All JOANN stores to close, pending approval of weekend auction

(NEXSTAR) — Less than two weeks after revealing it would close more than 500 stores, craft retailer JOANN says "going-out-of-business sales" will begin at all of its locations.

JOANN filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, marking the second such filing by the company in less than a year. As part of the bankruptcy process, JOANN confirmed earlier this month that it would close roughly 530 "underperforming" stores across more than 40 states "immediately."

At the time, the company warned that additional stores could close as the process carried on.

On Sunday, JOANN revealed that is, in fact, the case.

In an auction over the weekend, 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.

The partnership will "acquire substantially all of JOANN's assets," the company said in a statement released Sunday.

"In connection with this agreement, subject to Bankruptcy Court approval of the transaction, the winning bidders plan to begin winding down the Company's operations and conduct going-out-of-business sales at all store locations," the statement continued, adding that the retailer's leadership, board, advisors, and legal partners "made every possible effort to pursue a more favorable outcome that would keep the company in business."

Additional information posted on the JOANN's restructuring website said that should the court approve the deal, the company expects "to begin, or in some cases continue, going-out-of-business sales at all locations immediately." Customers will be able to shop those sales in store, online, and via the JOANN mobile app.

A sale hearing is currently scheduled for Wednesday.

Sales are expected to take several weeks, according to a customer FAQ page. If you have any gift cards from JOANN, they will only be accepted through the end of February, the company warns. Any special discounts, like those for teachers and Girl Scouts, have been paused. Returns will also not be accepted.

Additional details were not immediately available.

Shoppers saw a similar move from Big Lots, which is also working through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The discount retailer had closed hundreds of stores in waves before announcing in mid-December that it would begin "going out of business" sales at all locations.

Then, earlier this month, court documents suggested hundreds of Big Lots stores could remain open under Variety Wholesalers. The Big Lots website, however, still advertises that all stores are closing. Representatives for Big Lots and Gordon Brothers did not respond to Nexstar’s request for comment.

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