Hancock Fabrics closing in Springfield

In the wake of a bankruptcy and auction, Baldwyn, Miss.-based Hancock Fabrics Inc. is closing all of its stores, including a Springfield location.

The Queen City store, 1464 S. Glenstone Ave., is part of the second round of planned closings.

The company filed for Chap. 11 bankruptcy protection in February, when it announced 70 stores would shutter. At the time, the only Missouri store on the list was in St. Peters. The company also operates in Kirkwood, Hazelwood, Cape Girardeau and Independence.

On March 31, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware gave buyout approval of the company’s inventory to Great American Group LLC. With the approval, Great American announced plans to close all 255 Hancock Fabrics stores in 37 states and its online store at HancockFabrics.com, according to a news release.

“Our task will be discounting all of the merchandise in the stores until it is completely liquidated,” said Scott Carpenter, president of Great American’s retail division, in the release. “We expect the going-out-of-business sales to last several weeks before all of the merchandise is sold in the remaining locations."  

Kelly Phillips, a spokeswoman for Great American parent company B. Riley Financial Inc., said the liquidation sale could last eight to 10 weeks. The Springfield store employs 11, according to an unidentified worker who answered the phone this morning.

Hancock Fabrics has been housed for some 20 years in an 18,750-square-foot building in the Glen Isle Center, which is mostly owned by Warren Davis Properties. However, Morrow Real Estate LLC, a company organized by Katherine Tynes, owns the Hancock Fabrics portion, according to a Missouri secretary of state filing.

Dave Murray of R.B. Murray Co. is marketing the property. Declining to disclose the asking price or lease rate for the property, he said Murray Co. would list the building publicly once the Hancock Fabrics bankruptcy proceedings close.