Joann, the nation’s largest craft and fabric retailer, plans to close more than half of its 850 stores, including 21 of 30 locations in Washington, as part an ongoing bankruptcy.
Hudson, Ohio-based Joann filed a motion Wednesday to shutter more than 500 stores under a “right-sizing” effort after years of declining sales and a controversy over its refusal to close locations during the pandemic.
“This was a very difficult decision to make, given the major impact we know it will have on our Team Members, our customers and all of the communities we serve,” the company said in an email statement Thursday.
Closures in Washington include stores in Seattle, Kent, Everett, Renton, Shoreline, Federal Way, Tukwila, Puyallup, Lynnwood, Tacoma, Arlington, Mount Vernon, Silverdale, Clarkston, Longview, Port Angeles, Walla Walla, Moses Lake, Spokane, Spokane Valley and East Wenatchee.
3 Macy’s in WA, including Redmond store, on closure list
On Thursday, the company didn’t say when closures would take effect or whether affected workers would be paid severance or offered other positions. Employees at several Seattle-area stores said Thursday they hadn’t been told when their stores were closing.
Not on the closure list are Joann stores in Bellevue, Bellingham, Port Orchard, Olympia and Kennewick, along with a second site in Spokane and two in Vancouver.
When Joann filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy Jan. 15 — its second bankruptcy in less than 12 months — the company said stores would remain open and employees would continue to get pay and benefits during the bankruptcy process.
The company said planned closures were selected after “a careful analysis of store performance and future strategic fit for the company.”
Joann was founded in 1943 as the Cleveland Fabric Shop by four German immigrants — Hilda and Berthold Reich, and Sigmund and Mathilda Rohrbach. In 1963, the company was renamed Jo-Ann Fabrics, a combination of the names of the two families’ daughters, Joan Zimmerman and Jacqueline Ann Rosskamm.
The name was changed to Fabri-Centers when the company went public in 1969, and then back to Jo-Ann Stores in 1998 and then to just Joann in 2018.
The company was involved in several controversies.
In 2017, CEO Jill Soltau was among several retail industry chiefs who tried to persuade President Donald Trump to remove tariffs on imported goods, which Soltau said would hurt sales.
During the pandemic, Joann created a stir by keeping many of its stores open, despite concerns around health risks for its elderly customers, according to media accounts. The company said it was staying open so customers could get fabric and other materials to make masks and personal protective equipment at home.
“The safety of our team members, customers, and community is our top priority,” read a message posted in May 2020 at a store in Spokane, according to The Spokesman-Review.
“That is why JOANN is staying open during this difficult time so that we can satisfy the needs of our customers forced to work from home.”
