FORMERLY PE OWNED
Claire's
Includes Claire's Stores, Claire's Accessories, Icing
accessories · Hoffman Estates, IL
- PE Firm
- Apollo Global Management
- Year Acquired
- 2007
Apollo paid $3.1 billion for the place that pierced America's ears, then pierced it with debt. Twice.
What Happened
- Apollo bought Claire's in a $3.1 billion deal in 2007, loading the company with roughly $2.4 billion in debt to finance the purchase
- Filed for bankruptcy in March 2018 — the debt payments alone were consuming over $200 million a year while the company barely broke even
- Filed for bankruptcy again in August 2025 — this time with over 1,100 stores at risk of closing across North America
- Sold out of the second bankruptcy to Ames Watson Capital for just $140 million — about 4.5% of what Apollo originally paid
The Damage Done
- Hundreds of mall locations closed during and after the first bankruptcy, leaving fewer options for the affordable accessories and ear piercings the chain was known for
- Product quality and store upkeep declined as debt payments consumed the budget — customers noticed emptier shelves and dated store layouts
- The second bankruptcy in 2025 put over 1,100 remaining stores at risk — though the new buyer agreed to keep at least 795 open, with the rest closing
- For millions of Americans, Claire's was a rite of passage — the place you got your first ear piercing. Two bankruptcies later, the experience is a shadow of what it was
Sources
- How the PE playbook pierced Claire's — PE Stakeholder Project(2025-08-07)
- Claire's Initiates Voluntary Chapter 11 Proceedings — PR Newswire(2025-08-06)
- Apollo-backed Claire's files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy — PitchBook (archived)(2018-03-19)
- Claire's acquisition closes with plans for smaller store footprint — Retail Dive(2025-09-23)