Future of iconic high street chain with 281 shops in doubt as it's put for sale

The Sun

19 hours ago

THE future of an iconic high street chain with 281 shops is in doubt as it is put up for sale.
Claire's Accessories is exploring a sale of the business as it feels the squeeze of higher US import costs and rising competition in the market.
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That is according to a report by Bloomberg, which said bankers at Houlihan Lokey Inc are on the hunt for potential buyers for all or part of the jewellery and piercing brand.
The potential sale is understood to include stores across North American and Europe.
Claire's has 2,000 stores in total across both regions, with 281 stores in the UK.
It is not guaranteed the sale will go ahead and the stores across Britain remain open and trading as usual.
The Sun has contacted Claire's for comment
The reports follow a tricky period for the brand, which is popular amongst pre-teens and younger children.
Claire's reportedly has a $500million (£368million) loan looming overhead, which is due in December 2026.
Bossess at the chain have also chosen to defer paying interest on debt and tapped US advisory firms to help shore up extra cash.
It is not the first time Claire's has found itself in hot water.
The chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in March 2018.
This means a company intends to reorganise its debts and assets while remaining in business.
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Since then, the group has largely been controlled by former creditors including investment firms Elliott Management Corp.
Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor said Claire's decision to explore a sale comes as "little surprise".
The retail expert said the budget jeweller has been "weighed down" by mounting debt, and Trump's tariffs have only added to its woes.
She explained: "Claire's low-price offering is clearly not strong enough to win over its core customers – teens and young adults – as they now have access to a vast array of affordable and convenient products online through platforms like Amazon and Temu.
"So, with fewer reasons for its customers to visit their stores, the retailer has struggled to stay relevant".
TROUBLE ON THE HIGH STREET
Claire's is not the only popular brand to struggle in the face of dwindling sales and rising costs.
River Island will close 33 stores and a further 70 could shut for good as part of a restructuring plan.
Poundland will close 68 stores following its £1 sale to US investmet firm Gordron Brothers.
But even before this announcement, the bargain chain had already planned to close 18 stores,
Elsewhere, Hobby Craft and The Original Factory Shop have made a series of closures in the past few weeks.
Both were bought by Modella Capital, with the investment firm making a series of closures to help shore up costs at the respective groups.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."