Birthday Party Crafts

Michaels is the largest arts and crafts retail chain in the world. It currently operates over 1,000 Michaels Arts and Crafts Stores located in 48 states and in Canada. The company also owns the Aaron Brothers , ReCollections , and Star Decorators Wholesale Warehouse retail chains. The corporate headquarters are located in Irving, Texas. The company employs 12,500 people.

The average Michaels store now contains 40,000 different products in 18,200 square feet (1,700 m²) of selling space. The typical store has roughly $3.9 million in annual sales. The stores sell a selection of arts, crafts, framing, floral, wall décor, and seasonal merchandise. Michaels provides custom framing and custom floral service at all stores. Classes and demonstrations - featuring cake decorating, beading, knitting, and other skills - and children's birthday parties, where a craft is made, are frequent events at the stores.

Recent growth has been fueled by the popularity of scrapbooking, beading, and the resurgence of knitting. The chain also continues to devote more floor space to home decor and popular seasonal items. Michaels is the largest such chain in the country. Competitors include Hobby Lobby, Ben Franklin Stores, Jo-Ann Stores, and several smaller chains, though its primary competitor is AC Moore.

History

In 1976, Dallas businessman Michael J. Dupey opened Michael's in the former Northtown Mall in Dallas, Texas. The location closed in the 1990s and is now a technology building.

In 1982, Illinois businessman Samuel Wyly bought controlling interest in Michaels; the company's annual revenues were around $10 million at the time of purchase.

After the sale, Dupey founded MJDesigns which was later bought out by Michaels.

In 1984, the Michaels chain was first publicly traded. At the time it had 16 stores.

In 1994, Michaels acquired the Treasure House Crafts chain in the Northwest United States.

An initiative was undertaken to expand the company through the United States and Canada, and by 1995 it had expanded to include over 500 stores. In 1996, sales were $1.24 billion. By 2003, the company's annual sales were in excess of 3 billion dollars.

In 2006, two private equity groups, Bain Capital and the Blackstone Group, purchased the company for $6 billion. The two own equal shares.

In 2007, the company's slogan "The Arts & Crafts Store" had been replaced with "Imaginate" which was changed just in time for the launch of an exclusive line called "Martha Stewart Crafts".

In March 2008, Michaels announced that their class program is being discontinued. Some stores still offer Wilton's cake decorating courses.

Michaels opened its 1000th store in Texas in Fall of 2008.

Products

Michaels sells a variety of arts and crafts products, including scrapbooking, beading, knitting, rubber stamping, home decor items, floral items, kids' crafts, paints, framing, greenery and many seasonal items. In April 2007, Martha Stewart teamed up with Michaels to launch a line available exclusively at Michaels called "Martha Stewart Crafts." The line features over 650 different products for the craft enthusiast.

Notes

1. ^ "Isn't It Grand! Michaels(R) Opens 1000th Store". Reuters. 2008-09-10 . http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS99310+10-Sep-2008+PRN20080910 . Retrieved 2008-11-11 .  
2. ^ ^{a b} "The 400 Richest Americans: #354, Samuel Wyly", Forbes magazine, September 21, 2006
3. ^ ^{a b c} Rigoni, Gene. "Sam Wyly 'Innovates To Opportunity' Time And Time Again", Monroe Street Journal , Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, January 13, 1997

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