Claire’s, the ear-piercing tween mall staple, is bankrupt — again

['Alina Selyukh', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright'] TPR: The Public's Radio 2025-08-06 15:31:57

An American mall staple, Claire’s is known for its ear piercing services and brightly colored jewelry for young shoppers. (Seth Wenig | AP)Claire’s — the ear-piercing, glittery tween mall staple — is once again on the brink of survival. The retailer says its Canadian arm will pursue a similar bankruptcy proceeding, but that North American stores would remain open during the process. The deal saw Claire’s take on extensive debt that it planned to pay off as the chain grew rapidly — until it didn’t. In May, Bloomberg reported that Claire’s was deferring interest payments and planned to cover them with additional debt.