Claire’s Accessories goes under - blaming Rachel Reeves for the 1,300 jobs lost

I am not talking about the credentials of the shop - I've never set foot in Claire'.
It is the moral highground, plastic tat, cheap rubbish MN bingo card I object to, especially in the context of so many jobs going.
It's just really poor taste.

Same, the prices were completely insane. My kids always liked looking around but could only ever buy anything when heavily discounted (like 70%) and even then it wasn’t particularly cheap. Kids usually spend a bit of pocket money in Flying Tiger or charity shops.

I don't think all their products were "overpriced".
The branded products (like Hello Kitty etc, Beanie Boos, Squishmallows) were the same price as any other retailers that sold them because they sold them at RRP.
However the jewellery/hair accessories pricing was confusing because they frequently had the "buy 3 get 3 free" type offers which made everything a more sensible price if you bought a load of bits but expensive if you only wanted one item. This did make it seem an expensive shop.

The hysteria around Claire’s always makes me laugh. What shop will middle aged women on the internet whip themselves into hysteria about next?!

im afraid i dont believe claires demise is down to NI or staff costs.
With these big retailers its usually related to their debt and funding, not operating costs

Claire's accessories was wildly overpriced in comparison to the quality. It was not a thriving business model in the era of Temu and Amazon which sell the same quality of products more or less for a fraction of the cost.

How do you feel about vape shops? They employ people don’t they? And all those people abroad making the vapes? Let’s keep them all open just to maintain jobs 🙄

Tell me you've never run a business?

Claire's failed because everyone thinks it's a cheap shop and then they see the high prices!

My kids loved it. I’m also sad it’s gone. And when stuff was on 3 for 2 it was ok.
I agree that otherwise it was silly prices. Which is weird as when I was a teen you could easily buy stuff with your pocket money. They priced things way too high for single products.

But as someone who got made redundant from the rise in NI I can see how it happens.

It’s been shit for years. Their own fault entirely for selling overpriced tat. Dreadful store.

Claires is terrible.
But the NI hike combined with so many other cost increases is going to close so many businesses and devastate small towns in particular. I am in the North and we lost 7 small businesses between Xmas and April, there are 2 more shutting before summer and that is 1/4 of the town gone in 6 months.

Massive hike - it was 1%!

The ni changes aren’t the reason, if the business was profitable they wouldn’t have a problem

The reason why the business failed is because they didn’t evolve with trends. Teenagers no longer are interested in their overpriced tat, they either buy cheap stuff from the Chinese firms online or buy better quality, plus Superdrug and the supermarkets sell similar cheap jewellery. Youngsters around here at least aren’t short of money based on the amount of take away drinks they consume but Claire’s had become a shop for primary aged girls in recent years

Claire's was dreadful and doubtless there were lots of reasons it went under but the NI hike was absolutely the final nail, as it has been and will be for many other businesses. Kier will throw Rachel under the bus after the local elections but they both deserve to go IMO.

The OP asked:
How can a business that relies on young, part-time staff survive when their overheads have just been hiked through the roof? It’s not just the big brands; it’s the independent shops too. We’re going to be left with nothing but vape shops and empty units at this rate.

Yet all she has had are responses moralising about how awful Claire's was and the usual 'plastic tat' comments.

How anyone can think they are morally superior by rejoicing at the loss of 1,300 jobs in a cost of living crisis is beyond me, but that's MN for you.

I read that it was the rise of shein and Temu that really drove it out of business. you can get a necklace for £2 on shein that costs £10 in Claire’s and neither are great quality.

I totally agree, so expensive! My DD would pop in now and again and leave empty handed as they would want £15 for 3 lip balms. I sometimes thought I’d pick up birthday presents for DD’s friends in there but, again, wouldn’t buy anything due to the prices.

I think Claire’s survived for so long because, even though it was terrible tat that you could get far cheaper online, it was a place that kids could go with their mum at the weekend to spend their pocket money. The product was there in their hand instantly.
The target age group for Claire’s doesn’t want to wait for a set of hair bobbles and a bracelet to arrive in 2 weeks time from Temu, they want it now.
The one in our local town was always heaving with kids at weekends and holidays.

They sold Temu/Ali Baba stuff for huge mark ups. Once those companies entered the consumer marketplace, they lost their hold because nobody needed to go there, it could all be ordered on a phone in ten seconds flat for pennies.

Nothing to do with making a political point, it's just pure economics. Their market disappeared.

They were charging far too much for nasty tat and plastic shite that will outlast us all.

Not a loss and bugger all to do with Rachel Reeves!

Yes.

But they should’ve been told no.

The piercers I know (who work in tattoo shops) would say no to piercing babies and toddlers.

Claire’s didn’t say no. They just wanted the £££.

Their model just doesn’t add up when they have to pay for prime high street premises, and yet you can get even more terrible tat for even less on Temu or Shein.

It’s a casualty of online shopping, like so many others. Look at the likes of Debenhams - that went long before this government, for the same reasons.

Didn’t their equally dreadful parents demand they did it

Claire’s staff pierced babies. Actual babies. Even if they were crying.

Babies. WTF?

I’m glad they’re gone.