Claire’s expected to return to high street with 50 reopened stores next month
Claire’s could make a return to the UK high street as early as next month with around 50 stores reopening.
According to The Guardian, Julien Jarjoura, the operator of Claire’s shops in Austria, France, Portugal and Spain, has said he has the blessing of the US owner of the Claire’s brand, Ames Watson, to open stores in the UK. He is also signing new leases with UK landlords.
Subscribe to TRBThe news comes just days after it was announced that all Claire’s stores in the UK and Ireland had stopped trading after the accessories retailer fell into administration twice in one year.
Administrators at Kroll said all 154 shops had closed with more that 1,300 staff members being notified of redundancy.
Having first tried to buy Claire’s in January, Jarjoura told The Guardian that he is aiming to open four to ten stores a week from June.
He said: “I feel sad when I see a nice business going down. The brand was basically dead and we’re bringing it back to life.”
Jarjoura said Claire’s had been held back by a lack of investment in stores and that its products were too expensive and not right for the UK market. As a result, the brand had relied too much on heavy discounting.
He said: “There will definitely be some brand repositioning. We are not a discount store but like to sell stuff at a fair price.”
Adding that it would take time to “bring back the customers”, he said he is planning to refurbish stores, and will continue to offer ear piercing services. He will also introduce new jewellery and accessory ranges with prices running from £1.90 up to £100.
Jajoura told The Guardian that has already hired some of Claire’s former managers in the UK but has not taken on its UK head office or acquired any old stock from the administrators.
He added: “We need to invest in the business. We are not unrealistic in terms of getting benefits from this company in three to five years.”
