Hobby Lobby expansion is expected to go West

By Ja'Rena Lunsford
The Oklahoman

Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby is entering the Arizona and Utah markets this year.
The craft store's founder, David Green, told members of the Downtown Rotary Club on Tuesday his company plans to open new stores in the two western states, keeping in line with Hobby Lobby's goal of opening 30 stores a year.

Green projects company sales for 2006 to reach $1.6 billion, and he said the business, which he started nearly 34 years ago, has no plans to franchise or go public.

With 368 stores in 28 states and 700,000-square-feet of manufacturing space, Hobby Lobby has become one of the most successful companies in the state. But that's not the mission of Hobby Lobby.

Mission work and bringing God's word to people is and has always been what the company is about, Green said.

"That's what makes us tick, that's what makes us get up and do what we do," he said. "If we didn't do things like that, I'm not sure we'd have a purpose."

Hobby Lobby's ministry projects include providing gospel books to children, Christian advertising agency Bearing Fruit Communications and Mardel, the Christian book and office supply store with 21 locations in six states. Green said the company plans to open four or five Mardel stores a year.

Hobby Lobby's religious foundation became clearer in 1999 when the company ceased its Sunday hours, following Mardel's practice.