Hobby Lobby given away to God

[storewanderer]

I don't get it. But this is a confusing chain.. Like how does this work?


https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/hobb ... -patagonia

Some highlights from the article note that the chain has a minimum pay rate of $18.50/hr which is very high for many markets they are in and also notes the Closed Sunday and closes at 8 PM thing.

[veteran+]

Oh boy..................................................

[storewanderer]

Oh boy..................................................

I do support their high minimum wage of 18.50 per hour and being closed one day per week though.... I'd be more inclined to close Tuesday but any closure is helpful for scheduling.

I wonder if the change in ownership will finally allow scanning of merchandise at checkout...

[bryceleinan]

I don't get it. But this is a confusing chain.. Like how does this work?


https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/hobb ... -patagonia

Some highlights from the article note that the chain has a minimum pay rate of $18.50/hr which is very high for many markets they are in and also notes the Closed Sunday and closes at 8 PM thing.

There is another local business owner in Reno that sold his business in a similar fashion. The voting shares of the business are placed into a trust, and a Christian ministry oversees said trust, with profits paid out to the trust instead of the business owner, at least if I understood everything correctly.

[storewanderer]

I don't get it. But this is a confusing chain.. Like how does this work?


https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/hobb ... -patagonia

Some highlights from the article note that the chain has a minimum pay rate of $18.50/hr which is very high for many markets they are in and also notes the Closed Sunday and closes at 8 PM thing.

There is another local business owner in Reno that sold his business in a similar fashion. The voting shares of the business are placed into a trust, and a Christian ministry oversees said trust, with profits paid out to the trust instead of the business owner, at least if I understood everything correctly.

It will be interesting to see how this goes. For instance, will the chain keep expanding as it has been expanding? Or will they let the current store base be a cash cow to support other causes? This is a solid business and I think it has a bright future.

Just have to hope the trust and ministry overseeing said trust continue to keep the best interest of the business in mind so the business remains viable, then the viable business will help them keep supporting the causes they want to support forever. This may be a better avenue than selling out to, say, an investment group, that wants big profit fast then spin the thing off a couple years later... which is ironically what appears to be happening to Michael's right now, and Jo-Ann which is a chain I really dislike appears to be on the brink of the end but I expect it to limp along in some form. Definitely some interesting times for this retail sector.

The founder took some positions on things that were more than controversial but I can't help but respect someone who stands up for what they believe in, and I wonder how or if the company will change course on such topics with the founder no longer in control. I am sure had an investment group bought the chain, such policies would have changed immediately. And this may be another reason the founder went this route for his "exit."

[veteran+]

Oh boy..................................................

I do support their high minimum wage of 18.50 per hour and being closed one day per week though.... I'd be more inclined to close Tuesday but any closure is helpful for scheduling.

I wonder if the change in ownership will finally allow scanning of merchandise at checkout...

I do not know.

Perhaps we should ask god.

[veteran+]

"The founder took some positions on things that were more than controversial but I can't help but respect someone who stands up for what they believe in, and I wonder how or if the company will change course on such topics with the founder no longer in control. I am sure had an investment group bought the chain, such policies would have changed immediately. And this may be another reason the founder went this route for his "exit."

Respect?

Hmmmmm, okay.

Perhaps we should not go down that rabbit hole and stick to retail discussion?

[storewanderer]

"The founder took some positions on things that were more than controversial but I can't help but respect someone who stands up for what they believe in, and I wonder how or if the company will change course on such topics with the founder no longer in control. I am sure had an investment group bought the chain, such policies would have changed immediately. And this may be another reason the founder went this route for his "exit."

Respect?

Hmmmmm, okay.

Perhaps we should not go down that rabbit hole and stick to retail discussion?

He is obviously an excellent retailer, given people continue to shop there, after some of the decisions he made that effectively pissed off 50%+ of the population...

Or was.

Now that he is no longer with the company, he is no different than any other private citizen.

[buckguy]

Hobby Lobby occupies a lot of cheap space and has been lucky to have major competitors that have had lots of ups and downs, Michaels and Joann. Michaels has been bought and sold a couple times and is now semi-public. I haven't been to a Michael's in a long time and the last time they seemed to sell a lot of junk---apparently they have upgraded since then. It's taken Joann a long time to shed their fabric store image---they've opened, closed and opened tons of locations and adjusted store sizes more than once. Joann outlasted (or bought) most of their old competition but still had to deal with the decline of home sewing (as well as problems of their own making like securities fraud). Joann used to have lots of mall stores, but bought chains that mostly had settled into old super markets and variety stores, so I was surprised to see them in a mall again recently, albeit next to Costco at Wheaton Plaza. A large clean store, but without a lot of customers

I wouldn't be surprised if Green, the Hobby Lobby CEO, still has indirect control or benefits from the new Hobby Lobby ownership. The description is very vague beyond it buying the voting stock. Contrast that with Chouinard, the Patagonia guy who recently turned his business over to an foundation to support environmental causes with transparency about his family remaining involved.

[storewanderer]

Hobby Lobby has a massive mix of items. The experience shopping at Hobby Lobby with that super slow no scanner checkout is the worst in modern retail. I think Michael's mix is in most ways every bit as good as theirs if not better on core craft type categories but Hobby Lobby definitely has a larger mix overall when you factor in their oversized seasonal areas, furniture, and small fabric counter. Jo-Ann certainly has more fabric but the other items at Jo-Ann seem overpriced, often look very aged on the aisles, and the Jo-Ann Stores feel very depressing to me; a deep cleaning would go a long ways. I have had a couple positive experiences at Jo-Ann in the past year; everyone was very friendly and wait time was minimal at fabric despite decent store traffic, so there is that.