Joann stores closing for good, leaving some crafters wondering where they’ll go

SALT LAKE CITY — Joann Fabric and Craft only has a few days left before its locations all close shop. Many of the Utah locations are already boarded up, leaving some crafters worried about how they’ll be able to find yarn and fabrics.

Many of the locations across the Wasatch Front have closed for good despite Google showing they’re still open.

At least the Centerville and Draper locations will be open through next Wednesday, but it’s unclear how many of the other 10 locations along the Wasatch Front are still operating.

Joann offered a foot in the door for beginners

The company opened in 1943, and for many decades it’s been a place where crafters get fabrics for everyday apparel, quilting, costumes and cosplaying.

“There’s a lot of nostalgia with it. When I first started sewing as a kid, I remember that my mom would take me to Joann’s, and we could kind of sit and look through the pattern books and pick out fabric for the project.”

Delaney Dangerfield owns Salt Lake Sewciety, a local fabric store that focuses on apparel and classes. She started sewing when she was 9 or 10 years old.

In 2020, she opened her shop to share her love with her community.

Dangerfield’s shop has lots of summer textiles out right now. Walls are covered in fabrics of all colors, with a wide variety of designs like florals, stripes and checkers.

There’s a room full of notions, a wall of modern patterns and zippers in every color. Another room acts as a workspace full of tables and sewing machines where she teaches classes for both beginners and more advanced sewers.

Dangerfield said Joann filled a certain niche for beginners looking to get their feet in the door.

“Especially for beginners that are just starting out … you need to plan on making mistakes, and sometimes it is really nice to just have kind of a cheaper fabric to work with,” she said.

“So yeah, I think Joanne did fill a, like, very specific niche with kind of folks who just want to do, you know, the occasional craft project or sew a costume, or just wanted to make a practice pair of pants or something before using the nicer fabric. And I’m not sure who will take up that torch, because I know that, you know, it filled a niche that I can’t fill.”

So where did Joann go wrong?

The company first filed for bankruptcy last year. Less than a year later, the company filed for bankruptcy again. Many point fingers at the private equity firm that bought the company in 2011.

But things only started to go downhill for Joann in the last few years. During the pandemic, the company had a boom; it was a Fortune 1000 company for two years.

“If Joann’s had stronger sales, then they would have been able to repay that debt, and the company would still be thriving and Leonard Green would be happy, and the bank would be happy, and all the customers at Joann’s would all be happy,” said Ben Iverson a BYU finance professor with a specialty in financial distress and bankruptcy.

He said Joann took on the brunt of the debt during a leveraged buyout.

“So what’s happening here is the private equity firm, called Leonard Green, they come in, and they want to purchase the company. Now, Joann at the time didn’t have any debt at all. So if you want to buy the whole company, it requires a whole bunch of cash, because what you have to do is buy all the shares of that company from all the public shareholders.”

But private equity firms don’t have to commit all that cash.

Iverson said they can put in some of their own funds, get loans, “and the debt is put on the company that’s being acquired, so Joann owns that debt, not Leonard Green.”

Joann wasn’t able to pay back that debt. Hence, filing for bankruptcy twice.

“So the first time they go bankrupt, they go in and they’re trying … they’ll usually convert some of that debt to equity, and so the old equity holders, sort of, lose all their investment, they get wiped out, and the debt holders become the new equity holders in the firm.”

When a firm goes bankrupt once, Iverson said it can typically move into a healthier space and “go on their way.”

“When a firm goes bankrupt multiple times, what’s happening is that first restructuring, sort of like either didn’t do enough […] or it’s really not that healthy of a business, like, from an economic standpoint… It’s not like you can reduce the debt and then suddenly the firm is fine.”

Iverson said at that point they’ll try to restructure again or start to wind the company down.

Finding a new place to shop

Dangerfield said she’s already seen an increase in people seeking out alternatives.

“I think it’s kind of a bummer that it’s closing. It’s definitely a little bit bittersweet from the business side of things, because obviously, there have been some customers that have now come to my store, you know, just to check it out. So there’s been a little bit of increase in foot traffic.”

And there’s a chance some of the other big box stores like Hobby Lobby might step up to the challenge.

“Here in Salt Lake, I know that the Joann’s in Tooele folded, but Hobby Lobby stepped in and they’re building a store down there,” Renee Bloomquist said.

Bloomquist has been president of the Utah Quilt Guild for three years. She’s taught classes and private lessons in almost every craft.

She said she’s seen gaps in the quality from Joann for a long time and that there isn’t a strong sense of community that larger big box stores garner. She hopes something good comes out of the closure.

“One thing that I hope comes from this problem and this issue is I think there’s still a lot of people that have this passion that isn’t being filled, and I hope that we get a good chain or something that comes in and can kind of improve on that.”

‘Be a little brave for a minute’

And for people intimidated by going into a store that could cater more towards experienced crafters, Dangerfield says, “be a little brave for a minute.”

“I do want to say I work really hard to kind of cultivate a very welcoming culture. And I think a lot of people that come in get that feeling,” Dangerfield said.

Her shop is smaller and more intimate. She knows many of her customers and can greet them by name.

“I think that that can take a little getting used to when you’re so used to just a faceless corporation,” Dangerfield said. “But I also think it’s such a lovely shopping experience because, like, you’re walking into a shop where you know that I sew, for example, and so any question you have like, I’m totally excited to share with you my expertise and try and save you from making the mistakes that I’ve made.”

For those few Joann locations still open, they’re offering anywhere from 80-90% off their items. But once they’re closed, it’ll be on the crafters and creators of the world to make sure to keep the skill alive.

“Teach people the art. That’s how it’s going to grow. It’s going to grow by, you know, other people helping each other and teaching one another. And supporting each other when there is an opportunity to support stuff like that,” Bloomquist said.