Another Chain Is Closing All Its Stores

AC Moore originally planned to open its 145 arts and crafts stores at 6pm Thanksgiving for its Black Friday sale, but it's not clear whether that's still happening—because on Monday the New Jersey-based chain that opened its doors in 1985 announced all of those stores are closing. "For over 30 years, our stores have been servicing the creative community with a vast selection of art and craft materials, with one common focus, the customer," company CEO Anthony Piperno said in a press release. "Unfortunately, given the headwinds facing many retailers in today's environment, it made it very difficult for us to operate and compete on a national level." Some of the locations will become Michaels stores, USA Today reports.

Orders already placed on the AC Moore website will still ship, but as of Monday, the website had stopped accepting orders. It's not clear when all the stores will be shuttered, but plans for the closings will be shared in upcoming weeks, according to AC Moore's parent company, Nicole Crafts. Michaels, the largest arts and crafts chain in the US and a "former rival" of AC Moore, per CNN, will purchase AC Moore's intellectual property and take on the leases of as many as 40 former AC Moore locations, plus an East Coast distribution facility. "We are looking forward to re-opening these stores under the Michaels name in 2020," Michaels CEO Mark Cosby said in the release. (More crafts stories.)