Jo-Ann Stores

Not to be confused with Joanne's Bed and Back.
Jo-Ann Stores Inc.
Private
Industry Crafts and Fabrics
Founded Cleveland, Ohio (1943)
Headquarters Hudson, Ohio, U.S.
Number of locations
 750+[1]
Key people
 James Kerr, Interim Chief Executive Officer
Owner Leonard Green & Partners
Website www.joann.com
A typical Jo-Ann store, in Henderson, Nevada
Jo-Ann store on US 21 in Saugus, Massachusetts

Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. is a specialty retailer of crafts and fabrics based in Hudson, Ohio. It operates the retail chains Jo-Ann Fabrics and Jo-Ann Etc. The headquarters of the company is located in the former General Motors Terex plant.

History

Beginnings and Northeast Ohio Roots

In 1943, German immigrants Hilda and Berthold Reich and their friends Sigmund and Mathilda Rohrbach opened an imported cheese store in Cleveland. Fabric was added, which sold so well that they decided to open a second store. With no money for additional inventory, they divided full bolts into two to supply both stores. Eventually, they discontinued cheese sales and began operating under the name Cleveland Fabric Shop. With further expansion in 1969, the name was changed to Jo-Ann Fabrics. The Rohrbach family also founded two other Cleveland-based businesses - Decorative Hardware Supply, Inc. and Factory Windows Direct, LLC, which still operates in Cleveland and is partially owned by the Rohrbach's great-grandson, David Wittenberg.[2]

Fabri-Centers of America Inc.

In 1969, Jo-Ann Fabrics became a publicly held corporation traded on the American Stock Exchange under the name of Fabri-Centers of America, Inc. During the 1970s, Jo-Ann Fabrics opened stores in shopping malls; by the 1980s, they had left most malls and added crafts and floral. In 1994, the company made its first acquisition with the purchase of Cloth World, a 342-store southern company; at the time of the acquisition, Fabri-Centers operated 655 stores.

Jo-Ann Stores Inc.

In 1998, Fabri-Centers acquired House of Fabrics, which also operated as Fabricland, Fabric King, and So-Fro Fabrics. The company also changed its name to Jo-Ann Stores Inc., and all of its stores were renamed Jo-Ann Fabrics. Today, Jo-Ann Fabrics is a leading national specialty retailer of crafting, decorating and sewing products.

On December 23, 2010, Jo-Ann Stores announced plans to sell out to private equity firm Leonard Green for $1.6 billion.[3]

Endorsements

In September 2012, Jo-Ann Stores introduced Project Runway season six contestant Christopher Straub as the spokesperson for National Sewing Month[4] (September). This endorsement included a contest, series of videos, and in-store promotions.

Store classes

Some Jo-Ann stores offer classes in many areas of crafting. These include knitting, crochet, quilting, sewing, scrapbooking, painting, jewelry-making, floral design, and foodcrafting.[5]

Store locations

Jo-Ann Stores are now located in 49 states. The only state without a Jo-Ann Store is Hawaii,[6] although Jo-Ann Stores online will still ship there.

References

  1. ↑ Five New Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores Celebrate Grand Openings
  2. ↑ http://www.factorywindowsdirect.net
  3. ↑ Carter, Adrienne; Cane, Jeffrey (23 December 2011). "Leonard Green Offers $1.6 Billion for Jo-Ann Stores". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  4. ↑ Jo-Ann Stores and Christopher Straub National Sewing Month
  5. ↑ "Store Events: Customer Service". Joann.com. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  6. ↑ http://askville.amazon.com/joann-fabrics-stores/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=15250177

External links