Potential Buyers Eye Claire’s Stores in Spain Amid U.S. Parent’s Strategic Moves

The ailing accessories chain Claire’s is starting to dismember, also in Spain. As sources close to the process have explained to Modaes, the first interested parties in the network of stores in the domestic market, consisting of about thirty stores, are beginning to apply. The Spanish subsidiary of Claire’s filed for liquidation several months ago.

Among those interested in acquiring all or part of the Claire’s network of stores in the Spanish market is the telephone chain La Casa de las Carcasas, founded by Ismael Villalobos, which currently has more than a thousand stores in thirteen countries.

As confirmed to Modaes by sources of the telephone accessories company, the company has also bid for the Claire’s network of stores in France. The House of Cases would have proposed to take over 34 employees and part of the network of stores, along with the jewelry company June, which has applied to exploit the brand and take over 426 employees.

Claire’s España, domiciled on Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid, was declared bankrupt at the beginning of October. The process is being led by Convenia Profesional.

Claire’s España went into liquidation dragged by the crisis of its parent company

At the end of fiscal 2023 (ending January 2024), Claire’s had a network of 116 stores in Spain, three more than twelve months earlier. However, the network currently consists of around thirty stores.

Claire’s Spain’s sales fell by 6.13% in 2023, to €19.98 million, while net income stood at negative €252,460, compared to a loss of €3.5 million in 2022.

Founded in 1974, the company defines itself as a shopping destination for jewelry, cosmetics, accessories and piercing for girls and teenagers between the ages of 3 and 18. The company, which has been experiencing difficulties since 2018, entered bankruptcy in August in the United States. Among the reasons for its entry into court was a bulging debt, falling consumption in its home market and rising costs due to the new U.S. tariff policy.

At the end of August, the company transferred its business in its local market to the investment group Ames Watson, while in the world’s main markets its subsidiaries filed for the equivalent of bankruptcy. In the United Kingdom, the process resulted in the sale of 156 stores to the private equity firm Modella Capital, owner of WH Smith and Hobbycraft.