The Michaels Companies

Who owns Michaels?
Michaels is owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which acquired The Michaels Companies for approximately $5 billion in April 2021, taking it private. It has no public stock listing.

Is Michaels publicly traded?
No. Michaels was publicly traded twice, first after 1984 and again from 2014 to 2021 under ticker MIK, but it has been privately held by Apollo Global Management since the 2021 buyout.

When was Michaels founded?
Michaels was founded in 1973 in Dallas, Texas, when Michael J. Dupey converted a five-and-dime store into an arts and crafts retailer. It grew into the largest crafts chain in North America.

Who founded Michaels?
Michael J. Dupey founded the company in 1973. He later sold the chain, which passed through public ownership and two private equity buyouts before its current ownership by Apollo.

What is Michaels' market position?
Michaels is the largest arts and crafts retailer in North America with approximately 1,300 stores. Its position strengthened when rival JOANN went out of business in 2025 and Michaels acquired its intellectual property and private-label brands.

Did Michaels buy JOANN?
Michaels acquired JOANN's intellectual property and private-label brands, including Big Twist, in June 2025 after JOANN's bankruptcy liquidation. It did not acquire JOANN's stores or operations, which were wound down, but it absorbed the brand assets and expanded its fabric and sewing assortment.

Michael J. Dupey founded Michaels in 1973 in Dallas, Texas, converting a money-losing five-and-dime store into one focused on arts and crafts, a niche then underserved by general retailers. The chain grew steadily through Texas and expanded nationally over the following two decades.

Michaels went public in 1984 and grew through acquisition, adding the Leewards and Aaron Brothers chains and developing a private-label strategy that became central to its economics. The company was taken private once before, in a 2006 leveraged buyout by Bain Capital and Blackstone Group, which held it through years of debt management before returning it to public markets in 2014 with a NYSE listing under MIK.

The second public tenure was brief and pressured by e-commerce disruption. In March 2021, Apollo Global Management agreed to acquire Michaels for approximately $5 billion, or $22 per share, completing the buyout that April and taking the company private again.

Under Apollo, Michaels invested in omnichannel fulfillment, expanded private-label penetration, and launched MakerPlace, an online marketplace for handmade goods positioned as a competitor to Etsy. The defining recent event was the 2025 collapse of JOANN, which filed for its second bankruptcy in January 2025 and closed all stores. In June 2025, Michaels acquired JOANN's intellectual property, trademarks, and private-label brands including Big Twist, and expanded its fabric, sewing, and yarn assortment by more than 600 products to capture displaced demand.

Michaels runs sustainability initiatives centered on responsible sourcing of wood and paper products, energy efficiency in stores, and community programs supporting arts education. Its private-label sourcing gives it direct influence over supplier labor and materials standards.

As a private company, its ESG disclosure is limited compared with public peers, and it does not publish a comprehensive sustainability report at the level of listed retailers. No B Corp or equivalent certification applies.

Michaels has experienced typical retail-sector scrutiny without major systemic scandal. In 2011 it disclosed a significant payment card data breach affecting customer PIN pads across multiple states, one of the larger retail breaches of that era.

The company has faced labor and wage disputes common to large retailers, and its leveraged buyouts drew criticism over the debt loads placed on the business. The 2025 JOANN acquisition generated largely positive coverage as a market-consolidation play rather than controversy.