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Jo-Ann Stores crafts big-box concept

By Edmund Mander

When it comes to the creative use of space, it is hard to beat Jo-Ann etc. After all, these giant 42,000-square-foot craft and fabric stores are all about creativity. Not only do they supply picture frames, curtain fabrics, sewing materials and a host of other ingredients for home decorators and craft hobbyists, they also create their own customers: Go into a Jo-Ann etc store, and you might find a group of customers in one corner attending a class on pottery glazing, while another cluster might be learning how to frame pictures. Each store holds classes for about 4,000 people each year, on everything from flower arrangement to the construction of photo albums.

Jo-Ann etc features a product mix that caters to home decorators as well as arts and crafts hobbyists.

The name, which many mistakenly pronounce "etcetera," actually stands for "experience the creativity," and therefore the letters should be pronounced separately.

"The intent was clearly to get across the fact that we are a creative destination," explained David Bolen, executive vice president for business development.

This is the latest retailing concept to come out of Jo-Ann Stores, the Hudson, Ohio-based company that, until September, was called Fabri-Centers of America. Jo-Ann Stores operates more than 1,000 stores all over the country, primarily under the names of Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts and Jo-Ann etc, but also under the Clothworld banner.

Today it is a public company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols JAS.A and JAS.B.

The Jo-Ann Store chain's roots go back to 1943, when two Jewish refugee families from Nazi Germany linked up to sell buttons, zippers, fabrics and thread out of a Cleveland cheese store owned by the Rosskamm family. Today, the company is run by Alan Rosskamm, a former real estate lawyer who joined the family firm in 1978.

Under Rosskamm, who became president upon the retirement of his father in 1985, the chain has survived some turbulent times in the crafts business. In recent decades, women have joined the workforce, cutting into the time previously spent on arts and crafts projects. Moreover, low-priced Asian imports have put a further dent in the do-it-yourself clothing market.

Jo-Ann etc superstores invite shoppers to "experience the creativity." The chain operates 26 units in the United States.

But Rosskamm was not going to give up without a fight. During the 1980s he installed a computerized point-of-sale tracking system, opened larger stores in strip centers, and closed others that were not performing well. So when competitors, such as House of Fabrics, stumbled into bankruptcy in the 1990s, Fabri-Centers was in a strong position to buy them up.

Now Rosskamm, who is chairman of the board, president and CEO, has taken the store to the next level, introducing entertainment, education and variety, in rather the same way that retailers like The Home Depot have revolutionized the hardware and home-improvement business by building giant boxes.

Today the company operates 26 of these superstores across the United States, with plans for 17 more by the end of the year, and up to 30 during each of the coming years, Bolen said.

"It's a number of creative boutiques under one roof," Rosskamm said in a press release announcing the opening of the chain's latest store, its second in Las Vegas. The store opened in late March, and is located in a former HomePlace site, in the Best on the Boulevard shopping center at Maryland Parkway and Katie Avenue.

The first Jo-Ann etc in Las Vegas, which opened in late 1997, is located in the Best in the West shopping center on North Rainbow Boulevard.

These new superstores are an "entertainment destination" for professionals and hobbyists alike, according to Rosskamm.

The stores are giant compared to the regular 15,000-square-foot Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts locations. It costs about $2.5 million to build and stock one of the superstores, compared to less than $650,000 for a regular Jo-Ann location.

The first Jo-Ann etc opened in 1995 next to the company's headquarters. Deemed a success, it was followed by several others, including a unit in Palisades Center, the 1.85 million-square-foot mall that opened last year in West Nyack, N.Y. However, the company prefers power strip centers, Bolen explained.

"We find that our customer tends to like the exterior entrance that a power strip would offer," he said. Although the retailer does not have its own outside entrances at Palisades, that will likely be a condition for future mall locations.

Jo-Ann Stores picks middle- to upper-income markets, where sales at their existing regular stores have indicated strong growth potential.

"We have Jo-Ann stores all over the U.S., so we can use our traditional stores as a barometer," Bolen said, explaining that the company's nationwide approach is an attempt to "validate the concept." At this stage, there are no plans for overseas expansion; the store is simply too new, he added.

Nor are there any downtown locations, which perhaps is not surprising, given the size of these stores.

To lure new customers to what the company says is as an $11 billion industry, Jo-Ann etc advertises through direct mailings, newspaper advertisements, and the sponsorship of the odd television show, Bolen said.

"We primarily use direct mail, which is the tried and true Jo-Ann marketing method," he explained.

But those classes also are a big magnet, he said. Someone finding herself suddenly alone, bored, or just in need of a new hobby can come and experience dozens of options. Once she's hooked, Jo-Ann etc has another customer.

"We publish quarterly class schedules much like a college syllabus," Bolen said. "We find it really promotes a lot of goodwill with the customer base."

According to the Hobby Industry Association, based in Elmwood, N.J., at least one person in more than 84% of U.S. households completes a craft or sewing project each year.

Each superstore represents several diverse businesses under one roof. There are the sewing and fabric supplies for those who enjoy being creative at home; the home decorating department for people seeking to improve their houses without actually having to do the work themselves; and the traditional arts and crafts. As the company puts it, "The store is designed to serve the entire creative spectrum, from novices and professional seamstresses to interior decorators and sewing, quilting and craft hobbyists."

Consequently, it is not surprising that Jo-Ann etc has some pretty diverse competitors. The primary fabrics rivals are companies like Hancock Fabrics, as well as various regional stores.

"But then also we believe that we are a leisure-time activity, " Bolen said, "and that we probably are competing with the bookstores, with the gardening stores, and perhaps with the sporting goods stores."

Overall, company executives say, it's a good time to be in the creativity business, what with the emphasis retailers place on lifestyle these days, and the popularity of Martha Stewart, and the like.