JO-ANN ETC. OPENS IN JUNE PORTER RANCH STORE TO OFFER CLASSES, EXPANDED SERVICES.Byline: Chris Sieroty Staff Writer PORTER RANCH - Jo-Ann Stores Jo-Ann Stores Inc. (NYSE: JAS) is a specialty retailer of crafts and fabrics based in Hudson, Ohio, United States. It operates the retail chains Jo-Ann Fabrics and Jo-Ann Etc. The headquarters of the company is located in the former General Motors Terex plant. Inc., the nation's largest fabric and craft retailer, will open its third ``super store'' in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, early next month, a company spokeswoman said Monday. The new 45,000-square-foot Jo-Ann etc. store will open June 9 at Porter Ranch Town Center, a new shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into at 19819 Rinaldi Ave., said company spokeswoman Michele Watkins. ``The etc. stands for experience and creativity,'' she said. Watkins said the new super store will be three times larger than a traditional Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts store, and will feature expanded fabric and crafting products. The larger stores will also offer educational programs, a floral shop, a rubber stamping emporium and seasonal merchandise. ``Our traditional stores are about 15,000 square feet and have an excellent assortment of products,'' she said. ``Jo-Ann etc. allows us to offer our customers a larger selection of fashion fabrics.'' Besides so-called fashion fabrics, which include silks, the stores will offer a home decorating department along with a sewing machine sewing machine, device that stitches cloth and other materials. An attempt at mechanical sewing was made in England (1790) with a machine having a forked, automatic needle that made a single-thread chain. In 1830, B. center, a quilt shop and a frame shop. ``We will offer the customer finished and custom-made goods that they won't find at any other store,'' said Watkins. ``We will also offer classes, from decorative painting to how to refinish re·fin·ish tr.v. re·fin·ished, re·fin·ish·ing, re·fin·ish·es To put a new finish on (furniture). re·fin a piece of furniture.'' The new Porter Ranch store will be the third Jo-Ann etc. to open in Southern California. The first opened in November at the Del Amo Fashion Center Del Amo Fashion Center is a two-level regional shopping mall in Torrance, California, USA. It is currently managed and co-owned by Simon Property Group. With a current gross leasable area (GLA) of 2.5 million ft², it is one of the largest shopping malls in the United States. in Torrance. The second Jo-Ann etc. opened at Temecula Commons in Temecula in February. ``Three megastores are not nearly enough to serve Southern California,'' said Watkins. ``We have one or two more stores already scheduled for next year.'' Based in Hudson, Ohio Hudson is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 22,439 at the 2000 census, making it the 389th largest city in the midwest. This number rose to 23,154 at the 2006 census estimates [1]. , Jo-Ann Stores operates 126 Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts stores in California and 855 nationwide. Currently, there are 46 Jo-Ann etc. stores nationwide, with 11 more scheduled to open this year. Earlier this month, the company began construction on a new distribution center in Visalia. The distribution center, which is expected to open early next year, will service all stores west of the Mississippi. |
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