Claire’s, mall mainstay and teen piercing go-to, plans closures in Pa. and N.J.

Claire’s, the low-cost jewelry and accessory retailer, filed for bankruptcy Wednesday and notified the state of New Jersey that it plans to lay off employees.

“This decision is difficult but a necessary one,” CEO Chris Cramer said Wednesday, announcing the Chapter 11 filing.

“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,” he said.

In New Jersey, the company expects to lay off 155 sales assistants, assistant managers, and managers come November, in Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, and Union Counties, according to a layoff notice filed with the state. The stated reason for layoffs was “termination of operations” at several closing stores.

A Claire’s spokesperson declined to provide additional information on store closures.

Claire’s faces roughly $500 million in debt, and the company is in active discussions with “potential strategic and financial partners” as it reviews “strategic alternatives.”

Its new bankruptcy filing is the company’s second in less than eight years. The last was in 2018, and it shed $1.9 billion in debt.

The business, which is headquartered in Illinois, has two branded lines: Claire’s, which is geared toward teens and tweens, and ICING, which is geared toward 18- to 35-year-old customers.

There are over 2,750 Claire’s stores in North America and Europe and some 190 ICING stores in North America. Many are in malls, and some are within Walmart stores.

The Claire’s brand has 46 stores in Pennsylvania and 26 in New Jersey, with several local Philadelphia-area stores, according to the company’s website.

Claire’s stores in North America “will remain open and continue to serve customers while the company continues to explore all strategic alternatives,” the company said Wednesday.

Court documents include a list of 18 Claire’s and ICING branded stores planned to close sales ending by Sept. 7. That list includes its Uniontown, Pa., and Livingston, N.J., locations.

Documents also listed more than 1,300 more stores that could close later in the bankruptcy, including several dozen in Pennsylvania.