Arts and crafts retail chain A.C. Moore will close all 140 of its stores including its 18 New Jersey locations, the company announced Monday.

The company, which opened its first store in Moorestown in 1985, did not say exactly when the closures would begin, but said 40 of its locations will eventually be replaced by retail chain Michaels.

“For over 30 years, our stores have been servicing the creative community with a vast selection of art and craft materials, with one common focus, the customer,” A.C. Moore CEO Anthony Piperno said in a statement. “Unfortunately, given the headwinds facing many retailers in today’s environment, it made it very difficult for us to operate and compete on a national level.”

Piperno said the closing and reopening of some under the Michaels name would be “the best option for our employees, customers, vendors, landlords, and other key stakeholders and thank them for their many years of support.”

Michael’s is the largest arts and crafts retailer in North America and has over 1,200 stores across the country, according to the statement.

The company also did not say which stores would be reopened as Michaels and said more information on specific store closures will be announced in the “upcoming weeks” on the A.C. Moore web site.

A.C. Moore’s Garden State stores are located in Egg Harbor, Sewell, Deptford, Vorhees, Haddon, Mount Laurel, Hamilton (Mercer County), Brick, Wall, Manalapan, Ocean Township (Monmouth County), East Brunswick, Shrewsbury, Watchung, Linden, Clifton, Newton and Paramus.

“While we will stop accepting further online orders as of today, we will ship any previously placed orders in the ordinary course," Piperno added in the statement.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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