By Dietrich Knauth
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crafts retailer Joann Inc plans to close all of its stores in bankruptcy, after failing to find a buyer willing to preserve some of the 82-year-old company's 800 U.S. retail locations.
The company plans to sell all its assets to a buyer group that includes its lenders and a company called GA Group, it said on Sunday. Joann had hoped for a buyer that would keep the business alive, but the highest bidder plans to begin going-out-of-business sales at all its stores, it added.
Joann will seek approval of the sale at a Wednesday bankruptcy court hearing in Wilmington, Delaware.
The Ohio-based company, founded in 1943, said it had made every effort to stay in business. Joann will continue accepting customer gift cards until Feb. 28, and try to minimize disruption to employees, customers and vendors as it closes down its stores over the next several weeks.
Joann filed for bankruptcy in January for the second time in less than a year, mainly due to supply chain disruption. It had managed to keep all stores open during a 2024 bankruptcy restructuring that allowed it to eliminate $505 million in debt.
Suppliers have eliminated some products Joann relied on, while deliveries of yarn and sewing items became unpredictable, limiting its ability to serve as a one-stop-shop for craft and hobby projects, court documents showed.
In January, Joann had 800 stores with $538.3 million of inventory and 19,000 employees in 49 states, according to the filing. It had $615.7 million in debt, owes over $133 million to its suppliers, and spends $26 million per month on rent at its stores.
(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth; Editing by Richard Chang)