Amazing that customers are clamoring for a supply for this and it is dissolving before our eyes. What a collasal business failure! It hardly seems possible that this could happen in the normal course of events.

I think that if enough customers clamor for something and are willing to spend $ on it, sooner or later it is going to turn up. Of course, bad management can doom even the most auspicious of business endeavors, but in order for even an excellent store to survive there must be enough demand. I get that those who sew really want a reliable, good service, high quality store, and want one in their neighborhood so they can actually touch and feel the fabrics. It may be, though, that there is just not enough of an overall demand in terms of % in the population, to have one company open local stores across the U.S.

I didn't read all the comments so maybe this has been posted, but this was on my Next Door today. Our store is not on the closure list:

"Was just at Joann fabric store. Signs are up stating that gift cards will not be accepted after February 28th."

oly, your store is NOW on the chopping block . Every one of the Joanns are ready to be terminated. As lousy as it has been for so long, it was at least something.

Oh, I didn't know that...well, I don't shop there but thought those who had gift cards would want to know if they didn't already. Thanks!

Yeah I saw on the local news all stores will be closing.

https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/nation-world/joann-going-out-of-business-all-stores-closing/507-793f19c3-b54a-4984-b4f6-65e757bb798b

Cr@p! I just read that news that ALL of the Joann stores will be closing. That leaves my entire region without a full service sewing store.

I hadn't followed any of the news about this company but if it's fully going out of business and liquidating assets, I think that's then a Chapter 7 proceding, not 11

I am deeply saddened. My Joann,s was always well stocked and had very pleasant employees. This Joann's was only 12 miles from me and its closure means that there are no other fabric stores, other than one store which stocks quilt fabrics only, anywhere, forcing me into online only. (There is a nearby Hobby Lobby which I refuse to enter)

I am saddened too. Frustrated.

The stores in our area were reasonably stocked and with nice staff.

There is also a social components to shops and store like Joann’s. I’ve met some nice people there and many very helpful fellow customers. I even swapped contact info with a few.

Elmer, most liquidations of companies, especially larger ones, are done under Chapter 11. It gives the parties more control rather than the trustee that is appointed to take the lead under Chapter 7.

I think there is demand for fabric and needle arts -- and even a growing demand in crafting, quilting, apparel and utility fabrics. I think Joann faced many obstacles both in continuing operations and in selling off the ongoing business. When sewing was at a low point, they branched out and tried to become all things to all people. In the store nearest me, I never saw anyone in their framing section, rarely saw anyone in the floral or the baking and candy. Same for art supplies. Their prices were higher then everyone else's -- unless you had a coupon or the item was on sale -- so they programmed everyone to only buy with that coupon or sale except in times of desperation. The inventory and checkout systems needed to be replaced -- felt like if it was simply an update, it would have happened already. On top of that, they had stretched from coast to coast, buying up competitors, probably accumulating more debt each time. I suspect that if they could have taken more time to sell stores in smaller groups or even individually in some cases, they might have found buyers -- but those stores wouldn't have the buying power or online ordering network of coast to coast stores -- and apparently neither the VC group that took control in the first bankruptcy nor the creditors had any interest in serving the needs of customers. I would even venture to guess that the economic outlook under a new president made them all even more risk adverse and ready to get out what they could as soon as possible. I represented a creditor in the House of Fabrics bankruptcy -- Joann acquired HOF, and now that is gone too.

Thanks lascatx. Being happily more than a decade and a half into retirement, I guess my limited forays of dealing with companies under Bankruptcy Court supervision are fading memories.

" apparently neither the VC group that took control in the first bankruptcy nor the creditors had any interest in serving the needs of customers. "

What might have happened is that when the bargain seeking new owners found that the resuscitation wasn't going to roll out as planned and it too was in a second death spiral, they bailed. The show is over and someone needs to oversee the cleanup, turning out the lights and distributing whatever residual value is left to creditors. Such situations are often when a trustee in bankruptcy is the tool used.

There was a commonly used translation of the VC abbreviation when dealing with the concerns whose business was in buying troubled companies out of bankruptcy for pennies or others hanging on by their fingernails and willing to sell for any diminished amount. VC is normally Venture Capitalists, but the opportunists looking for companies on their death bed and the wanting a quick turn of the bucks were called Vulture Capitalists.

Just visited my local JoAnn's. It was on the chopping block before bankruptcy announced. 20-40% off is all. Christmas that was 80% off in Jan is now 40% off. Store is FULL. No one is falling for these prices. Facebook claimed 80% off. BS

There are people filling shopping carts in desperation -- I saw one person piling a cart = basket, shelf underneath and even the handle -- four large bags full, all large skeins of yarn. But a lot of you tube videos and FB posts saying everything is full price or lower discounts than they had been regularly selling for. One even commented that she and her mother went into a store and a bolt of fabric that had been full price at $10.99 a yard had a sticker over that saying $16.99 a yard with a sign posting 20% off. That's no bargain and no one I want to do business with.

Liquidations companies do this all the time. When they take over, there are no bargains.

An inventory liquidator's only goal when a company is being dissolved is to garner as much revenue as possible, as quickly as possible, through moving inventory out the door. And then moving on. The future reputation of the business is N/A, ongoing customer relations and loyalty are N/A.

They're free to price items however they wish and then subsequently adjust prices however they wish. It's not dishonesty, it's just the reality of the situation.

The Macy's in our upscale mall is going out of business. I walked through it to check out the "deals". There were none!

Generally speaking, markets are ruthless but efficient.

I used to like Macy's in my teens and early 20s, esp. their Charter Club brand, but had not really paid much attention to them in decades. A year or two ago I needed to get something last minute for a trip and they had a store close by.

What a dump. No sales help. Clothes smushed together on racks, falling on the floors. Fitting rooms that looked like a Hoarders episode. The clerk rang up my purchases wrong. From A to Z an awful experience. Good riddance to them.

Sushipup, I totally get the liquidation companies and what they are after. I've just never heard of them being as brazen as to mark things up to nearly double the no-one-ever-pays-it-but-for-the-sake-of-making-"sales"-look-good-"list"-price.

Elmer, no one said it was dishonest. I did say it wasn't people I wanted to do business with. And I don't need to. And that is also the reality of the situation.

We had two Macy's in our area. One was a dumping ground, the other had much better stock. But, I haven't shopped there in a very long time. I walked through the better one; I can't imagine what the dumpy one was like?

Macy's WAS a good store. We used to use our float holidays to shop White Flower Days. It's been awful for years.

Macys was very sad before it died, much like an old person.

In a liquadation it all goes back to the original selling price and gets discoutned from there. That is standard for any liquidation and it is not a secret that there are no bargains at this point. But people are panic buying because this is the last standing fabric store . I never considered that this would ever happen like this.

Fabirc stores have been one the pleasures of my life. But it has been along time since I was in one like that. Joanns wasnt one of them, but it was still all there was, All gone !

I found a JoAnn's that is ready to close and sellling out. Today I will probably fill two carts. How does one estimate a life of yarn needs?!!!

Oh I hate Macy's hate it with a passion. I refuse to step foot in the one at the mall because it's laid out like a maze with sh*t piled everywhere, I actually had an anxiety attack in there years ago because I felt like I couldn't get out; since then I won't go there. It was Marshall Field's before that, which was ok but nothing like the old Hudson's. Those of you in MI remember Hudson's...what a great store that was...

sh*t piled everywhere

This. This was the part that got me. It felt more like a thrift store than a department store.

Macy's here is/was (I have no idea if it's still open here or not) more like a JC Penney's. Nothing special at all. I think I might have gone in there twice over the years.

Also around here (OKC area), and I shop a lot in Dallas area, it seems the higher end stores have moved/are moving out of the indoor malls to very nice outdoor shopping areas. That may be different in areas where weather is very cold for long periods of time?

"Lifestyle centers" are now preferred over enclosed malls. They do feel like a Disney version of "Main Street" to me. I prefer to shop in actual towns. Places like Westport, CT or Portland, ME come to mind.

lifestyle centers..selectively attempt to co-opt the function and aesthetics of public spaces and classic main streets—repackaging them around conspicuous commodity consumption

the pseudo-historic architectural façades, the aesthetic veil of main streets, feels all too contrived. This skepticism comes despite lifestyle centers' attempts to extend the neoliberal work of enclosed shopping malls by taking on a superficial aura of public space. Attempts to produce a landscape that usurps its place image from traditional main streets fall flat as the selective re-packaging of desirable main street features like public parks, plazas, and sitting areas to form privatized, ‘make-believe main streets’

.... replacement of authentic places and authentic social interaction with contrived pseudo-places and pseudo-communities re-casted around the act of commodity consumption. Individuals are isolated from one another in that any real semblance of community is lost, replaced instead with a sense of commodity.

the banality-causing repetition of suburban-style shopping malls and lifestyle centers in the DFW metropolitan region is symptomatic of the spectacle's inherent inauthenticity.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264275122005947

"sh*t piled everywhere

This. This was the part that got me. It felt more like a thrift store than a department store."

I remember one time someone described Macy's as "Kohls with a marble arch". LOL! But yea, it's like a junky store (as my grandmother used to call the thrift stores).

" In a liquadation it all goes back to the original selling price and gets discoutned from there. That is standard for any liquidation "

I don't believe this is the case when the inventory dispositions are handled by a liquidator. Or, even by the principal.

Macy's used to be Jordan Marsh. It was great then.

In the PNW it used to be The Bon Marche; we never had Jordan Marsh. The store here has been abyssmal for a decade at least.

We have a fabric store that’s been here for years. It’s strictly sewing, quilting and embroidery products…nothing else. Just thinking Joann’s closing could affect their business quite a bit.

It is true that the liquidation company raises the prices to "normal" before starting markdowns.

Here's an interesting podcast that I listened to recently about the process:

https://freakonomics.com/podcast/going-out-of-business-sales/

You can read the transcript instead of listening if you want.

Whatever the sale prices are as liquidation proceeds, former employees will have to wait to collect unpaid wages. As for unsecured creditors, pennies on the dollar.

Someone will come it to fill the void. Let's hope it's a bunch of local places.

PS

Jordan Marsh was formed in 1841, Macy's was founded in 1858. Macy's bought them in the 90s.

If you think about how things have changed, it is amazing they all lasted so long!

PS Love Freakanomics, always interesting.

Nit: The liquidator expert goes on and on about how well he understands the nitty gritty of valuing inventory and then says " I can tell you what a red sweater in Linens ‘N Things recovers." Linens 'N Things sold exactly zero sweaters.

You can have something that you are going to sell for $50 and you’re like, all right, I want to give this a discount because it’s not moving, so I’m going to sell it for $40. Well, $50 marked down to 40, that’s not as exciting. So you can say, this was going to be $80, crossed that out. And then underneath write “now on sale for 40.” That is not an uncommon practice.

Hmm, pretty sure that would not fly in the states I know and I am surprised that is legal anywhere!

Talk to anyone from Chicago and they will tell you how much they hate Macy's because they bought our venerable Marshall Field & Co. *THAT* was a store and *THOSE* were the days. Give the lady what she wants....sigh.

I tried to support our local Joann's with the few things I might need there but often they didn't have what I was looking for. I will have to travel to somewhere less convenient now but overall, no great loss for me.

Yup. People of our generation all have department stores that they were bought up and we miss. Being a Philadelphian, it was Wanamaker's, Strawbridge & Clothier, and anyone ever hear of Franklin & Simon?

Here in the PNW, Frederick and Nelson was our venerated high end department store then purchased by Marshall Field, but remained F&N. Don’t think Macy’s took over any stores because they had all closed by then. The only remnant of F&N that remained were the beloved Frango mints which eventually appeared in Macy’s Not the same, not as good, but they had the brand.

I shop Macy's online now, even tho our local one is neatly and attractively stocked - it's mainly apparel, while I'm mainly buying home goods. I have much better luck finding virtually everything online nowadays - so many retailers have so much more available online than in store.

It's interesting to me seeing the biggest retailers come and go - also how much the retail world has changed over the years. While I do miss many aspects of that past, I'm just not as interested in shopping trips as a pastime as I was back in the day, and I guess I'm not alone.

Sadly, our Joanne's must have been one of the good ones. Nice staff who were sewers and crafters and could give advice about your projects. They would always ask what you were making, etc.

I kept one or two outfits from each of my girls baby days. I pulled one out the other day and the ribbon sash was not on it. I thought to myself "I'll run into Joann's and get some ribbon" . I got sad to realize that will not be possible soon and then what will I do? Like you are going to order a yard of ribbon online.

Then I also remembered that the dress was worn without the sash. What 1 year old needs a ribbon at the empire waistline?

FWIW, today I was at Macy's to return something and they had an ad for UNCF running on the giant screen on the wall behind the counter. I was glad to see that and said so to the nice young woman at the register. She told me their store mgr was really committed to Mission One 🙂

Makes me want to shop there more often.

That’s great to hear, carolb, especially these days.

Macys is still in business? I thought they went under. The one by me closed years ago

I am going to guess that UNCF may be United Nations Childrens Fund, maybe? right? Just a guess.

RN, you are right, you cant just order a small piece of ribbon online . Lots of little things are going to be a hassle to acquire.

Sewing has taken a big hit.

UNCF is United Negro College Fund. UNICEF is the UN Children's fund.

Macys is still open. They are still available online too.

I went in Joann's recently. Most fabric was 20% off, seasonal prints 40% off. However, the cottons were already $9.99, so the discount made relatively cheap cotton $8/yd. Still a lot. I .got some of the seasonal prints.

All patterns except for Vogue are $1.99.

The other discounts aren't as good right now as previous sale prices.

I need some interlock for a project I want to do, but not at inflated prices. I may go in to see if they have any patterns or thread I care about. I'm seeing 40% off some things in an ad, but someone I know posted a photo of the yarn aisle at the local store -- getting very picked over.

The current prices aren't inflated, but in the past oftentimes certain types of fabric would go on sale at 30 - 40% off.

Terriks, I don't pretend to know all the fabric prices, but a person in one of groups I belong to said she and her mom went in and a fabric she was familiar with had been marked up. She knew the list price and verified that there was a sticker placed over it with a higher price. But you are also right that most fabric would go on sale regularly with 30-40% off common and 50%-60% off also common for certain types of fabric, particularly the fleece and flannel.

I must be the only person in America who has never stepped one foot in a JoAnn's, even though a large one is a few miles away.

You're far from being the only one.