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Claire’s has filed for bankruptcy for a second time
The accessories retailer, geared toward tweens, previously filed for Chapter 11 in 2018 and currently faces mounting debt
The company has also faced lawsuits in the past
Claire’s is filing for bankruptcy for the second time.
On Wednesday, Aug. 6, the tween-centric accessories retailer announced in a press release that it has begun voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the state of Delaware. The company, which also operates ICING stores across the United States, has been facing mounting debt in addition to a slew of other issues.
“This decision is difficult, but a necessary one. Increased competition, consumer spending trends and the ongoing shift away from brick-and-mortar retail, in combination with our current debt obligations and macroeconomic factors, necessitate this course of action for Claire’s and its stakeholders,” Chris Cramer, CEO of Claire’s, shared in a statement. “We remain in active discussions with potential strategic and financial partners and are committed to completing our review of strategic alternatives.”
Cramer continued, “I’d like to express my gratitude for our employees, who have continued to work diligently in a constantly evolving consumer landscape to deliver amazing products and experiences for our customers. We remain committed to serving our customers and partnering with our vendors and landlords in other regions during this time.”
The press release also states that Claire’s retail stores in North America will remain open while the company continues to explore all strategic alternatives.
Don and Melinda Crawford/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty
Claire’s store
Per Debtwire via CNN, Claire’s has a $496 million loan due in December 2026 and has stopped paying both interest rent payments on unprofitable stores.
The company previously filed for bankruptcy in 2018.
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In 2019, former Claire’s associate Raylene Marks, who worked at a store in Edmonton, Canada, posted an “open letter” to the accessories giant’s corporate office on Facebook. In the post, Marks detailed a “breaking point” she reached the previous week involving a non-consenting 7-year-old customer.
“The girl pleaded and sobbed for 30 minutes not to be pierced,” Marks wrote. “Despite Mom saying, ‘Honey, we can go home whenever you want,’ she was not letting her daughter go home. She was putting a great deal of pressure on her daughter to go through with the piercing.”
“She begged, over and over again, for Mom to please, just take her home,” Marks continued. “That child’s message was loud and clear to me: Do not touch my body, do not pierce my ears, I do not want to be here. I’m inclined to respect a child’s right to say, ‘NO,’ to any adult forcing any kind of non-medical contact on them, so I told the other piercer I wouldn’t be part of the ear piercing for this girl. To my great relief, in the end the mother respected her daughter’s wishes, and took her home.”
After management allegedly told her it was within company policy to physically restrain children during piercings. She claims in her post that she “had a choice between facing disciplinary actions (that would eventually lead to my termination) the next time I refused to pierce the ears of children who withdrew their consent, or leaving on my own terms.”
Claire’s has also faced several lawsuits. Earlier this year, the company agreed to pay up to $1,032,000 to resolve claims it failed to disclose wage scales and salary ranges in job postings for open positions in Washington.
In 2019, Claire’s faced a class action lawsuit after some of its cosmetic products were found to potentially contain asbestos.
Read the original article on People
