This story has been updated with additional information.
The Juneau location of crafts retailer Joann is among 500 of the company’s 800 stores nationwide that will close as part of a bankruptcy filing, meaning the Nugget Mall will lose the last anchor store within its main space.
Elizabeth Clayton, the property manager for the mall, said Wednesday the crafts store has been at the Nugget Mall for more than 20 years. The store’s parent company, Joann Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month, but stated at the time that it intended to keep operating existing stores as it restructured.
If the District of Delaware Bankruptcy Court approves the motion on Friday, the company said it would close underperforming stores across the country, including Juneau and Anchorage. Going-out-of-business sales at stores could start as early as Saturday and last for several months.
“Just like everybody else, we knew that they were going through financial troubles and they were going to be filing bankruptcy, but we didn’t know anything about the Juneau store until today,” Clayton said on Wednesday.
The retail chain is also seeking court authorization to stop accepting gift cards both online and in stores within the next two weeks, according to the New York Times. Joann has already stopped selling gift cards and no longer accepts them on its website. The company said returns will stop being accepted two weeks after the court approves Joann’s restructuring plan.
“This was a very difficult decision to make, given the major impact we know it will have on our team members, our customers and all of the communities we serve,” the company said in an emailed statement.
The Nugget Mall still has major “box” retailers with separate entrances, such as Office Depot, Sportsman’s Warehouse, and Petco.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz.garrett@juneauempire.com or (907) 723-9356. The New York Times contributed to this report.
