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Michaels

Michaels is the largest arts and crafts retail chain in the United States. It currently operates over 900 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.

The Michaels chain was first publicly traded in 1984. At this time, it was a small chain of 16 stores. 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.

By 2003, the company's annual sales had grown in excess of 3 billion dollars. In 2006, Michaels Stores, Inc sold itself to the two private equity groups: Bain Capital and Blackstone. Both own equal shares in the company.

Michaels sells a variety of arts and crafts products, including scrapbooking, beading, knitting, rubber stamping, home decor items, floral items, and many seasonal items.

Source: Wikipedia - News Reports

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