that weren't already on sale. But I think I've bought replacement buttons, glue, and a few arts/crafts supplies for the kiddo. Once I suggested them to my dad because they had blank long-sleeve T-shirts where they needed a generic "uniform" for an event.

It’s really getting difficult for people who sew to purchase fabric in person. I don’t like to purchase fabric online because you can’t really tell what you are getting a lot of the time. I need to know how heavy a fabric is, does it have any give or stretch, what does it feel like against my skin, etc., plus so many places sell it in precut or yard only increments when my pattern may call for a quarter yard or a half yard. I also miss going through the remnant bins and finding treasures. I have done a lot of shopping at Joann over the years and it makes me sad to see them closing.

I agree 100% with you fla4fun! I have to see and touch and feel the fabric before I buy it.

We still have a JoAnn's store in our local mall. But like other malls in the country, it is losing tenants and is a mere image of itself. The last 2 times I went to JoAnns for fabric or yarn, they had a hole in the ceiling and the lights were out. This is over some of the fabric. Both times they had this problem. You couldn't see the fabric in the poor lighting, so I left.
You could shoot a cannon off in the store isles. It's so sad. I remember when it was thriving and their fabric cutting counter was super busy - you had to take a number and wait your turn.
I didn't know they went bankrupt, but I should have know by the poor condition of that store.

We have a Hobby Lobby which has nice fabrics, and everything else too. I have shopped there with no complaints. I have to go out of town to the next town about 20 miles away to go to a real fabric store. It is worth it to go there because they have knowledgable staff who are quilters/sewers themselves and love their jobs. They have a huge assortment of fabric, and they offer fun classes and meetings. I hope they never close! We used to have a fabric store like that one in our town, but it was sold and the new owners had a "fire", so there is no real fabric store in our town. It's very sad to me.

 

[RedAngie]

I guess when I need specialty fabric in the future I'm going to have to go back to Fabric Row in Philly, although it's not that easy for me to get there.

I remember going to Fabric Row with my mother. The last time was probably more than 40 years ago. I’m glad to hear it still exists. South 4th Street in Queen Village, I believe.

 

[fla4fun]

The day we can put fast fashion in an avenue of the past will be better for everybody. I saw a horrific documentary a few months back about what's happening with the downstream results of fast fashion. Terrifying. Cannot remember the name of the film.

Was it on Netflix? I watched one on Netflix called Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy that sounds similar. It was difficult to watch, even as someone who does not partake in fast fashion (I buy classic instead of trendy and wear for years, mending when necessary).

 

[barkley]

I personally think craft stores are dying because as previous posters have mentioned anyone can get sewing kits and crafts online.

not in our area, and frankly I was amazed when I did a count cuz these are all within a max 30 minute drive of one another-

3 Joannes (1 will stay open)
2 Michaels
2 Hobby Lobbys
13 (I was shocked when I did the count) dedicated fabric stores
stopped counting at 20 specialized (beads, ceramic supplies, yarn, paper, leather, reclaimed...).