Fabric and crafts retailer Joann is shutting down all of its U.S. stores, leaving cosplayers, seamstresses and small Etsy business owners in the dust.
The Ohio-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, the second time in a year it’s done so, according to The New York Times. The company said at the time it planned to keep its stores open.
But earlier this month, Joann announced that it was shutting down 500 of its 800 locations, citing “significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment, which, coupled with our current financial position and constrained inventory levels, have forced us to take this step.”
On Sunday, the company said out-of-business sales at all locations will begin as a result of financial services company GA Group — along with Joann’s term lenders — acquiring virtually all of Joann’s assets in an auction.
“Joann leadership, our board, advisers and legal partners made every possible effort to pursue a more favorable outcome that would keep the company in business,” Joann said in a statement posted on its website. “We are committed to working constructively with the winning bidder to ensure an orderly wind-down of operations that minimizes the impact on all our stakeholders.”
There’s no clear timeline on when stores will shut down or online operations will cease, though Joann has confirmed that retailers will remain open while out-of-business sales happen.
Across the nation and the internet, people are mourning the loss of a local crafts supply shop that's been operating for more than 80 years.
“im going to chain myself to the front of my local joann fabrics in protest this is f**king insane,” a user named sam posted on X.
Another user, @cassbeewrites, pointed out, “losing a chain like joann fabrics is actually extremely bad. it won’t necessarily push people toward local quilt shops, which are less accessible and more expensive, but instead will push many people away from textile arts completely.”
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