JOANN Inc., the Hudson-based crafting chain founded in 1949 with locations across the country, announced Monday that it will be closing all of its stores and holding going out-of-business sales. The company, which was in bankruptcy protection for the second time in a year, was bought at auction on Saturday.
GA Group along with the Prepetition Loan Agent had the winning bid for substantially all of JOANN's assets, according to a press release at joannrestructuring.com. The group plans to begin winding down operations. It will continue going-out-of-business sales at some 500 stores that JOANN had previously announced were closing and immediately begin sales at all remaining stores.
JOANN announced in January it was entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, allowing it to reorganize. At the time, JOANN Interim Chief Executive Officer Michael Prendergast said the board and management team was working to manage costs.
“However, the last several years have presented significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment, which, coupled with our current financial position and constrained inventory levels, forced us to take this step," he said.
Prendergast said the company hoped to find a path that would allow JOANN to continue operating.
The company previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2024. In its filing, JOANN said it planned to cut its funded debt by $505 million but did not expect vendors, landlords or its customers to experience any disruptions. Joann became a publicly traded company in March 2021, saying in a SEC filing the COVID-19 pandemic had spurred growth in the crafting industry. The company was taken private with the 2024 bankruptcy filing.
There are about 850 JOANN stores across the country. More than 1,100 layoffs are planned for Ohio, mostly at the headquarters in Hudson.
