Michaels vs Squarespace
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
North America's largest arts and crafts retail chain with 1,250+ stores; Apollo-owned with Jo-Ann bankruptcy creating expansion opportunity competing with Hobby Lobby.
About
Michaels is North America's largest specialty arts and crafts retail chain, operating over 1,250 company-owned stores in the US and Canada offering a vast selection of art supplies, custom picture framing, scrapbooking and paper crafts, yarn and needle arts, seasonal craft supplies, and home décor. Founded in 1973 in Irving, Texas, Michaels went private in a $6.1 billion leveraged buyout led by Apollo Global Management and Blackstone in 2006, then went public again in 2014, and was taken private again in 2021 by Apollo Global Management for approximately $5 billion.\n\nMichaels' product range spans over 45,000 SKUs in major categories: art supplies (paints, canvases, drawing materials), custom framing (in-store custom frame shop), floral (artificial flowers, wreaths), yarn and needle arts (extensive yarn selection, knitting supplies), seasonal (Halloween, Christmas craft supplies), and general crafts. The Michaels brand has added private label brands (Artist's Loft, Recollections for scrapbooking) that generate higher margins than national brands. In-store classes and workshops turn the store into a community space that drives engagement and repeat visits beyond purchases.\n\nIn 2025, Michaels competes with Hobby Lobby, Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores (which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024, creating market share opportunity), and Michael's own Amazon storefronts for arts and crafts retail. Jo-Ann's bankruptcy and potential store closures represent a significant competitive opportunity for Michaels to gain share in the fabric and needle arts segments. The crafting market benefited from COVID-era growth as homebound consumers took up crafts, and the category has maintained elevated participation. Michaels' 2025 strategy focuses on capturing Jo-Ann customer migration, growing the Michaels Pro segment (artists, educators, craft businesses), expanding digital and e-commerce capabilities, and deepening the community/workshop programming that differentiates physical craft retail.
Squarespace was taken private by Permira in a $7.2B deal in October 2024 and is scaling AI-powered site building tools targeting creative entrepreneurs and SMBs.
About
Squarespace was founded in 2003 by Anthony Casalena as a college dorm-room project and grew into one of the leading all-in-one website building and commerce platforms, going public on the NYSE in 2021. In October 2024, European private equity firm Permira completed an acquisition valuing the company at approximately $7.2 billion, taking it private with Casalena retaining a substantial equity stake and continuing as CEO and Board Chairman. The platform powers websites for millions of users in over 200 countries and territories, with annual recurring revenue reaching approximately $1.4 billion by end of 2025, primarily from subscription plans for its Presence (website hosting) and Commerce segments.
AI Visibility Head-to-Head
Key Details
Also Compare
Track AI Visibility in Real Time
Monitor how your brand performs across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Grok daily.