Teen accessories chain Claire’s filed to go public on Sept. 29, barely three years after it left Chapter 11.
According to the filing, Claire’s—which has 1,581 company-operated stores in North America and 887 in Europe—derives about half of its sales (48%) from jewelry.
The Hoffman Estates, Illinois–based company considers itself “the world’s largest ear-piercing services provider as well as the market share leader in retail piercing services in North America.” In its last quarter, Claire’s averaged approximately 100,000 piercings per week. Excluding the three months affected by COVID-19 lockdown, it has experienced 25 consecutive quarters of comp growth in its ear-piercing business.
The company says it plans to expand its nose-piercing services, which it currently only offers in certain non-U.S. stores.
But while Claire’s—which also owns the sub-brand Icing—does a lot of business and has strong brand awareness, it still has problems making money.
In its latest quarter (ended July 31), it did $355 million in business, compared to $183 million for the same period last year. But in both quarters, it posted an overall net loss: $144.3 million in 2021, and $37 million in 2020.
Comps for the most recent quarter rose 34.4%, compared to 2020, and 11.8% compared to the same period in 2019.
In its last fiscal year (ended Jan. 30), the company posted $910 million in sales, and a $67 million loss.
Founded in 1961, the chain is owned by affiliates of Elliott Management Corp. and Monarch Alternative Capital, both of which will retain significant control of the company post-IPO. Ryan Vero, a veteran of Party City, Sears, and OfficeMax, has served as CEO since July 2019. Other execs include Beth Moeri, who serves as chief merchandising officer; she previously worked at Fossil and Pandora, and serves as a director of Jewelers for Children.
The IPO is valued at $100 million, but that figure is often used as a placeholder number.
The piercing business has caught the attention of Signet, which owns Piercing Pagoda. (The chain is rebranding itself Banter by Piercing Pagoda.) Signet is expanding that brand and plans to increase its piercing offerings in its mall stores like Kay.
In March 2018, Claire’s filed for Chapter 11, after being saddled with heavy debt from its 2007 purchase by Apollo Global Management. The bankruptcy was “pre-packaged,” and the company exited the process in seven months.
(Photo via Wikipedia)
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