Michaels

Michaels Stores, Inc., doing business as Michaels, is an American privately held arts and crafts retail chain. It is North America's largest provider of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall décor, and merchandise for makers and do-it-yourself home decorators. The company is a subsidiary of the Michaels Companies, which was founded in 2014 and headquartered in Irving, Texas. In addition to Michaels stores, the Michaels Companies operates Aaron Brothers Custom Framing store-within-a-store, and Artistree, a manufacturer of custom and specialty framing merchandise. As of January 2021, there were 1,252 Michaels stores in 49 out of 50 states in the U.S., and Canada, with approximately $5.362 billion in sales for fiscal 2020.

==History== thumb|Logo from 1984 to 2009 thumb|Interior of a Michaels store in San Rafael, California In 1973, businessman Michael J. Dupey founded Michaels in Dallas when he converted a money-losing Ben Franklin five and dime store into an arts and crafts store. In 1982, Dallas businessman Sam Wyly bought a controlling interest in the company, which by then had 11 outlets with annual revenues around $10 million. After the sale, Dupey founded MJ Designs, which was later bought out by The Michaels Companies. thumb|Michaels in Kenosha, Wisconsin In 1984, Michaels was first publicly traded (on NASDAQ) under parent entity The Michaels Companies, which operated 16 stores. Over the next decade, the company bought craft and hobby stores in local and regional markets. In 1994, Michaels Stores expanded by acquiring craft stores in the Pacific Northwest, including Treasure House Crafts, Oregon Craft & Floral Supply, and H&H Craft & Floral. In the Midwest and Northeast, it bought Leewards Creative Crafts, a 101-unit store chain. In 1995, Michaels Stores acquired Aaron Brothers Holdings, Inc., a specialty framing and art supply store. By 1996, Michaels' sales reached $1.24 billion with 450 stores. In 2006, two private equity groups, Bain Capital and the Blackstone Group, purchased Michaels Stores for $6 billion, taking it private. In May 2007, Martha Stewart and Michaels launched "Martha Stewart Crafts", an online resource for home "do-it-yourselfers" with how-to instructions, projects, and crafting products. In the fall of 2008, Michaels Stores opened its 1,000th store. In 2010, Michaels began a partnership with Chef Duff to feature the Duff Goldman Collection in its stores. The line includes baking products including fondant, sprinkle sets, color spray, cake tattoos, and color paste.