Problem is that a private equity company owns joann's. They only care about maximizing profits. Cutting staff to bare bones is happening across the chain. Pushing product but not carrying product that we want and need. The private equity firm has destroyed joann's and has no interest in changing and going back to the basics. GREED essentially has ended Joann's

The main problem I noticed when I went there is the fabric choices. I mean, there is a tiny section about 3 feet wide, maybe 3 or 4 fabrics only, of denim. No wool. No herringbone patterns. No pinstripes. Nothing that looks or feels like quality. Lots of quilting stuff. I just wish they had better fabrics. All the notions and threads are fine. Just the fabrics. But the people that work there were really nice so it's not the people.

Thank you. I am sad

I think is the online competition

Smiles is gone. Employees know nothing as management is tight-lipped & didn't even tell them about the bankruptcy. Shoplifting is a huge problem, they''re losing a lot of money because of this. Corporate management should take a pay cut to help. Ultimately, I pray the company is saved.🙏

I quit shopping Joann when they offered a coupon for 60% off one regular-priced item, but then they put nearly everthing on sale for 15% so you couldn't use the coupon at all.

Update! I have this machine now and I love it! It is so quiet, and goes through multiple layers of denim like butter! I think it's gorgeous as well, but absolutely love the functionality of it. It has a built-in handle at the top and it is much lighter overall than my vintage machines so lifting/transporting this is an absolute breeze. I'm so happy I took a chance on this machine. Would definitely recommend it!

Jo-Ann has been managed by idiots for at least ten years - they have no concept of what their actual customers want to buy. Prime example: in our Houston stores, there are three long full rows of FLEECE with hundreds of bolts and other two full rows of flannel, while there is almost no garment weight fabrics and less than a dozen bolts of low-quality linen blends. The quality of the cotton fabric gets worse every year and that row visibly shrinks every month. For sales, they bring in stacks of bolts of even cheaper grade Chinese cotton that they sell cheap... but will fall apart after 2-3 washes. Hancock, before it disappeared, had much better fabric options and quality! Not to mention half of the entire store now is craft related insanely overpriced Chinese junk that ought to be sold by Michaels instead... and is always empty of customers. /lately, I've been forced to do all my fabric buying from my local indie quilting shop

This stinks, if they leave north idaho you'd have to go to Spokane Valley to shop Quilting Bee or Hobby Lobby ....so many fabric stores are closed.

I can only speak from seeing my Joann’s but I always see mine busy and full of young and old people. But the store doesn’t have a lot of employees and because of that the Joann’s is very messy and not organized. I do believe the 2nd bankruptcy is because of the management team in Joann’s higher uppers. And I’m not too happy that they have more home good items now. I also did notice last week that my Joann’s because of the sales going on was out of a lot of their normal stocked items. Like all of the licensed fabric was out.

I went in to our Joann's yesterday, February 3, and the cashier there told me that the district manager was there that morning and said they had a couple of bidders that wanted to buy the company. Ours has some new fabric coming in and everything seems like usual. I hope that it is.😮

I just purchased a few courses for $0.99. I do have 5 other courses that were purchased for $5.99, but at $0.99, I took the bait. I will say, the website stated multiple times through the purchase process that I was signing up for "Trail" membership when purchasing at $0.99, and would be charged ~$135 for the annual membership if not canceled within 30 days. It did say I could cancel within the 30 days at no cost. I purchased the courses, then looked online and saw all these scary reviews, so I went to cancel the membership and I found it quite easy (crossing my fingers, based on some of these comments, that it will remain canceled). To cancel your membership: Domestika > click on your profile picture > Domestika Plus > Click the "Cancel Subscription". Boom, done. Now on my page I see: You are currently on a free trial of Domestika Plus which began on February 4, 2025. Your free trial ends on: March 6, 2025 23:59 Your subscription was cancelled by you on February 4, 2025 and will not be renewed. Changed your mind? (Button: "Reactivate Renewal") If it remains as is, I don't think it's too bad. Best of luck to others, and keeping my fingers crossed that they don't charge me as they have others.

I live in LA and we have 2 large, nice fully stocked JAs that i frequent very often. Love going in there and walking around for inspo and ideas. With their cupons i always come away with a useful notion or cut of fabric. I love them! Hope they dont close! Part of it is the experience! We also just lost our LQS candies quiltworks when she passed away. Too many brick and mortars going down. For those that like to feel and see in person, this is very sad and a big loss.

I work at Joann part time, 1 -2 afternoons a week cutting fabric. Joann came out with a CHEAP CRAPPOLA line called Happy Value. NOBODY wants it, not even crafters who don't sew. The HAPPY VALUE line of trinkets to be sold near the register is so bad!!!!! WORSE THAN CHEAP- however that is possible, Happy Value managed it. Then they came out with their own store brand 'Fabany'. HUGE mistake - people like the brands they know, those that have been around forever. They have an iron on interfacing that is trying to be Pellon SF101 but Fabany calls it 'iron on interfacing'. The Fabany brand of Heat n Bond Lite is TRASH. They try to be everything to everybody - NEVER WORKS OUT.

You can call a pig a horse, but it's not, quilting fabric stores offer everything great, it's sad to not be able to have mediocre for those who love it!

Thanks for keeping us updated on this whole sad story. I've been a customer of Joann's since I was a young teenager (about 40 years) and even worked there when I was younger. I've spent many happy moments over the years, browsing fabric, patterns, notions, and craft supplies. I've watched several Joann's locations in my area close one by one over the past couple of decades, and now there are only two, which, I presume will be gone before long. I can't imagine not having them anymore, and my heart breaks for all the employees who will lose their jobs. You asked our opinion about what some of the factors are for their decline. I'm no expert, but I'd have to say one of things I never understood was when Joann's started trying to sell so much decor. It was always a craft & fabric store back in the day, but over time, they started selling sooo much decor, and while it was nice, it was severely overpriced. Even on sale at 50% off, it was way more than I would ever pay. Plus, they never seemed to have the latest fabric designs. I'd see these cute fabrics online but never saw any of the latest stuff in Joann's. I'd end up going to Hobby Lobby instead. Sometimes, it's better to stick to what you know, and what your customers want, and I think someone in the company forgot that. Anyway, just my opinion.

Fabric quality has been poor for a very long time. You can't buy garment fabrics hardly at all. Fleece seems to be their msinstay. That and very very poor quality flannels.

The Joann by me is sad, they had 2 girls running the entire store and when I asked her what was going on she had no idea. She was a new hire and already moved to the shift manager. There were still Halloween items that weren't marked down and boxes everywhere of stock that never made it on the floor. :( This is sad, I was hoping someone else would buy and revive the locations.

FYI: As of 2/3/25, yesterday there’s been an update for the JoAnn’s App. On this date I was not able to use a JoAnn’s-Gift-Card for online purchase. I was only able to use a charge card.

I live near Myrtle Beach and we just got our Joann about 2 years ago. Big , beautiful place, huge workspace. For me it’s taxing small business income drop to $600, caused me to rethink selling. Can’t support paying payroll taxes 15% at that low of reporting. Can’t sell product plus taxes, people won’t buy. I’m not a business, just crafting. Acrylic yarn priced higher than natural fibers, didn’t make sense. Disposable income doesn’t exist for most Americans these days.

I was disappointed to find that they do not stock any wool or silk fabric or yarn. Even their linen fabric is extremely small. They seem to stock only cotton for quilting.

Sad! Do hope something can be worked out! Heartbreaking! 💔😢💔

I think that a lot of it was just getting into too much home decor. I didn't see a lot of people buying that stuff at our Joann's. Another thing was customer service was kinda bad at ours too. I got told an item was down an isle one time I couldn't find it. I asked again about it and then was told they didn't carry it! I wasted about 10 minutes looking for something that they didn't carry at all. Also, not enough staffing they really needed more people at the cut bar and register. I was in the store on Saturday, February 1 and I bought some stitch markers... they weren't taking debt you had to push the green button and make your purchase go through as a credit. I've never had that happen before. The pattern area looks really bad and unkept. Our Joann's was a Cloth World long ago. Cloth World had lots of fabric and no decor and fairly good prices but, that was in the 70's and 80's. Then Joann's bought it and I noticed that the store became more "upscale" and prices became higher. I think they were trying to get more higher income women to come in and shop. I think Joann's kind of started to float away from the traditional fabric store and it worked for awhile but they probably should have changed with the times. Most of the customers I see in our store are buying fabric, yarn and jewelry charms. That's just a small amount of inventory compared to what people don't buy which is inventory not selling and making money.I just hate that this is happening. I lost my mother 4 years ago and I got back into my sewing and crochet as a way to relax and Joann's was kind a fun and relaxing place for me to and escape. Just terrible, terrible news!💔😢 💔

My granddaughter told me she went to the near me to get me a gift card for my birthday. They told her, we aren’t doing gift cards anymore. If that’s not the writing on the wall I don’t know what is.

It would be a shame to see Joann’s go away, it’s one of many crafter go to places to shop. Micheal’s and Hobby lobby don’t offer the same services to crafters.

I think it is the economy. People don’t have extra money to spend. Also, to some extent, there is a downturn in interest for sewing and fiber arts by younger people.

I feel like all the home decor/seasonal stuff was a bad idea. It takes up so much space and then once the season is over any left over is lost money. I miss having more fabrics to go through.

I think it’s 1.) Trying to sell decor and 2.) Allowing the stores to be a bit junky.

Our Joann’s has already close. The prices they charged for the close out were ridiculous! They weren’t sales at all. I went to a competitor and got what I needed for a lot less! And I wasn’t the only one who noticed that the closeout prices were ridiculous…plus what you add up in your head wasn’t even close to what the rang up at the register. No sympathy from me on Joann’s!

I love Joanns. They have been my go to store for years and my therapy.

What bothers me is there are lots of VERY wealthy families that have people who are “closet crafters”. some who even buy from Joann’s but they just sit and do nothing. They could buy it and take it back to what it was, a sewing craft store. I’m sending your video to my 3rd cousin who is one of these “closet crafters” she just bought a furniture company and this would be a better fit for her. Thanks for this video!!!

Decades ago Joanns had really nice quilting BOM programs, kits for newbies wanting to try new crafts,high quality sewing fabric, helpful employees, classes, etc. Even before the pandemic, there was a drastic shift. It was obvious the people running the company didn’t know or care about the crafting/sewing community at all. They didn’t know their customer and therefore the quality plummeted. Many stores I went to had unknowledgeable and overworked staff. This is not an insult about the employees personally. This was due to poor management. I think the company will eventually go under but it will leave a void in the North American market. Maybe someone will eventually be able to bring fabric manufacturing back to the USA. Sewists want to be able to touch the fabrics before purchasing. Until quality is established, online purchasing is not ideal.

Fantastic reporting on Joann and retail in general!

Northern Nevada - went last week and the worker told someone about them probably closing. I think a lot of people got into crafts & sewing during the pandemic, but don't have the time. There are also so many competitors - in person and online. It is easy to to compare prices and items now too

Good -bye JoAnn’s ….I quit shopping there too much junk. I don’t think it is worth saving….

This is sad. The fact that no other company has come forward to put a higher bid on Joann’s shows that there are no qualified buyers who believe Joann has any value. I think this is the end. So far I have not heard of any interested bidders. Not looking good.

After reading all the comments, and being a seamstress and Joann fabric shopper myself for over 50 years, I’ve decided to chime in on the question “how did this happen?” Today’s sewing community both young and seasoned, are very savvy consumers with a wealth of knowledge that is, unfortunately, no longer taught in the U.S. public school system. Years ago, I could walk into my local Joann with my paper pattern in hand (or one from the drawers) and have a plethora of beautiful, quality fabrics from which to choose from as well as a variety of stylish zippers, gorgeous buttons, and threads of every type and color from which I could make a quality, couture garment to be proud to wear. I made beautiful wool suits for both men and women knowing the fabric was of very good quality. Often, I would get to know my Joann store managers as they came and went; they were my lifeline if I needed more fabric than they had in their store. Then, almost overnight, those fabrics began to disappear and were replaced by “Joann Fabrics” or “Exclusive Joann Fabric” on the selvedge branding strips!?!? The fabric was of a much lesser quality (much, much lesser quality) and occasionally contained flaws either in the printing process or weaving process. The fabric always came from China. Now, to this day I purchase fabrics manufactured in China, Japan, and SouthEastern Asia and they are second to none in quality and price. The downside is that I have to wait for my package of fabrics to arrive and, like every sewist on the planet, I have to just hope the color is remotely close to what I am seeing on my iPad screen. To put people in top echelon position of a retail company that have NO KNOWLEDGE OF the products they sell or how they are used, to me is asinine and corporate suicidal. There was no reason why Joann’s could not have survived, no thrived, during COVID. On-line fabric stores kicked their behinds. I live in a community of approximately 362,000 in Central Illinois with one Joann store, 8 Dollar Tree stores, 1 Michael’s store, 1 Hobby Lobby store, 1 At Home store, 1 Home Goods Store, and 1 Kirkland store. We, like communities all across the country, do NOT need another home decor/craft store. Joann listen to your customers: Go back to the basics of selling quality fabrics, notions, and sewing machines and yarns. Period. And bring in people who are required to manage a store for at least a year before being placed in executive, decision-making positions. Bring in people who actually have a WORKING KNOWLEDGE of garment construction or handbag construction or at least working with fabric. BRING BACK THE JOANN CLASSROOMS. I’m exhausted….I need some time in my sewing studio to calm down….🧵 🪡 😳

So customers are just suppose to pretend they don’t care if their store is closing and shop there and not talk to the employees about the big elephant in the room? This affects customers too! Especially people like me who depend on Joann’s for supplies for the things I make to sell. I’ve never been disrespectful to a Joann employee; I love Joann, but I will say this - I have never seen so much employee turnover and gripping from employees in all my life. Just look at online forums. Joann employees constantly putting down customers. I think the downfall is a combination of things. Poor business model, Corporate greed. Corporate being completely out of touch as to what craters really want (we don’t want toys from Joann’s for instance). The quality has gone down while prices have increased.The stores have been messy. My husband, who is a slob, said to me one time “why do you shop at Joann - it looks so dirty and junky. Hobby Lobby looks so fresh and everything is so neat” so there’s a lot of things Joann was not on top of.

All of this destruction of businesses is from poor management of our USA economy. I politely call it orchestrated destruction. This is the fallout.

I think this is a sign of things to come for a while. We have many companies where upper managements take as much as they can, make poor decisions, and leave to destroy the next company. There are no repercussions for them. It’s basically a cash grab and run. Look at Disney. That CEO has been getting millions in bonuses and the stock is tanked and rides are broken.

The 2 Joann’s near me are fully stocked and look like business as usual ( a few less employees). But this weekend I went out of town. That Joann’s was a mess. Boxes all over the floor. A few empty aisles. Then I saw a sign in the back of this store which read: store wide clearance. 😢

more other store too ty

the price too high if it was decent price, lotta people would shop they could afford it

A major reason for the downfall is not only are they understaffed ... but like many companies, the employes in the stores and warehouses aren't saavy about crafts or the items the store sells. On so many occasions I've gotten several cuts of fabric from the warehouse when I had ordered a continuous cut, or yarn from different dye lots. The warehouses don't really seem to care, and it got really tedious talking to customer service every time something went wrong. There used to be a time when sales associates in retail knew extensively about the products that were being sold so they could actually help customers. Now, the customer is expected to know everything and sales associates aren't expected to know anything for the job.

I just hope if Joanns goes away that someone will come in and fill that void. Fabric is something that is very difficult to buy online. You gotta touch and feel it 😢

Every year at the end of the financial year end, Leonard Green (the person, not the LLC) would take 20% of profit before EBITDA (Expenses Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Ammortization). Thats A LOT of cash. LGP, LLC has owned a lot of businesses and drives them into the ground and sells them. Additionally, after Covid, the upper management at Joann's gave themselves huge bonuses (for working from home or golf course). Saving no money for the company in leaner times. Once everybody returned to work, Joann's was SOL.

100 percent bad C level management feel bad for the workers…

The downfall: for pete's sake - get rid of the FLEECE! Great reporting! I'm hoping for a last-minute bailout by someone.

So many coupons. So many sales. So many emails. I thought about driving to a JoAnn today because of their 60% coupon, on a regularly priced item. But, common sense prevailed. What I want will probably already be on sale so the 60% is irrelevant. And, if I were to find something I don't have but need at regular price, I would only purchase that item so the 60% wouldn't be applied to the cheapest item in the basket. Not my first rodeo with JoAnn sales and coupons.

I still work for JoAnn and i do shop witg my discount a lot. There product got really bad during Covid but have actually gotten 1000% better, but they already lost there customer due to the low quality during covid. The second part is cutting the house that the store can use to get the over load of product out. So instead of it being able to sell its in boxes on the floor and people cant buy it. Because i guess that more product was better then paying us at the store...... its a mess and anyone at the store level can tell you the problems. But the people above dont have any idea how to run a retail store.