Buckland Hills Store In Teen Accessories Chain To Close Amid Financial Woes

MANCHESTER, CT — The impact of bankruptcy proceedings regarding mall-based teen accessories retailer Claire's/Icing is not good in Manchester.

Liquidation sales are ongoing at the Buckland Hills mall store. Signs are up all over the second-floor store.

Almost to a staffer, those answering the phones at each Claire's (and the one ICING in Manchester) said there has been minimal communications sent from the corporate side. Liquidation sales are underway at those designated for closure without a definite shuttering date.

Prosperous stores are to stay open, one staffer said. One of those locations doing well is at the Westfarms Mall on the Farmington-West Hartford line. A staffer answering the phone seemed insulted by the question and tersely said "no" when asked if the store were among those closing.

Claire's and Icing have long been go-to locations for entry-level ear-piercing and teen accessories, but the company is struggling with a big debt accumulation and a shift in consumer habits to online shopping, according to an Aug. 6 bankruptcy filing.

Claire’s Holdings LLC made the move in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. It marked the second time bankruptcy filing for Claire's since 2018.

Claire's operates more than 2,750 stores in 17 countries throughout North America and Europe and 190 Icing stores in North America.

In a court filing, Claire's said its assets and liabilities range between $1 billion and $10 billion.

“This decision is difficult, but a necessary one,” Claire's CEO, Chris Cramer, said in an accompanying new release issued at the time of the filing. "Increased competition, consumer spending trends and the ongoing shift away from brick-and-mortar retail, in combination with our current debt obligations and macroeconomic factors, necessitate this course of action for Claire's and its stakeholders."

Here's a look at the Connecticut landscape:

Icing

• Manchester — Store closing sales are underway with no definite closing date.

Claire's

• Trumbull — Store closing sales are underway with no definite closing date.
• Danbury — Store is not closing.
• Waterbury — Store closing sales are underway with no definite closing date.
• Waterford — Store closing sales are underway, with an anticipated closing date of late summer.
• Milford — Store is staying open for now.
• Canton — Store is remaining open.
• Farmington/West Hartford — Store is staying open.