1. History
    Beginnings and Northeast Ohio Roots  Fabri-Centers of America Inc.  Jo-Ann Stores Inc.  Endorsements 

2. Store classes

3. Store locations

4. References

5. External links

Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. is an American specialty retailer of crafts and fabrics based in Hudson, Ohio. It operates the retail chains JOANN Fabrics and Crafts and Jo-Ann Etc. The headquarters of the company is located in the former General Motors Terex plant.

History

Beginnings and Northeast Ohio Roots

In 1943, German immigrants Hilda and Berthold Reich and their friends Sigmund and Mathilda Rohrbach opened a store selling imported cheese in Cleveland, Ohio. The store slowly grew. They needed a diversity of items, however. Subsequently, by 1960, fabric was added to its lineup of items, which sold so well that they decided to open a second store, which just sold clothing. With no money for additional inventory, the two families divided their capital into two chains to supply both stores. Eventually, they discontinued cheese sales altogether in 1967 and began operating under the name Cleveland Fabric Shop. After further expansion, in 1969, the name was changed to Jo-Ann Fabrics. The store's name was created by combining the names of the daughters from both families: Joan and Jacqueline Ann. The Rohrbach family also founded two other Cleveland-based businesses—Decorative Hardware Supply, Inc. and Factory Windows Direct, LLC, which still operates in Cleveland.^[2]

Fabri-Centers of America Inc.

In 1969, Jo-Ann Fabrics became a publicly held corporation traded on the American Stock Exchange under the name of Fabri-Centers of America, Inc. During the 1970s, Jo-Ann Fabrics opened stores in shopping malls. By the 1980s, they had left most mall strips and added a diversity of items, from crafts to floral types. In 1994, the company made its first acquisition with the purchase of Cloth World, a 342-store southern company. At the time of the acquisition, Fabri-Centers operated 655 stores.

Jo-Ann Stores Inc.

In 1998, Fabri-Centers acquired House of Fabrics, which also had operated as Fabricland, Fabric King, and So-Fro Fabrics. The company then changed its name to Jo-Ann Stores Inc., and all of its stores were renamed Jo-Ann Fabrics. Today, Jo-Ann Fabrics is a national retailer of fabrics, crafting, decorating, and sewing products.

Many employees who wear long sleeves roll their sleeves up because of the art related elements of the store duties.

On December 23, 2010, Jo-Ann Stores announced plans to sell out to private equity firm Leonard Green for $1.6 billion.^[3]

Endorsements

In September 2012, Jo-Ann Stores introduced Project Runway season six contestant Christopher Straub as the spokesperson for National Sewing Month^[4] (September). This endorsement included a contest, series of videos, and in-store promotions.

Store classes

Some Jo-Ann stores offer classes for customers. Subjects taught include knitting, crochet, quilting, sewing, scrapbooking, painting, jewelry-making, floral design, and foodcrafting.^[5]

Store locations

Jo-Ann Stores are located in 49 states. The only state without a Jo-Ann Store is Hawaii,^[6] although Jo-Ann Stores online will still ship there.

References

External links

• Jo-Ann Home Page
• Corporate Profile{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}—Jo-Ann Stores, Inc., Investor Relations

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