The French subsidiary of the fashion jewelry and accessory dealer Claire’s was transferred to bankruptcy proceedings. This was shared by the lawyer of employee representatives: inside, Khaled Meziani, the AFP news agency on Monday and thus confirmed a report by the local radio station Delta FM.
The provider of Ohrringen, piercings and accessories counted around 250 branches and 800 employees in early 2024: inside. This emerges from the last published business figures.
The Paris Economic Court opened the bankruptcy proceedings on July 24 with an observation period of six months. After this period, the court decides whether a renovation plan with a possible buyer is possible: inside. Alternatively, liquidation, i.e. the employment of business operations, is arranged.
“They state that they are looking for a buyer: inside,” Meziani told AFP. “However, I’m afraid that there will be many layoffs.”
Like Claire’s, many other accessory and prêt-à-porter brands in France have had to register bankruptcy in the past few years and a half years. This also includes the teenage brand Jennyfer at the end of April, which finally found new investor: inside, which could save 350 out of 1,000 endangered jobs.
Many French brands suffer from the competition of Asian low-price websites such as Shein and Temu. The general secretary of the CFDT Services union, Véronique Revillod union at the hearing, criticized AFP a lack of transparency in the financial data of Claire’s France. The company, “which was still profitable last year”, had not sufficiently presented the reasons for the bankruptcy application.
Claire’s France generated a net profit of 1.3 million euros between the end of 2023 and at the end of 2024 and 800,000 euros in the previous financial year. This emerges from the company’s published business figures. However, sales fell from 142 million euros to 132 million euros within one year. Of this, 37 million euros were made to the wholesale business with other Claire’s branches in Europe.
The US mother company of the chain is also in trouble. The US branches applied for creditor protection according to Chapter 11 for the first time in 2018. According to Bloomberg, due to the effects of the tariffs decided by Trump, they are back on products from China, which Claire’s back on to a large scale.
The British subsidiary, owner of Claire’s France, initially did not respond at the request of AFP.
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