Claire’s shuts all UK and Ireland stores with 1,300 redundancies

Claire’s has shut all its 154 high street shops across the UK and Ireland.

Administrators for the fashion accessories chain said that around 1,300 workers will be made redundant as a result.

The move does not affect the retailer’s 356 concessions, including many in Asda stores, and its head office.

It comes after private equity owner Modella Capital hired Kroll to oversee the administration earlier this year.

The investment firm cited weak consumer confidence and continued cost inflation as key reasons for starting insolvency proceedings in January.

A spokesman for Kroll today said: "As of 27 April, all Claire’s standalone stores in UK and Ireland have ceased trading.

"All store employees have been advised of redundancy.

"We understand an interested party is in discussion with a number of landlords with a view to taking new leases for some of the sites."

Earlier this year, retail analysts warned that growing competition from online platforms is putting significant pressure on high street brands.

Claire’s could not “evolve fast enough” to compete with “nimble online platforms” such as Temu and TikTok Shop, Nicholas Found, Head of Commercial Content at Retail Economics, previously said.

He explained that Temu’s ultra-low pricing model, combined with TikTok Shop’s ability to convert social media users directly into customers, has reduced the appeal of traditional high street retailers. This is “especially in fashion accessories where impulse buys are easy to substitute”, he added.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), also previously pointed to the impact of wider economic conditions, saying that rising living costs have created a difficult trading environment and that “it is little surprise to see some businesses falling into administration”.

She further warned that “the situation could become worse if government policies add significantly to this burden in 2026”.