Claire’s in Administration Threat

It has been reported that Claire’s, the fashion accessories chain, has filed an intention to appoint administrators at the court today.  Interpath have been lined up to try and rescue the company, the move puts 2,150 jobs at risk.​

​​​​The company has 278 shops in the UK and 28 in Ireland but has been struggling with falling sales and fierce competition.  The US arm of the company has already gone into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Claire’s said all outlets will continue trading while administrators at Interpath said they will “assess options for the company” once appointed.

​Mr Cramer, the chief executive, said: “This decision, while difficult, is part of our broader effort to protect the long-term value of Claire’s across all markets.”

Mr Wright at Interpath said: “Over the coming weeks, we will endeavour to continue to operate all stores as a going concern for as long as we can, while we assess options for the company.”

​​The UK chain sits as part of the Claire’s empire, which stems from a base in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois.

Claire’s French business, which has 239 stores, was forced to call in receivers last month.

As such, it isn’t really a UK specific problem.  The main issue has been that the teenagers and “tweens” who have been the bedrock of Claire’s customer base worldwide now buy their “accessories” online, via influencers and from the likes of Temu and Shein.

Many retailers have used CVAs to try and reduce costs but in the case of Claire’s the problems were probably too deep and the benefit of exiting a few leases or reducing rents was not going to be enough.​

A loan of £355m is due to be paid back in December 2026 and it is likely that the lenders ( who are secured so not bound by a CVA ) felt that time was up.  The last 3 years the company has lost £25m and turnover has fallen to £137m