Okay here is the scoop on Joann's. Amazing how many wrong stories crop up about things.
the full story here:
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/compa...y-History.html
the company started as Fabri-Centers. And then proceeded to buy lots of competitors.
"In 1998, Fabri-Centers reached a turning point. The company purchased 250 House of Fabrics stores, its biggest purchase deal to that date, raising its total number of stores to 1,060. More than half of these stores were designated Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts, while the rest operated under six different names: Cloth World, Fabri-Centers of America, FabricKing, FabricLand, House of Fabrics, New York Fabrics, and So-Fro Fabrics. The company carried an $180 million debt load, including $106 million stemming from the House of Fabrics purchase, which raised the company's debt-to-total capital ratio to 50%. Consolidation and elimination of redundancies was clearly in order. "
hopefully this will lay the rumors to rest