The teenager accessories store Claire’s has filed for bankruptcy and plans to close stores across the U.S., including in Bloomington.
The location at College Mall advertised sales and displayed signs over the weekend reading “STORE CLOSING!” And “EVERYTHING MUST GO!”
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"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," Claire's CEO Chris Cramer said in a statement last week.
"We remain in active discussions with potential strategic and financial partners and are committed to completing our review of strategic alternatives.”
The mall-based accessories retailer is known for helping to usher in millions of teens into an important rite of passage — ear piercing — but now struggling with a big debt load and changing consumer tastes.
Claire’s Chapter 11 filing follows the bankruptcies of other teen retailers including Forever 21, which filed in March for bankruptcy protection for a second time and eventually closed down its U.S. business as traffic in U.S. shopping malls fades and competition from online retailers like Amazon, Temu and Shein intensifies.
Claire’s, based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois and founded in 1974, operates more than 2,750 stores in 17 countries throughout North America and Europe and 190 Icing stores in North America.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
