A.C. Moore was an American

arts and crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and th ...

chain, owned by Nicole Crafts. It had 145 retail locations in the eastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, with corporate headquarters in

Berlin, New Jersey Berlin is a borough in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 7,588,Michaels Michaels Stores, Inc., more commonly known as Michaels, is a privately held chain of 1,252 American and Canadian arts and crafts stores, as of January 2021. It is one of North America's largest providers of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall ...

History

A.C. Moore was founded as a single arts and crafts store by Jack Parker and William Kaplan in 1985 in

Moorestown, New Jersey Moorestown is a township in Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an eastern suburb of Philadelphia and geographically part of the South Jersey region of the state. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township's population was 21 ...

("A. C. Moore" – arts and crafts, Moorestown). Parker, with the position of president, was a merchandising veteran of

Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shop ...

, and Kaplan, CEO, had a career in fashion production. The company went public in October 1997. By 2006, the A.C Moore had peaked with sales of $598 million, but these numbers began to decline in the years that followed. A.C. Moore sold a variety of arts and crafts products, including

scrapbook Scrapbook may refer to: * Scrapbooking, the process of making a scrapbook Software * Scrapbook, an early (1970s) information storage and retrieval system * Scrapbook (Mac OS), a Mac OS application * ScrapBook, a Firefox extension Film and TV ...

ing,

beading Beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another by stringing them onto a thread or thin wire with a sewing or beading needle or sewing them to cloth. Beads are produced in a diverse range of materials, shapes, and sizes, and vary b ...

knitting Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile, or fabric. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine. Knitting creates stitches: loops of yarn in a row, either flat o ...

, rubber stamping,

home decor Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

items, floral items, children's crafts,

paints Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

, framing, greenery and seasonal items. They were known for a policy of discounts and beating competitors' prices. In 2011, as A.C. Moore was experiencing a crash crunch, one of its suppliers stepped in to save the company through a merger. Sbar's, an art supplies distributor based in nearby Moorestown, in association with its affiliate Nicole Crafts, acquired A. C. Moore for $1.61 per-share (a valuation of $41 million). The buyout was executed as a merger, with A. C. Moore becoming a subsidiary of Nicole Crafts, the Sbar's in-house goods brand. Sbar's seven retail stores were absorbed into A. C. Moore. On November 25, 2019, A.C. Moore announced that it would close all 145 of its locations (with some closing as early as December 15, 2019), and sell the leases for up to 40 locations, a distribution center, and unspecified

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

assets to the competing chain

Michaels Michaels Stores, Inc., more commonly known as Michaels, is a privately held chain of 1,252 American and Canadian arts and crafts stores, as of January 2021. It is one of North America's largest providers of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall ...

. , A. C. Moore was still undergoing the liquidation process. , all stores had been closed, and Michaels had taken over its distribution facility on A. C. Moore Drive in Winslow, NJ.

References

{{Reflist 1985 establishments in New Jersey 1997 initial public offerings 2011 mergers and acquisitions 2019 disestablishments in New Jersey American companies established in 1985 Arts and crafts retailers Defunct retail companies of the United States Defunct companies based in New Jersey Berlin, New Jersey Companies based in Camden County, New Jersey Retail companies established in 1985 Retail companies disestablished in 2020

History

See also

References