As Joann stores finally close today, the internet grieves the beloved fabric, arts and crafts haven
Walgreens buyout could change the future of pharmacy care
Sellers or buyers housing market? Zillow's analysis for 250 metros
Spicy AI-generated TACO memes are taking over social media because 'Trump always chickens out'
While many of its 800 stores have already been shuttered since the company filed for bankruptcy (yet again) in January, the last 444 Joann stores (yes, you read that right) will finally shut their doors on Friday, May 30, according to Joann's website.
As Fast Company previously reported, the popular fabrics and crafts supplier announced earlier this year that it would close all its U.S. locations after it filed for bankruptcy in January 2025, marking the second time Joann declared bankruptcy in less than a year. It also laid off all 19,000 workers, including more than 15,000 part-time store associates.
Like many brick-and-mortar retailers that have filed for bankruptcy, including Party City and Forever 21, Joann faced declining sales and foot traffic since the COVID-19 pandemic, as more Americans shop online and curb spending due to higher prices, the soaring cost of living, inflation, and President Donald Trump's on-again, off-again tariff wars.
From TikTok and Reddit to Instagram and Facebook, customers have been taking to social media, posting tearfully and nostalgically about time they spent in the store. Some even shared 'last haul' videos of what they bought in the store's final days.
On Reddit, nostalgic customers and workers posted multiple threads saying 'goodbye' to individual stores. Some featured photos of the shuttered front door, like this one—which read: 'RIP Joann 1943-2025. Died due to private equity and corporate greed'—lamenting the end of 80 years in business. (More on the private equity aspect below.)
Meanwhile, on TikTok, one woman with tears in her eyes posted: 'Y'all I really can't believe but I just really had a moment, Joann is f—-ing closing. It's so unfortunate.'
By the 1990s, Joann (once known as Jo-Ann Fabrics) became the largest fabric and crafts retail superstore in the U.S., and was taken private in 2011 by Leonard Green & Partners, a private equity firm, for around $1.6 billion. Then, a decade later, it went public again as the COVID-19 pandemic fueled an uptick in crafting, Fast Company previously reported.
However, like for many brick-and-mortar retailers, profits began to decline after the pandemic, leaving the company with $616 million in reported debt obligations when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January.
Some critics and customers blame Joann's demise on private equity, which has increasingly been at the helm of large-scale business restructurings and closings, and been accused of stripping companies for parts instead of bringing them back to profitability. However, many experts have said it's not that simple, and Joann's failure is based on a mix of factors that go into the current economics of U.S. retail conditions.
A look at the numbers shows Joann last reported revenue of $539.80 million for its third quarter of fiscal year 2024 ending October 28, 2023, which was a decrease of 4.09%. That brought revenue in the last 12 months up to that date to $2.16 billion, down 4.20% year over year. In the fiscal year ending January 28, 2023, Joann had an annual revenue of $2.22 billion. Its last reported market cap was $3.20 million.
This post originally appeared at fastcompany.comSubscribe to get the Fast Company newsletter: http://fastcompany.com/newsletters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)'s CEO Has A Great Relationship With Trump, Says Jim Cramer
We recently published . NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. After bleeding close to $600 billion in market value in January amidst the DeepSeek selloff, Wall Street's AI chip darling, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is once again the most valuable company in the world. The firm has benefited from growing investor bullishness about the long-term prospects of AI. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)'s shares closed the week 1% higher after big tech's continued persistence to spend billions of dollars to buy AI chips. Cramer discussed the impact and the CEO's relationship with President Trump: 'All CapEx go up, it's all NVIDIA. . .it's really good for NVIDIA. But of course, NVIDIA, the President talking about breaking them up, we'll get to that later. It was an out of body comment. Previously, the CNBC TV host commented on NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)'s shares and parabolic moves: 'What is the solution to this? Look, in my forthcoming book, How to Make Money in Any Market, I have banished my antiparabola bias. I have a method I reveal of picking five stocks to go alongside an index fund with some money added each month. I state point blank that if you are in your 30s or older, you should own one speculative situation like an Oklo, okay, or a Joby. Just one. It could fail you after going parabolic. Moreover, if you're under 30, you can pick two speculative names out of five because you've got enough time to make back any potential losses. Photo by Javier Esteban on Unsplash Now, you may think I'm reckless for endorsing any of these even with caveats, but it's time to admit that for many years now, speculative stocks with great growth, they've worked. Oh, and let's not forget, they don't have to stay speculative. NVIDIA stock has had many parabolic moves, including the one that started in April. To keep yourself out of these runs because of a principle that stopped working ages ago, that's to be blind to change, and I don't like it. I don't want to be that way.' While we acknowledge the potential of NVDA as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
I Asked ChatGPT What Would Happen If Billionaires Paid Taxes at the Same Rate as the Upper Middle Class
There are many questions that don't have simple answers, either because they're too complex or they're hypothetical. One such question is what it might mean for billionaires to pay taxes at the same rate as the upper middle class, whose income starts, on average, at around $168,000, depending on where you live. Find Out: Read Next: ChatGPT may not be an oracle, but it can analyze information and offer trends and patterns, so I asked it what would happen if billionaires were required to pay anywhere near as much as the upper middle class. Here's what it said. A Fatter Government Larder For starters, ChatGPT said that if billionaires paid taxes like the upper middle class, the government would bring in a lot more money — potentially hundreds of billions of dollars more every year. 'That's because most billionaires don't make their money from salaries like upper-middle-class workers do. Instead, they grow their wealth through investments–stocks, real estate, and businesses–which are often taxed at much lower rates or not taxed at all until the assets are sold,' ChatGPT told me. Billionaire income is largely derived from capital appreciation, not wages. In other words, they make money on their money through interest. And as of yet, the U.S. tax code doesn't tax 'unrealized capital gains' so until you sell your assets, you could amass millions in appreciation and not pay a dime on it, ChatGPT shared. Learn More: What Do Billionaires Pay in Taxes? Right now, many billionaires pay an effective tax rate of around 8% or less, thanks to loopholes and tax strategies. Meanwhile, upper-middle-class households earning, say, $250,000 might pay around 20% to 24% of their income in taxes. (Keep in mind that the government doesn't apply one tax bracket to all income. You pay tax in layers, according to the IRS. As your income goes up, the tax rate on the next layer of income is higher. So you pay 12% on the first $47,150, then 22% on $47,151 to $100,525 and so on). So, if billionaires were taxed at the same rate as those upper-middle-class wage earners, 'it would level the playing field–and raise a ton of revenue that could be used for things like infrastructure, education or healthcare,' ChatGPT said. The Impact on Wealth Equality I wondered if taxing billionaires could have any kind of impact on wealth equality, as well. While it wouldn't put more money in other people's pockets, 'it could increase trust in the tax system, showing that the wealthiest aren't playing by a different set of rules,' ChatGPT said. It would also help curb 'the accumulation of dynastic wealth,' where the richest families essentially hoard wealth for generations without contributing proportionally to the system. But it's not a magic bullet. 'Wealth inequality is rooted in more than just taxes–wages, education access, housing costs, and corporate ownership all play a role,' ChatGPT said. Billionaires paying taxes doesn't stop them from being billionaires, either, it pointed out. Taxing Billionaires Is Not That Simple While in theory billionaires paying higher taxes 'would shift a much bigger share of the tax burden onto the very wealthy,' ChatGPT wrote, billionaires are not as liquid as they may seem. 'A lot of billionaire wealth is tied up in things like stocks they don't sell, so taxing that would require big changes to how the tax code works.' Also, billionaires are good at finding loopholes and account strategies — it might be hard to enforce. What's a Good Middle Ground? We don't live in a black and white world, however. There's got to be a middle ground, so I asked ChatGPT if there is a way to tax billionaires more, even if it's not quite how the upper middle class are taxed. A likely compromise would come from a policy decision, which isn't likely to be forthcoming anytime soon. President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill only offered more tax breaks to the wealthiest. However, policy proposals that have been floated, include: A minimum tax on billionaires where they might pay around 20% of their overall income Limiting deductions and closing tax loopholes that allow them to significantly reduce taxable income Tax unrealized gains (those assets that have only earned but not yet been sold), gradually. ChatGPT agreed that billionaires could pay more than they currently do, even if they don't pay exactly what upper-middle-class workers pay in percentage terms. 'The key is to design policies that are fair, enforceable, and politically feasible.' I asked how realistic such policy proposals are, and ChatGPT told me what I already knew: They're 'moderately realistic' but only with the 'right political alignment.' More From GOBankingRates 9 Downsizing Tips for the Middle Class To Save on Monthly Expenses This article originally appeared on I Asked ChatGPT What Would Happen If Billionaires Paid Taxes at the Same Rate as the Upper Middle Class Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Inicia sesión para acceder a tu portafolio Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Se produjo un error al recuperar la información Se produjo un error al recuperar la información
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Union Pacific Corporation (UNP): Jim Cramer Reveals How Its Merger Could Succeed
We recently published . Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) is one of the largest railroad companies in America. The stock has been a central part of Cramer's morning show after co-host David Faber became the first to speculate that the railroad industry could experience mergers due to the business environment in the Trump administration. During this appearance, Faber discussed reports about Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) and Norfolk Southern in the advanced stages of a business competition. Faber shared that any deal would spur competitors to take similar action. As for Cramer, here's what he said: '[On talks of a merger] 5 year pledge to not raise prices, deal gets done.' Pixabay/Public Domain Cramer previously discussed railroad giant CSX merging with Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP): 'CSX is going to merge with Union Pacific, am I off the rails? I am in charge of the rails. It's just the way, the people refuse to believe that this is a different government.' While we acknowledge the potential of UNP as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
