A MUCH-LOVED high street brand has launched a bargain deal offering 10 items for just £10 as it begins shutting down 145 stores across the UK.
Claire’s Accessories, once a go-to for young shoppers and ear piercings, has started its final clearance sales after collapsing into administration earlier this year.
The accessories chain is selling off stock in closing branches, with customers reporting “surprise bags” stuffed with discounted items as the retailer winds down operations.
Shoppers have been snapping up £10 the £10 bag, which comes packed with 10 mystery items.
One shopper posted in Facebook’s Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group: “Went to Claire’s today and got a £10 surprise bag.”
Of course, part of the charm is that shoppers don’t know what the bag contains until they purchase it.
The customer added that only two of the ten items were worth keeping, saying: “The rest I will try and sell or if they don’t go, then charity shop it is.”
Other bargain hunters disagreed, with one commenter saying: “For £10 my nearly 9-year-old daughter would love all of that!”
Another added: “I paid £6 and the bag was rammed full!”
While a third chimed in: “My girls would love this, wow.”
Stores closing
In August, investment firm Modella Capital struck a deal to buy 156 UK Claire’s stores, saving part of the business, but leaving 145 branches facing closure.
Modella’s managing director Joe Price said: “As a firm, we strongly believe that this much-loved brand deserves the chance to remain on the High Street in the UK and Ireland.
“The issues that Claire’s is facing are significant, and we will need to work collaboratively with all interested parties if our proposed rescue plan is to succeed.”
Claire’s chief executive officer Chris Cramer said the administration was a “difficult but necessary” step to protect the brand’s future.
He added: “This decision is part of our broader effort to protect the long-term value of Claire’s across all markets. We are deeply grateful to our employees, partners, and customers during this challenging period.”
The retailer officially entered administration in August, appointing Will Wright and Chris Pole from Interpath Advisory as joint administrators.
At the time, Wright said: “Claire’s has long been a popular brand across the UK, known not only for its trend-led accessories but also as the go-to destination for ear piercing.
“Over the coming weeks, we will endeavour to continue to operate all stores as a going concern for as long as we can, while we assess options for the company.”
Global struggles
The UK collapse followed turmoil in the US, where Claire’s filed for bankruptcy on August 7.
The American arm has since secured a buyer for around 950 stores, safeguarding thousands of jobs.
Despite the uncertainty, administrators in the UK say they will continue trading remaining stores “for as long as possible” while exploring rescue options.
For now, shoppers have a final chance to grab discounted accessories as the once-iconic brand prepares to sail into the sunset, closing a major chapter in British high street fashion.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
