Press Kit
Michaels Stores, Inc., North America’s largest arts and crafts specialty retailer, began in 1973 with one small store in Dallas. The first Michaels store was opened by Michael Dupey as part of Dupey Enterprises, Incorporated (DEI). By 1983 DEI had seven Michaels stores and five other craft stores.
In 1983, DEI sold the stores to People’s Restaurant, Inc., who renamed their new company Michaels Arts & Crafts, Inc.
In 1984, with 16 Michaels stores located primarily in Texas, the company was renamed Michaels Stores, Inc. and became a publicly held company. Shortly thereafter, the company embarked on an aggressive national expansion program, opening new stores and acquiring small regional chains.
Michaels went international in 1993 when it opened its first Canadian stores in the Toronto area – in Oakville and Burlington, Ontario. By the end of 1995, Michaels became the largest arts and crafts specialty retailer in North America with more than 500 store.
Also in 1993, Michaels opened two custom framing shops that it would grow into Artistree, the company’s frame and moulding manufacturing operation with facilities in City of Industry, Calif., Coppell, Texas, and Kernersville, North Carolina.
In 1995 Michaels acquired Aaron Brothers stores, bringing a long heritage of art and custom framing expertise to the chain.
In 2001, Michaels began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on December 1, under the ticker symbol MIK.
On October 31, 2006, the company went private again when it was acquired by two investment firms, Bain Capital Partners, LLC and The Blackstone Group, which currently own the company.
In 2009, the company opened its 1,000th store, and in August 2010 Michaels started its Facebook page to share new product information, growing to more than 1.28 million likes in just a few years.
In 2011 Michaels reached sales of $4 billion. The company furthered its online presence through MiDesign@Michaels, allowing customers to create and purchase personalized items. Michaels also launched its Pinterest boards to showcase projects.
In 2012, Michaels filed paperwork with the SEC for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and began working toward going public again.
As of May, 2013, Michaels has more than 1,105 stores in the United States and Canada.
Headquarter Address
8000 Bent Branch Dr.
Irving, TX 75063
www.michaels.com
Other Business Segments
Aaron Brothers is a wholly owned subsidiary of Michaels Stores, Inc. that offers photo frames, a full line of ready-made frames, custom framing services and a wide selection of art supplies. Each store averages 5,500 square feet of selling space and carries approximately 5,700 items. We had 123 Aaron Brothers stores in operation as of May 15, 2013, in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
Artistree is our vertically integrated frame and moulding manufacturing operation with facilities in City of Industry, CA, Coppell, TX, and Kernersville, NC. Combined, these facilities occupy approximately 476,000 square feet and, in fiscal 2008, processed over 25 million linear feet of frame moulding and 5 million individually custom cut mats for our Michaels and Aaron Brothers stores.
Private Brands Michaels currently sells 11 exclusive private brands including Recollections® scrapbooking supplies, Studio Decor® wall and tabletop frames, shadowboxes and memorabilia cases; Bead Landing® jewelry-making beads, charms and findings; Creatology® kids crafting supplies; Ashland® silk floral, entertaining and home décor accessories; Celebrate It® seasonal décor and gift wrappings; Art Minds® craft embellishments; Artist’s Loft® fine art paints, brushes and canvases; Craft Smart® general crafting supplies; Loops & Threads® yarn and knitting supplies; and Imagin8®apparel crafting supplies.
For additional information:
SPM Communications | 817.329.3257 | michaels@spmcommunications.com