A staple at malls across the U.S., Claire’s announced that it has initiated voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings as it seeks “strategic alternatives” to remain open.
There are 2,750 Claire’s stores in 17 countries throughout North America and Europe, the company says. Claire’s previously filed for bankruptcy in 2018 when it had over 4,000 locations.
The company said it plans to close 18 U.S. locations, with more locations to be added to the list. Those locations include: …
Although Claire’s did not directly cite tariffs, the company did say macroeconomic factors played a role in its decision to seek bankruptcy.
What a year. like every store is closing in my area. I decided to check online which was this year looks like all these closed or plan to stores.
- Party city
- Express
- Rite aid
- Cvs
- Rue 21
- Family dollar
- Joann’s
- Big lots
- Khols
- Jc penny
- Maceys
But cheeto nazi child fucker said everything is great and that’s why giant gold ballroom is happening.
Oof, bet that hurts. Beauty products are famously resilient during a recession. They were probably about to do pretty well.
Fuck’em. Claire’s shipped cadmium jewelry to children, and said they had no reason to believe it was unsafe. Should’ve been given the corporate death sentence, but instead, I don’t even think they got any criminal charges.
Also make-up for kids with asbestos.
lol last paragraph: I’m not saying it was tariffs but it was tariffs
NOOOOOOO!! Where am I going to get my lobotomy! Now I’ll never be like the other girls!
Hey that’s where I got my vasectomy! My wife was considering getting her historectomy there, so I’ll have to tell her to get a move one before they close
A mall in my state has TWO Claire’s in it. It is one of the most bizarre traits of the mall, second only to the fact that to get to half of the mall you have to walk through a JC Penney.
A mall in my state has TWO Claire’s in it
Probably not for much longer.
…Hanes Mall?
what are the fucking odds?
That’s a feature, not a bug. Penney’s paid a LOT for that. We had a similar mall In my state that was, essentially, a giant long rectangle. It had a Virgin Megastore right in the middle of the mall that went all the way through to the other side andmit was the only store like that. Going through that store was the only way to get from one side to the other without walking all the way around that long-ass mall.
Are they owned by private equity?
They are!
Claire’s was a publicly-traded company listed on the NASDAQ in 2005, but was taken private by the private equity firm Apollo Global Management in a $3.1 billion leveraged buyout in 2007.
WikipediaAfter a period of rapid (dare I say, irresponsible) expansion, they underwent their first bankruptcy in 2018 to discharge the debt from the poor management choices. Shortly after exiting bankruptcy in 2021, they claimed record earnings and announced plans for an IPO that never happened. Now they’re bankrupt again.
Oh no, wherever will middle school girls be able to try out shoplifting now?
Shit they should just close them all. I seen these things in Walmart and there never anyone in there.
They should close where you work.
If he’s American, he won’t be waiting long.
Imagine this: you are inside a local mall, and you are planning at getting some grub at the food court, your tablet repaired at Apple, some browsing at American Eagle, and maybe laugh at the teenagers shopping over at Spencer’s. You glance over as you walk in, and see this: Claire’s? Sure, you’re window shopping, but… the name isn’t descriptive, they have no logo, the front displays don’t really show you what they sell. Why should I step into this store? I could look up what they sell while I’m waiting for my food order, but I’m not that invested in this black-hole - and oh look an Orange Julius!
I’m not super popular (‘like oh my gawdddd let’s go to the mall and tease the boys to get free movie tickets and dinner’) but literally nobody I know from any generation knows wtf this store is. It might as well be a real-life creation of a store from GTA.
Apparently they sell “accessories, jewelry, and toys primarily aimed towards tween and teen girls, and young women”. I’m male but gay af and hung out regularly (read: almost daily) with the chick crowd as a teen, and still nobody, even in my extended friends-of-friends, had gone into one. That’s not great for business.
This is so bizarrely different from my experience. I would bet 90% of women in my generation (millennial) who ever spent time in a mall think of Claire’s as the default place to get your ears pierced. And naturally then, to get new earrings or other jewelry.
As a teen, it was a default stop on the mall circuit every weekend; it’s where my sister and I both got our ears pierced when we turned 13, and where I got jewelry for prom and BFF keychains with friends before going off to college. I was far from popular; I was the nerd who sat at the front of the bus and read a book to avoid my bullies, etc. I only even had friends to go to the mall with as a teen because I went to a college preparatory high school where almost everyone else was a nerd, too. But despite my lowly status on the social totem pole, Claire’s was a staple.
I’m a millennial guy and even I know what Claire’s is. Not because I ever went in there or cared about it, but just because (contrary to what the person upthread said) the entrance is bright and open so it’s pretty easy to see into the place and a bunch of racks of cheap jewelry and whatnot are pretty distinctive, as far as merchandise goes. It’s not like one of those stores that are moodily-lit or obscure what’s inside to try to make people curious.
Xennial guy. It’s where we went to get magnetic jewelry to scare our parents into thinking we actually got our ears or noses pierced. They fell for it three times, same damn magnetic stud in different places (first my ear, then my nose, then my brother’s ear). Fourth time (other brother’s ear) they caught on.
Right?! I thought about mentioning the bright lighting and glass walls that make all the products visible. Or the window clings advertising ear piercings.
Anyway, thanks for validating my thoughts… I was very confused by the person I responded to and thought maybe the gender divide was greater than I thought, lol.
Just took my daughter a couple of weeks ago for some clip-on earrings (we’ll do it right and get her ears pierced at a tattoo parlor if/when she decides she wants them pierced) honestly a part of me hopes they can keep hanging on
Good for you! When I got a second piercing I knew better and went somewhere they used a hollow needle instead of a gun.
but literally nobody I know from any generation knows wtf this store is. It might as well be a real-life creation of a store from GTA.
Branch out some more. A single google search will tell you exactly what it is. Hell, just walking in will clue you in to their core business model
Stopped reading a single line before I did exactly that…
It’s where Tweens to to get their ears peirced with a shitty peircing GU. That can damage your cartilage by a barely trained minimum wage worker. Folks, needle peirceing is safer and less painful. Find a reputable tattoo and peircing shop and do it there
Sure but where else would one go to get staph?
But yeah, preach about proper piercing. I’ve been getting parents to go to actual shops for years now. Keep up the good fight.
I haven’t been in a mall in at least a decade. I wasn’t sure they existed any more. I know what Claire’s is as do most people alive and shopping in the 90s.
It’s junk jewelry & a place you’d get your ears pierced in the 90s. You’d walk in with a parent, pick some studs, and they’d use an earring gun on your lobes.
It’s older than American Eagle, in terms of mall fare. Spencer’s & Claire’s were in every mall back in the day.
This isn’t a defense of cheap jewelry post, it’s an I find your statement odd post.
I grew up in the 90s and 00s, and I’ve always seen them, but my friend group never visited one, talked about it, not even a passing mention on school campus talking about what we did over the weekend. There were a decent number of stores that were regulars to visit, but Claire’s definitely wasn’t one of them.
Maybe we were more thrifty than others - we’d window shop a ton, but only buy something if it was planned. But the Walmart and Target down the road, that saw a lot more spur-of-the-moment purchases.
