I know if I need a pair of small sterling silver stud earrings, mall accessories shop Claire’s is the cheapest place to hit up. But who — I ask you, who?! — is buying all that crazy neon and Hannah Montana nonsense they have thrown up on the walls like a bad tie-dye bedsheet? Little, little girls, apparently (like, 3-7 year olds).
And now the cheapie chain is trying to get its act together to attract an older crowd, no doubt to compete with For Love 21, Aldo and other mass accessories stores that have been cropping up as of late. WWD reports that the company wants to “infuse the products with more fashionable elements, expand Claire’s presence in Europe and revamp the label’s stores.”
The company’s already redone a store on London’s Oxford Street where products for older teens are positioned toward the front (and the sparkly gunk for kiddos is less prominent). “The feedback we’re getting from customers is that this is far less cluttered for them,” said the company’s prez. “The three- to seven-year-old loves Claire’s [see!!] and she knows she can find her product, so she’ll seek it out. Therefore, we’re giving the prime space up front to the customer that we want to attract.”
The head honchos at Claire’s are also giving the buying teams “the opportunity to be able to put a little bit more into the cost of goods, to be able to raise the quality of the item for the consumer. The goal is to be further ahead on the fashion curve.” As a devotee of cheap, ostentatious jewelry, I’ll be keeping a hopeful eye out for a new and improved Claire’s.
Photo: A new ad from Claire’s
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