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Sew Long, JOANN! The "Go-To" Fabric Store of 82 Years is Closing its Doors

As a child, I trailed along with my mother as she shopped there. As an adult, I bought a sewing machine belt there less than 2 years ago.

Hailed as the holy grail for DIYers and crafty wizards, the venerable fabric chain—an 82-year-old icon with 800-plus stores across the nation—is finally stitching its final pattern. 

After decades of inspiring homemade masterpieces and holiday projects, the once-ubiquitous retailer is now packing up its spools, thanks to a perfect storm of financial misadventures, declining inventory, and the irresistible lure of online shopping.

In a move that’s left traditional craft aficionados weeping into their glue guns, the company has filed for bankruptcy not once, but twice within a year, and is now being sold off to a liquidator and its band of lender buddies. 

“It’s a wide-sweeping ruling on our business practices,” one senior legal advisor noted, using language that sounded suspiciously like it was ripped from a rejection letter for an Etsy store. 

Meanwhile, a chief financial officer lamented that their cash reserves were as threadbare as their fabric samples—$615.7 million in debt with a mere $8.4 million left to salvage a decent craft party.

Back when the company was known as the go-to destination for creating everything from quilts to questionable Pinterest projects. But as the world moved online and crafty consumers discovered cheaper, more convenient options, the retailer’s charm began to fray.

 Now, as the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware prepares for the final sale hearing, the once-beloved chain is being quietly relegated to the annals of retail history.

Industry analysts, including a managing director from a retail analytics firm, predict that few will pay a premium for the intellectual property, meaning the iconic brand might survive only as an online ghost—like Bed Bath & Beyond’s e-commerce afterlife—but not in the brick-and-mortar world we all know and love.

So, if you’re planning to reminisce about the good old days of fabric swatches and in-store DIY demos, prepare for one last clearance sale—where everything must go, and maybe, just maybe, you'll snag a nostalgia-infused piece of history before the needle finally drops. 

Sew long, JOANN—your final stitch has been sewn. We will miss you!

Please support my writing by tipping $1 at https://ko-fi.com/wilchard1102

 

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