Fabric and craft retailer Joann to go out of business, close all of its stores

Loss of a Physical Craft Resource

• Many lament losing a place to buy a single, specific item (e.g., one skein of yarn, one resistor) instead of bulk online packs they’ll never use.
• Joann is described as especially valuable for tactile selection of fabric and upholstery materials; people doubt fabric buying works well online because “feel” matters.
• In smaller cities, options may now be only Hobby Lobby or nothing; dense areas might still have boutique yarn shops, but those often focus on expensive “boutique” yarn rather than cheap basics.

Are Hobbies Dying or Just Changing?

• One line of discussion claims people are abandoning hands‑on hobbies for passive entertainment and doom‑scrolling.
• Others strongly push back: board and tabletop games are said to be more popular than ever, RC partly replaced by drones, Lego and miniature kits booming, and kids socializing in new ways.

Online vs. Local: Economics and Friction

• Shipping makes small orders (like a single resistor) expensive from specialist sites; Amazon’s subsidized logistics warp expectations.
• Several people cite alternative suppliers (DigiKey, Tayda, McMaster, Grainger) with better catalogs and non-counterfeit parts, but acknowledge shipping and minimum quantities as pain points.
• Inventory is highlighted as a killer cost: maintaining hundreds of fabric SKUs across hundreds of stores is expensive and risky if stock doesn’t move.

Private Equity, Debt, and Business Models

• One camp bluntly blames private equity: classic leveraged buyout, heavy debt, inventory cuts to look good on spreadsheets, then customer attrition when items aren’t in stock.
• Another camp argues Joann’s model was already strained by outsourced textiles, online competition, tariffs, and big-box real estate costs; PE is framed more as “buyer of last resort” than sole cause.
• Extended debate about whether craft chains truly need high growth vs. sustainable returns, and how leverage turns a flat business into a failure when growth bets don’t pan out.
• Some note contrasting outcomes: other hobby chains (Michaels, Hobby Lobby, local shops) are still operating.

Covid, Culture, and Store Experience

• One commenter recalls Joann resisting Covid closures and calls its demise fitting; another counters that during early mask shortages and lockdowns, fabric and crafts were effectively “essential.”
• Some feel Joann had already declined: dim stores, disorganized fabric, low-quality “junk hobby” focus, and staff unable to give expert advice.
• Broader concern surfaces that society is losing making and craft skills, with more emphasis on buying than learning how to do things.