Claire’s is a store which has always held a special place in my heart, and not just for the obvious reason of the same name. As a 19-year-old girl who still purchases Claire’s sensitive solutions earrings, finding out that Claire’s had filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy felt as though a large part of my childhood was dying. The company, known for their inexpensive jewelry and accessories, states that their filing is in hopes to reduce their mass amount of debt by $1.9 billion and fully intends to keep many of their stores open.
In addition, they plan to have their situation rectified by September, in time for the holiday season. However, in a recent New York Times article, Claire’s admitted to closing many of their underperforming stores. I think I speak for many when I say that I hope Claire’s will not follow in the unfortunate footsteps of Toys R Us, which plans to close most, if not all, of their American stores. We cannot handle another piece of our childhood diminished by technology. We are lucky to have grown up as a generation that was not greatly influenced by technology. It is sad to see stores like Toys R Us and Claire’s doing poorly due to the e-commerce world. Due to the increasing ease of online shopping, mall traffic has declined. Claire’s is not blind to this fact.
Still, the company remains confident that they have something the internet cannot match: ear piercing. A staggering 100 million ears have been pierced at Claire’s worldwide. Continuing to offer this only-in-store service gives them a good chance of avoiding closing the doors of those stores, which seem to be performing well. My 11-year-old self, and let’s be honest, my current self, have their fingers crossed!