Popular retailer with 281 stores across UK gives major update over its future

The future of an iconic retailer that has been a staple of UK high streets for decades has been thrown into doubt, as owners reportedly search for a buyer amid tough economic conditions. Claire's Accessories first appeared in towns and cities across Britain in the late 1990s, and quickly became a hit with young girls and teenagers for its range of accessories, jewellery and toys. The US-based retailer, which has 281 UK branches and 2,750 worldwide, has not been exempt from the hiked cost pressures and rising online competition plaguing the industry, however.

Claire's reported a 0.8% drop in sales to £137 million last year, according to Companies House, pushing its owners, including JP Morgan and Elliott Management, to begin scouting for potential buyers, as first reported by Bloomberg. Shifting customer preferences and economy uncertainty also saw UK-based cosmetics firm Revolution Beauty begin exploring takeover bids from "a number of" interested parties last month.

Claire's, which has over 1,300 US-based stores, has been dealt a blow by Donald Trump's recent influx of trade tariffs because of its dependence on cheap goods from China, alongside the growing shift towards online shopping, which taken its toll on primarily brick-and-mortar-based enterprises.

The retailer also said it was being hit by "general economic conditions and consumer activity in Europe, in particular general retail customer traffic and discretionary customer spending".

It is now reportedly searching for a bidder to buy out some or all of its global store portfolio, with the aim of paying off a loan of almost £367.3 million ($500m), due by December.

Bankers at London-based Houlihan Lokey Inc have been hired to find a prospective buyer, Bloomberg reports, after the firm was hired by Claire's owners to help strengthen its financial position.

The last few years has been a precarious period for retailers up and down the British high street, with around 35 shops shutting their doors every day in 2024.

The shift towards online shopping, economic turbulence and the added pressures of the Government's hike of employers' National Insurance and the minimum wage have all contributed to the trend, which will also see the closure of Poundland, River Island, Iceland and Holland and Barrett branches this month - as bigger firms downsize in an attempt to curb high costs.