HUDSON, Ohio – Nearly 75 years after JOANN Stores was started by two Cleveland families, the fabrics and crafts retailer is launching a revitalized brand today and a new digital marketing campaign with videos and a new app that encourages customers to publish their own projects.
At a time when retailers continue to struggle in a tough economic landscape, the Hudson-based retailer continues to open brick-and-mortar stores, with 867 locations nationwide. But the craft store is also ramping up its eCommerce business with an online learning community and mobile applications.
Chris DiTullio, senior vice president, marketing and omni-channel at JOANN
Chris DiTullio, senior vice president, marketing and omni-channel at JOANN, said customer participation in in-store classes is up 10 percent from the previous year at 600 stores nationwide. At the same time, new technologies are helping the retailer build a seamless, personalized experience across the business. The company recently acquired Creativebug, a subscription-based online video provider that offers a wide range of how-to crafting classes.
« As shoppers’ behaviors and preferences evolve, we need to adapt the way we connect with them, » DiTullio said. « We’re committed to the longtime loyalists coming in to our stores, as well as the next generation of creators who want to shop, learn and share wherever they are. »
The company reports its new app is an industry-first tool that enables users to publish their own projects with photos, videos and even music.
It’s exciting, DiTullio said, because it offers something no other craft retailer does, « the ability for customers to confidently share their finished projects with us, and with friends, family and one another as well. »
Users can also shop for supplies, find project ideas and redeem mobile coupons as they find and share their project How-To’s.
The new customer feature series, includes a YouTube video that illustrates how the retailer is rapidly adopting new technologies to succeed in the competitive retail marketplace, while celebrating and staying true to its founders’ core purpose: inspiring creativity in everyone.
From a master seamstress whose favorite music is her sewing machine, to a social knitter whose stitches mend hearts, to an apparel entrepreneur who employs refugee women, the company highlights a wide range of customers in it’s latest marketing efforts.
Seven years ago, the company founded in 1943, was acquired by Leonard Green Partners LP, a Los Angeles private equity firm, for $1.6 billion. A major rival of Michaels, JOANN now operates more in 49 states, as well as its e-commerce site Joann.com, and three distribution centers in Hudson, Visalia, California and Opelika, Alabama. JOANN employs more than 23,000 nationwide.
« We are incredibly proud to be a creative retail mainstay for more than seven decades, » said Jill Soltau, president and CEO of JOANN, said in a statement.
« As we approach our 75th year in business, we are revitalizing the brand while celebrating our history and telling the story behind our core purpose. Because it isn’t only our story – it’s the story of each of our customers, and how they are finding their passions, inspiring others and creating lasting memories, » she said.
« It’s a unique honor to be a part of something that’s special to so many, and we are thrilled to celebrate the handmade legacies of past, present and future generations. »