Claire’s Files for Administration in the UK and Ireland

Claire’s enters bankruptcy proceedings in two more markets. The teen accessories retailer has officially entered bankruptcy proceedings in the UK and Ireland, managed by Interpath Advisory, while continuing to operate.

The company has filed a notice of intention to appoint Interpath Advisory as administrator, which will evaluate the company’s options as it continues to operate its 278 UK stores and 28 Irish locations, with a total workforce of around 2,150 employees.

The company’s UK managing director and managing director, Will Wright and Chris Pole, respectively, have been appointed joint administrators of Claire’s in the UK and Ireland.

Since 2018, Claire’s has been experiencing difficulties that it has been unable to resolve. With the announcement of the sale of its UK store network last July, Hilco Capital Group, an investor in retail companies such as Superdry, submitted a formal bid for the UK business, which ultimately was not completed.

Claire’s could say goodbye also to Germany and Austria

Just a week ago, Claire’s filed for bankruptcy protection for its U.S. store network due to a cocktail of circumstances: a $477 million debt maturing in December 2026, falling consumption in the U.S. and, above all, rising costs resulting from increased tariffs imposed by the U.S. on China, Claire’s’ main sourcing market.

The U.S. Court of Auditors provisionally approved the initial requests to provide liquidity to the company. It also filed for bankruptcy in Canada, where it proceeded under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (Ccaa). At the same time, Claire’s has disclosed that separate proceedings are also underway in Germany and Austria.

France is another of the markets where Claire’s will cease operations, with the Paris commercial court declaring the company in redressement judiciare (equivalent to insolvency proceedings) last month.