Claire's, a retailer of jewelry and fashion accessories for girls, is closing 119 stores. One of the Claire's locations that is closing is mentioned here in the Albert Lea Tribune. The manager of the store told the paper that they are one of 119 Claire's stores that will be closed.
The Albert Lea store is one of 119 stores closing companywide, said store manager Amber Engebretson.
She said she was informed of the decision to close the store last week.
"We're all pretty sad," she said. "It was a fun place to work."
Claire's was purchased by Apollo Management VI in 2007 and has over 3,000 stores. The Wall Street Journalmentioned Claire's in a story about an anticipated incoming wave of retailer bankruptcty filings. The article says Moody's downgraded the Claire's debt twice in 2008.
Claire's Stores, based in Pembroke Pines, Fla., has 3,074 stores in North America and Europe. Moody's downgraded its debt twice in 2008, pushing the company's rating deeper into what Moody's analyst Maggie Taylor calls the "deep junk" category.
"There's not very much room that it can go," said Ms. Taylor.
Claire's Stores spokesman Steven S. Anreder defended the company saying Claire's "has an extremely flexible capital structure, with no near-term debt maturities and no financial covenants, and had $194 million of cash as of our last report."
