Brett Favre is the king of threading a needle, often risking an interception by zipping the ball between defenders. Football teams looking for a quarterback who takes fewer risks may want to put their dollar on Tom Brady. Both are winners, and both have proved that there's more than one way to win a Super Bowl.

Investors looking for an enterprise that knows a thing or two about threading needles need look no further than Jo-Ann Stores (NYSE:JAS). Yes, Jo-Ann has needle-and-thread fixings galore in its gargantuan stores, but its ability to aggressively expand despite profit margins that are at razor-thin levels is what's most impressive. However, the company will have to keep a handle on expenses for its growth story to stay fully intact.

As Fool contributor Marko Djuranovic highlighted earlier, Jo-Ann's operation threads water with its profit margins. In Jo-Ann's first-quarter results, its operating profit margins were 2.1%. This time last year, they were 3.6%, or 71% higher. The company blamed increased advertising costs, as well as higher store pre-opening and closing costs.

CEO Alan Rosskamm was disappointed by the increased expenses and lower-than-anticipated revenues. Jo-Ann's sales were $420.7 million, up a meager 3.6% compared with the same period a year ago. Same-store sales crept up 0.6% for the quarter compared, with a 6.6% gain last year.

While revenue growth was insignificant, the company continues to grow, with plans to add at least 40 new superstores in fiscal 2006. At this rate, Jo-Ann would increase its superstore count by a robust 30%.

Because of the company's poor sales and margin pressure, net income for the period declined by 37.4% to $4.2 million. Jo-Ann earned $0.18 per share, missing Street estimates by $0.03, and also lowered guidance for its second quarter, forecasting a loss compared with the expected break-even results. The Street punished the shares today, sending them down by over 11% to around $24.92 each.

At this price, Jo-Ann's stock appears fully valued, trading at nearly 13 times the midpoint of the firm's projected current-year earnings. Investors looking to start a position in this company are not getting much margin of safety at this price. Then again, if Favre is your style of quarterback, perhaps you can stomach the added risk.

For additional reading on home-decorating specialty retailers, check out these Foolish threads:

Fool contributor Jeremy MacNealy does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned.