The crafts retailer formerly known as Jo-Ann Fabrics had been struggling financially for several years following a DIY-driven uptick in sales during the early days of the pandemic.
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It’s more of not knowing their customer base and not updating fabric lines. Offered very little fabric for apparel sewers. I’d go to buy fabric and leave empty handed.
😭😭I have great memories of shopping for fabric with my mom in my teens, when I used to see. I guess that's the problem. Clothes these days are so affordable
Enough is enough... this was caused by Vulture Capitalist firm Leonard Green & Partners after they stuck Joanne's with $1.6 Billion in debt then did an IPO to offload their shares causing the stockholder's loss, employees loss and our communities' loss. These corps are looking to exploit everyone!
Knitting and crochet are pretty popular, Michael's is all that's left. If you need fabric, forget it, how do you buy that online? I miss all the stores I had growing up. A lot of these corporations opened too many stores, oversaturated. But I hate Amazon for killing retail the most!
Too bad all these big big box stores came in and ran all the local mom and pop shops out of business, just for them to eventually bite it too. Now there's no ma and pa and a giant empty big box building running down everyone's prop values. I am sad to see joanns go. I'm a crafter. But still.
The one that was near me had horrible customer service, high prices and stocked items that didn’t sell. If all stores had a similar model, this outcome isn’t a surprise. Hope they can fix it, if they want to but won’t shop there again.
This is going to be a revelation for many, as most people are completely unaware that Jo-Ann's was still in operation. With virtually no advertising and often hidden away in nondescript strip malls, it's no wonder they've gone under the radar.
The loss of one more fabric store—even though JoAnn’s was never great quality—kinda stinks. Seems strange, especially in light of the recent revival of home sewing. Fabrics really can’t be bought online; you need to physically handle them.
Jo-Ann's is a huge part of my life. So many of my hobbies are fueled by Jo-Ann's. I don't know what I am going to do; there is not a good alternative. Michael's has fabric now, but not much, and I refuse to shop at Hobby Lobby.
I was thinking about this as I read this Wapo article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/24/musk-doge-usaid-cuts-dc/, where the author writes "...the goal of any company, when you get past all the messianic blather about changing the world, is to make money for its investors — period."
I've heard from multiple people now how Jo-Ann's was seen as a "third space" where people with shared interests could come together in a community, and they're mourning that loss. But, a company only exists to make money, right?
So where does this leave us? If the only role of government is to protect its citizens, and the only role of a company is to make money (including pursuing profit motives via regulatory capture), what organizations are left to ensure life is worth living? This way lie nihilism, tribalism, I think.
That’s for damn sure. I guess Michael’s? Idk though. I’m just buying in bulk. Some suggested yard/estate sales. My Yia yia had a room full of fabrics and yarn. I could kick myself for not saving a good bit, but it sold in the estate sale.
Joann was never a great fabric store but often was the only one around. My local is and always has been terrible. It tried to be too many things and was lousy at all of them. I buy thread there. I go online or drive a distance to a fabulous independent store. I won’t miss it.
Instead of focusing on their niche which was fabric and related craft they tried to compete with every other crafting store. They opened too many big stores and lost all focus. Not to mention all the corporate mess.
it’s sad to see, but also understandable. I sew a good amount, but the days when fabric stores had a large customer base are just gone. When I was a kid, everyone had a parent or grandparent who sewed. Today I get looks of amazement when I say I made a garment.
1. Stop moving shit around every other week.
2. Stop the "slow on purpose" checkout to get you to buy more impulse junk.
3. Stop carrying products that don't work or don't include all the parts you need. Dritz, I'm looking at you.
How do you write this headline, let alone this entire story, without talking about venture capitalists or leveraged buyouts? That is journalistic malpractice.
Well, it used to be cheaper to go to a place like Jo-Ann’s and buy raw materials to make things yourself; it’s just not anymore and in fact it can be even more expensive to do so.
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All the other craft stores don’t have fabric or don’t have a good enough selection
2. Stop the "slow on purpose" checkout to get you to buy more impulse junk.
3. Stop carrying products that don't work or don't include all the parts you need. Dritz, I'm looking at you.
😉
Are you journalists or corpo mouthpieces?!?
https://fabricwholesaledirect.com/