How Taylor Swift, ‘The Bachelorette,’ and An Etsy-Like Website are Fueling a Turnaround for Crafts Retailer Michaels

Once in a while, pop culture gives a retailer an unexpected lift. Twelve years ago, Gap Inc’s Banana Republic got a boost from the “Mad Men” television series when consumers snapped up its men’s and women’s suits inspired by the show about 1960’s ad executives. More recently, Fendi was in the spotlight when Sarah Jessica Parker wore its iconic Baguette handbag in the television show “And Just Like That.”

This year, Michaels Stores got such help twice. Once when knit clothing made by crochet appeared recently on “The Bachelorette” and set off a rush of buying crocheting supplies, which Michaels sells. And more importantly, when Taylor Swift fans went to the store in droves during the megastar’s American tour this this spring and summer to get materials for the friendship bracelets, which are ubiquitous at her shows. “It started catching on like fire,” recalls Michaels CEO Ashley Buchanan, who was a longtime Walmart executive before joining Michaels in 2020.

But while Buchanan appreciates the serendipitous help from such exposure, his focus as CEO has been fixing the foundation of the company and re-tooling the $6 billion-a-year retailer to expand its customer base and win market share in a mature industry barely growing at 2% a year.