Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., formerly Hobby Lobby Creative Centers, is an American retail company. It owns a chain of arts and crafts stores with a volume of over $5 billion in 2018. The chain has 969 stores in 47 US states. Hobby Lobby is owned by Christians and incorporates American conservative values and Christian media. History In 1972, David Green opened the first Hobby Lobby store in northwest Oklahoma City. Green left his supervisor position with variety store TG&Y to open a second Hobby Lobby in Oklahoma City in 1975. He opened an additional store in Tulsa, Oklahoma the next year. Hobby Lobby grew to seven stores by mid-1982, and the first store outside Oklahoma opened in 1984. When Green expanded the scope of the business to include furniture and high-end cookware during the early 1980s, it led to losses as the economy slowed. He returned to an arts and crafts emphasis and by late-1992, the chain had grown to 50 locations in seven U.S. states. As a Christian-owned company, Hobby Lobby incorporates American conservative values and Christian media. David Green, the son of a preacher, declares on the Hobby Lobby web site, "Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles." All stores are closed on Sundays to "allow employees time for family and worship," according to signs posted on the front doors of their retail stores. The company's full-time hourly wage had been $15 since 2014. They announced on September 14, 2020, that it would be raised to $17 effective October 1, 2020. It continued that trend by raising the minimum full-time hourly wage to $18.50, effective Jan. 1, 2022, while increasing its part-time minimum hourly wage by 18% to $13. Hobby Lobby says it has raised its minimum wage twelve times over the thirteen years through 2021. Retail strategy As of 2022, Hobby Lobby has 969 stores in 47 states (every state except Alaska, Hawaii, and Vermont). Hobby Lobby typically seeks to rent big-box facilities, such as previously occupied supermarkets, hardware stores or Kmarts in mid- to high-income suburban areas. This allows the company to save 50–70 percent on an older, existing building lease as compared with constructing a new retail space, which they view as critical to their competitive advantage in the arts and crafts industry. Their stores range in size up to , and they draw