Business as usual for Joann Fabric despite Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing
CONCORD, CA (Mar. 19, 2024) — Customers to the Joann Fabric Concord location will not see anything different in light of the big box retailer beginning Chapter 11 proceedings that will take it private by late April.
Store management for the Joann Fabric, which anchors one end of the multi block Park & Shop strip mall along Willow Pass Road strip, acknowledged foot traffic for that location is “pretty active.”
It is one of more than 800 stores across the U.S., of which 95 percent are enjoying positive cash flow, that remains open and active.
The company expressed confidence that the agreement with financial and industry stakeholders supporting the restructuring will provide it with the financial resources and flexibility necessary to deliver best-in-class product assortments and enhance the customer experience wherever they are shopping whether it be in store, through its Joann.com website or the Joann mobile app.
No disruptions
Officials maintain no disruptions to customers using their JOANN Smiles at checkout in-store or online to earn and redeem rewards, redeeming of gift cards, or receiving information about promotions both in-store and online will occur as the company undergoes restructuring to reduce funded debt on its balance sheet by approximately $505 million.
All orders are continuing to be fulfilled and shipped as usual, and existing return policies remain in place too.
The March 18 announcement comes on the heels of company’s efforts over the past several months to make changes through the execution of its “Focus, Simplify and Grow cost reduction initiative.”
Should any future store closures take place, how well a particular location is performing will dictate that decision.
The business-as-usual sentiment noted by the company was further reinforced by its “first day” bankruptcy court motions to enable it to continue uninterrupted operations during the financial restructuring, including, among others, to continue paying wages and providing benefits to employees and to pay trade vendors and other general unsecured obligations in full in the ordinary course of business.
“With the strong support of our financial stakeholders, we expect to complete this process on an expedited basis – as early as late April 2024,” Joann officials said.
David Scholz
David Scholz is back in journalism as a freelance writer and photographer after nearly two decades in education. Prior to moving into teaching in 2000, he worked as a full-time journalist since 1988 for rural community and small daily newspapers in Central Ohio and Northern Nevada, and later in California with The Business Journal in Fresno and dailies in the Bay Area, including The Oakland Tribune and The San Francisco Chronicle. More recently Scholz also worked in an editing, writing, and page layout role with the Rossmoor News.