Strongsville-based Lamrite West Inc., the parent company of the Pat Catan’s Arts and Craft Stores, has been purchased by Irving, Texas, competitor Michaels for $150 million, the Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday.
Pat Catan’s has 34 stores in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia — 16 locations are in Northeast Ohio. Michaels has 1,262 stores across North America (including 118 Aaron Brothers stores), with several of its stores in close proximity to Akron-area Pat Catan’s stores.
Lamrite West will continue to operate out of its Strongsville headquarters as a separate division within Michaels, the Dallas paper reported.
Michael Catanzarite, whose father, Patsy Catanzarite, founded the company in 1954, will continue to run that business as CEO of Lamrite West and joins Michaels’ executive committee. In addition to Pat Catan’s, the company operates a wholesale supply business that was included in the Michaels deal.
“As CEO of Lamrite West, Mike Catanzarite has built a strong leadership team and cultivated a pervasive culture of customer service,” Chuck Rubin, chairman and chief executive officer of Michaels, said in a news release announcing the deal.
“I have long admired the Michaels team, and with the full weight of Michaels resources, I know that our employees and customers will realize tangible benefits from this combination,” Catanzarite said in the release.