It’s not every day that a CEO swap makes waves in the crafting world, but the news of Ashley Buchanan leaving Michaels definitely shook the glitter off the shelves.
You’ve probably seen the headlines. One minute, he’s the Walmart alum credited with dragging a legacy craft retailer into the digital age. The next? He’s the center of a corporate drama that reads more like a Netflix limited series than a dry earnings report.
Honestly, the story isn't just about a guy changing jobs. It’s a messy, fascinating look at how fast the retail world moves and how quickly things can go sideways when personal relationships and professional boundaries get blurred.
Why did Ashley Buchanan leave Michaels in the first place?
To understand the exit, you have to look at where it started. Buchanan stepped into the CEO role at Michaels back in early 2020. Talk about timing. He literally started right as the world shut down.
For a while, it looked like a match made in heaven. People were stuck at home, desperate for yarn and paint to keep from going stir-crazy. Buchanan, with his deep background in e-commerce from his days at Walmart and Sam’s Club, was exactly what Michaels needed. He pushed the "Maker" strategy, beefed up their app, and launched curbside pickup at record speed.
He was the golden boy. Under his watch, the company went private in a massive $3.3 billion deal with Apollo Global Management in 2021.
But by late 2024, the script changed.
On November 25, 2024, Michaels officially announced that Buchanan would be stepping down as CEO, effective January 15, 2025. At the time, the press release was standard corporate fluff—lots of "thank yous" and "wishing him the best." The real reason for the jump? He had been poached.
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Kohl’s was calling.
The department store giant was struggling and they wanted Buchanan’s "transformation" magic. He was supposed to be their savior. But as we now know, that’s where the story gets really weird.
The Kohl’s disaster and the fallout
If Buchanan had just stayed at Michaels or retired to a beach, he’d probably still be remembered as the guy who saved the craft store. Instead, his tenure at Kohl's lasted barely four months.
In May 2025, Kohl’s fired him "for cause."
They didn't just let him go; they scorched the earth. An internal investigation found he had directed the company to engage in vendor transactions with "undisclosed conflicts of interest." Specifically, the board alleged he funneled multimillion-dollar deals to a vendor linked to someone he had a personal relationship with.
He forfeited a $2.5 million signing bonus and all his equity. Just like that, the retail "innovator" was out in the cold.
Who is running the show at Michaels now?
After the news of Ashley Buchanan leaving Michaels, the board didn't sit around. They needed a steady hand to keep the "MakerPlace" and digital momentum going.
In February 2025, Michaels appointed David Boone as the new CEO.
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Boone isn't some random hire. He came from Staples Canada, where he had spent six years doing a massive turnaround. He also had a long history at Loblaw, Canada's biggest retailer.
The strategy for the post-Buchanan era is pretty clear:
- Double down on "MakerPlace": Trying to compete with Etsy by giving creators a place to sell.
- Format shifts: Moving away from giant warehouses to smaller, more efficient boutique-style stores.
- Tech over everything: Continuing the push to make the app the center of the shopping experience.
It’s a different vibe. Buchanan was the "visionary" who broke things and moved fast. Boone feels more like the "operator" hired to make sure those big ideas actually make money long-term.
The "Sheer Folly" allegations
You can't talk about Buchanan leaving without mentioning the whispers that started before he even walked out the door.
There’s been a fair amount of online chatter—some of it stemming from retail analysts like Brittain Ladd—regarding a failed IT transformation at Michaels during the Buchanan years.
The allegation? That Buchanan brought in former associates from his Walmart days, specifically a Chief Information Officer named Hsiao Wang, and spent nearly $250 million on an IT project that allegedly went nowhere. Some sources claimed the project involved "copying" software rather than building it and that the office culture became toxic.
Michaels never officially confirmed these specific messy details, but the timing of his departure to Kohl's certainly gave the rumors more oxygen. When a CEO leaves right before a project is supposed to deliver results, people notice.
The legacy left behind
Kinda wild when you think about it.
Buchanan’s time at Michaels will always be defined by the "COVID bump." He took a 50-year-old company that barely knew how to sell a glue gun online and turned it into a legitimate omnichannel player.
You’ve gotta give him credit for that.
- He launched the MakerPlace handmade marketplace.
- He introduced curbside pickup and same-day delivery.
- He refreshed the store branding to feel less like a dusty warehouse.
But the way it ended—the jump to Kohl's, the immediate firing, the ethics investigation—it casts a long shadow. For Michaels, his departure was a clean break. They got the digital upgrades they needed and then moved on to a leader with a more traditional retail pedigree.
What this means for you (the shopper)
If you’re just someone who needs a 40% off coupon for some framing, you probably won't see much change. The "new" Michaels is already built.
The app works. You can buy online and pick up in-store. Those were Buchanan’s wins.
What's coming next under David Boone is likely going to be about price and selection. With inflation hitting everybody’s hobby budget, the focus has shifted from "cool tech" to "how do we keep yarn affordable?"
Expect to see:
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- More private labels: Michaels-owned brands that are cheaper than the big names.
- Smaller stores: More locations in suburban strips, but with a more curated (read: smaller) inventory.
- A push for "services": More classes and in-store events to get you through the door.
Basically, the era of the "big pivot" is over. Now, it's about making the business run smoothly without the drama.
Actionable Insights for Retail Watchers
If you're following this because you're into business or you're a "Maker" yourself, here are a few things to keep an eye on:
- Watch the Board: Corporate governance matters. The fact that Buchanan was caught in a conflict of interest at Kohl's suggests that Michaels' private equity owners (Apollo) might have had a tighter leash on him than we realized.
- Etsy vs. MakerPlace: Check out the MakerPlace site. If Michaels can successfully peel sellers away from Etsy’s high fees, they win. If it stays a ghost town, that’s a failed Buchanan legacy.
- Job Stability: If you work in retail tech, notice how often "Walmart alumni" are hired in clusters. It’s a network. When the lead guy leaves, the rest usually follow or get pushed out.
The saga of Ashley Buchanan leaving Michaels is a reminder that in the C-suite, your reputation is your only real currency. Once that's questioned, doesn't matter how much you grew the e-commerce biz. You're gone.
Michaels has moved on to David Boone. Kohl's is still trying to find its footing after the "100-day CEO" disaster. And the rest of us? We’re just here for the craft supplies.
To stay ahead of how these leadership shifts might affect your local store, keep an eye on the Michaels Press Room for quarterly updates on their "MakerPlace" expansion and new store format rollouts. If you see a "Grand Opening" for a smaller-format Michaels in your town, that's the Boone strategy in action.