Any person who is actively and for a long time engaged in some hobby sooner or later finds proven and high-quality suppliers. For example, my wife has been drawing for many years, and she has favorite brands of paints, pencils, and whatnot. And losing literally one of them almost inevitably causes a big headache.

Today, thousands and thousands of DIY lovers across America, accustomed to dealing with Joann stores (and they are in every state), were heavily upset by the news that more than half of the company’s locations will soon close. So it’s time, apparently, to take strategic stock in your hobby, in case you’re into handmade.

More info: Joann Restructuring

Joann, the nationwide fabric and craft retailer, announces the closing of more than half of their stores across the whole country

Image credits: ajay_suresh / Flickr (not the actual photo)

It’s actually the second time the company has filed for bankruptcy—the first was in March 2024

Yesterday, February 12, Joann, a well-known fabric and craft retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in the last twelve months. The first case took place on March 18 of last year, and then the company had plans to cut over $500 million in debt to become a privately owned company.

As we can see, the situation continues to worsen and as of today, Joann has announced the upcoming closure of 533 of its nearly 850 stores across the whole country. And this, most likely, means inevitable staff layoffs.

Image credits: Craig Adderley / Pexels (not the actual photo)

“As part of the ongoing Chapter 11 process and our efforts to maximize the value of the business, JOANN has filed a motion seeking court authority to begin closing approximately 500 stores across the nation,” a spokesperson for JOANN claimed. “This was a very difficult decision to make, given the major impact we know it will have on our Team Members, our customers and all of the communities we serve.”

“A careful analysis of store performance and future strategic fit for the company determined which stores should remain operating as usual at this time. Right-sizing our store footprint is a critical part of our efforts to ensure the best path forward for JOANN,” the official announcement says.

The largest number of stores, 61, will be closed in California, and also 36 in Florida, and 33 in Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, respectively. The remaining stores are expected to continue operating as usual.

Image credits: David / Flickr (not the actual photo)

The company was founded over 80 years ago in Cleveland, Ohio, by three families of German migrants

Let’s recall that the company was founded in 1943 in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Rorhbach, Zimmermann, and Reich families and received its current name two decades later in honor of the daughters from the two families: Joan and Jacqueline Ann. As of 2021, when Joann went public on the Nasdaq market, it had over 23K employees.

It’s interesting to know to what extent the current case is related to the expected introduction of import tariffs—after all, back in 2018, the then-CEO of the company, Jill Soltau, together with 7 other retail CEOs, tried to convince the presidential administration to change its decision regarding the introduction of tariffs. At the time, the company claimed that American suppliers could not meet Joann’s quality and volume needs.

Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Nowadays, the company faces serious issues, and stores in 49 states are going to close soon

Perhaps this is a coincidence, but maybe not. In any case, the stores across the country have already begun to close, and the opinions of the commenters in the news are very divided. Some people think that Joann simply kept the prices for its products incredibly high—and at the current moment, while even food prices are rising, not everyone is able to fork out for DIY stuff.

On the other hand, many responders—obviously those who regularly do crafts—cannot hide their sadness. They note that Joann offered goods of really high quality compared to its competitors—and that now it will be rather difficult to replace them. And you, dear readers, has your nearest Joann store also closed, or are you lucky enough to still have it?

People in the comments were very divided, some had forecasted this ages ago, citing their high prices

Other responders despaired at losing their craft supply havens

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