A.C. Moore crafting a turnaround

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, June, 2008 | by Maria Panaritis Inquirer Staff Writer

On its face, yesterday's news that A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts Inc. would close a batch of stores may have seemed like just another retail retrenchment during what some call a recessionary downturn. But to analysts closely watching the $560 million chain of craft stores based in Berlin, N.J., the announcement was a sign that better days are ahead for the company that sells beads, scrapbooks, frames and glue guns to consumers up and down the East Coast in what some say is a recession-proof retail sector: hobbies.

The store closings are part of an overhaul strategy of executives assembled by president and chief executive officer Rick Lepley, who swept in 18 months ago when profits were negative and Jack Parker retired as chief executive of the company he founded in 1985. The...