Popular fashion accessories retailer to close its store in Kilkenny

The popular fashion-jewellery retailer Claire’s, best known for selling colourful necklaces and bracelets aimed at the pre-teen and teenage market, is set to close 21 stores across Ireland.

Over 100 stores in the UK and Ireland were not saved after a rescue deal for the popular fashion accessories chain only saved half of the business. 

The Claire's store in McDonagh Junction in Kilkenny has been confirmed as one of the Irish locations that has not been purchased as a part of the rescue deal.

It was announced that the retail giant was saved from a total shut down by investment firm Modella Capital.

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The firm bought the majority of the company's operations and assets from administrators.

The Modella Capital deal will only save just over half of the chain's 300 outlets around the UK and Ireland.

A total of 145 stores were not bought, including 19 stores in the Republic of Ireland and six in Northern Ireland.

All stores not purchased are still currently open except the Claire's on Cruises Street in County Limerick, and it is not known yet when the stores will cease trading.

However, they have commenced closing down sales in-store in order to sell the remaining stock.

The list of stores that were not purchased in the deal are:

At the time is was announced by the owners that the advisory firm Interpath, appointed Will Wright and Chris Pole as joint administrators, for both the UK and Ireland.

A spokesperson for the joint administrators said: “Our priority remains to assess all of the options available for the Claire’s stores which did not transfer to Modella as part of the transaction announced on 29 September. In the meantime, however, we have commenced closing down sales in each of the stores in order to sell the remaining stock.”

The announcement comes after US owners of the retailer confirmed the appointment of administrators late last summer - in the UK and Ireland - following their August 6 bankruptcy filing in the United States, with CEO Chris Cramer calling the decision to officially file a "difficult but a necessary one."

This is the second time that Claire's has filed for bankruptcy in recent years, having filed in 2018 and exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy (in the United States) in 2022.

Owned by a group of investment firms, the company blamed the most recent bankruptcy claim on "increased competition, consumer spending trends and the ongoing shift away from 'brick-and-mortar' retail" for the decision to refile for bankruptcy as well as "debt obligations" to up to 50,000 creditors.

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