End of an Era: All Louisiana Locations of JOANN’s Will Close

Another major retailer has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than a month. That means all Louisiana locations and the others across the United States will close.

The original plan was to close 530 of its 800 locations, including some Louisiana locations, which was announced a few weeks ago. Well, now the business's landscape is that it will close all of its locations.

It's the end of an era for people who would shop at this fabric and arts and crafts store. Joann Fabrics opened in 1943. If you have a gift card to Joann, you must spend it by Friday, February 28, as that is the last day it will be accepted.

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Why is JOANN's Fabric Store Closing All Locations?

According to the Hill, JOANN's fabric store was set to close more than 500 stores because it says they are underperforming. With all the stores closing, 19,000 people will be looking for jobs.

The Hill reports that this is the end for the store chain. According to the Hill,

In an auction over the weekend (Sunday, February 23), GA Joann Retail Partnership was crowned the winning bidder for the company. Involved are financial services company GA Group and term lenders for JOANN, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. The group has worked with JOANN in the past.

During their first bankruptcy filing, they could reorganize and then emerge as a private company, and all of their stores stayed open then. Now, we know that all locations of the fabric and craft stores will be closing.

Less than two weeks ago, the company issued the following statement about the closures and the business going forward:

As part of the ongoing Chapter 11 process and our efforts to maximize the value of the business, JOANN has filed a motion seeking court authority to begin closing approximately 500 stores across the nation. 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 it did everything possible to prevent the stores from being shuttered, but its strategy was not economically sound.

The following communities in Louisiana will see the closing of their local JOANN stores:

• Alexandria - 1804 Macarthur Blvd.
• Gretna - 91 Westbank Expressway
• Lafayette - 3559 Ambassador Caffery
• Metairie - 725 Veteran Blvd.
• Shreveport - 6634 Youree Drive
• Slidell - 105 Northshore Blvd.

The transaction will have to be approved by a bankruptcy court, but "Going Out Business" sales will occur at all locations. You can visit Joann restructuring for more information.

The fabric store has been looking for a buyer since the beginning of the bankruptcy process, and hundreds of stores were identified as not performing up to the level that was of interest to the potential buyer.

The statement from the company went on to say

A careful analysis of store performance and future strategic fit for the Company determined which stores should remain operating as usual at this time. Right-sizing our store footprint is a critical part of our efforts to ensure the best path forward for JOANN.

They are not offering all of the special discounts they used to offer at this time, and they are not accepting returns.