Skip to main content

Hancock Fabrics retailer closing all stores

WASHINGTON — Hancock Fabrics is closing all 185 of its remaining stores after filing for bankruptcy earlier this year.

The chain attempted to save thousands of jobs by selling its remaining 185 stores, but was bought by Great American Group, a liquidator, in late March.

Hancock Fabrics has been struggling financially for several years. It has only posted profit once in the past nine years and has been hit with high operating costs, according to Business Wire. The company previously filed for bankruptcy in 2007, and closed 104 stores but re-emerged a year later.

Hancock is one of the world’s largest fabric retailers, more than $283 million in sales in 2014. The company was founded in 1957 in Tupelo, Mississippi, as a low-cost retail store. By 1971, it owned over 81 stores and had over 265 franchise stores in 19 states.

The retailer is currently having a nationwide “Going Out of Business Sale,” with the company offering 20 to 50 percent off all merchandise in store and online. All sales are final.

Hancock operates four stores in the Greater Washington area, including Alexandria, Manassas, and Gaithersburg. You can find your nearest store here.

RZA came up with a new ice cream truck jingle because the old one was used in minstrel shows

The ice cream truck jingle of your childhood is about to get an upgrade — and RZA is behind it. The hip-hop icon of Wu-Tang fame has teamed up with the ice cream brand Good Humor to re-imagine the signature "Turkey in the Straw" jingle played by ice cream trucks all over the country. Because, as it turns out, the tune has a problematic past.
Read Next Story