For years, Claire’s was a rite of passage for mall-going millennials who wanted to buy glittery accessories and butterfly hair clips, and also get their ears pierced.
Now the iconic fashion accessories and jewelry retailer for tweens and teens is set to expand well beyond the mall.
Earlier this week, Ames Watson and Centric Brands announced a licensing partnership that will bring Claire’s to more than 7,000 new retail locations across North America. Currently, Claire’s operates more than 900 locations, many of which are in malls.
Centric Brands will help grow Claire’s presence into new categories and across major retail partners, including CVS, Kohl’s, and Walmart.
“By expanding our presence beyond our own stores, we’re able to meet consumers wherever they shop, while continuing to invest in the in-store experiences that define the brand, like ear piercing,” Lawrence Berger, a cofounder and partner at Ames Watson, said in a statement.
A quick look at Claire’s past
Between 2017 and 2018, Claire’s shuttered 189 stores, including some locations of its sister brand, Icing. The retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2018.
The fashion and accessories company filed for bankruptcy a second time in August 2025. Later that month, Claire’s was acquired by private equity firm Ames Watson for $140 million. Bankruptcy records listed 234 Claire’s stores and 56 Icing stores that were set to close.
Exclusive new items coming to store shelves
Centric Brands and Claire’s will develop an exclusive collection of trend-driven products. The new items will span across multiple categories, including:
- Cosmetics
- Jewelry
- Hair accessories
- Stationery
- Bags
- Novelty items
Centric Brands will also expand Claire’s fashion footprint into additional retailers and explore new product categories, like apparel, accessories, home, and sleepwear.
The licensing partnership could lead to co-branded products being sold through shop-in-shop experiences, leveraging Centric Brands’ relationship with “entertainment studios and other IP holders.”
“The partnership reflects a shared commitment between Centric Brands and Ames Watson to scale Claire’s as a multichannel brand through expanded distribution, strategic licensing partnerships, and consistent brand storytelling across every consumer touchpoint,” a news statement read.
Claire’s isn’t new to retail partnerships
Retail partnerships are nothing new for Claire’s, but the scale of this expansion is.
In 2018, Claire’s began selling its products at select Walmart locations in the United States and Canada. And it partnered with Kohl’s starting in 2023.
This latest move is part of a bigger trend among brick-and-mortar retailers that have figured out ways to strategically coexist. Office supplies chain Staples, for example, recently announced that it would sell merchandise from Party City, a party supplies retailer that also filed for bankruptcy multiple times.