Claire’s Accessories is set to sell its North American stores in a $104m deal with a private equity firm.
Ames Watson is the buyer that has saved the North American leg of the business.
As part of the deal, the company will acquire the accessories retailer’s brand, rights, and up to 950 of its stores.
It comes after Claire’s filed for bankruptcy in the US, where the chain was originally founded, after falling into $690m debt.
Claire’s has more than 2,300 stores across 17 countries in North America and Europe so while the deal saves some of the brand, a lot of stores are still expected to continue liquidation sales before closing for good.
Ames Watson is known for owning athletic brands such as Lids.
Co-founder, Lawrence Berger, said they were “committed to investing in [Claire’s] future by preserving a significant retail footprint across North America.”
The fate of the rest of the brand is yet to be determined with its UK and Ireland legs already falling into administration and other sites in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France looking set to collapse.
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