Claire’s announces further Europe expansion

Global accessories retailer Claire’s is continuing its major European retail expansion plans this year, targeting a further 50 standalone stores and over 900 partner brand points of sale with major retailers within the EU.

Already available in 900+ owned and 2,100 partner retailer locations across the continent, plans are in place to continue growth, headlined by 10 new stores in Italy.

These include stores in Venice, Rome, Florence, Milan and Naples, with the most recent store opened last month in Rome.

Claire’s opened its first Italian store in November 2012 in Milan and today has more than 40 stores open within that market.

The expansion comes just a few months after Claire’s flagship Paris store launched in early March, designed in collaboration with Claire’s Creative Director in Residence Nicola Formichetti.

As mentioned, owned stores aren’t the only way forward and to reach an even broader audience, the brand’s presence will increase from that current figure of 2,100 partner retail stores to over 3,000. 

Claire’s consumer products programme includes retailers across Europe such as Galaries Lafeyette, as well as toy retailers Smyths, King Jouet, Maxi Kids and Toys ‘R’ Us. 

The brand’s presence has also grown throughout the UK in household retailers including Asda, Matalan, New Look and Coop, to name a few.  In Italy, the brand now has more than 350 points of presence with Blu Kids, Bimbo and UPIM.

“The strategic combination of owned stores and consumer product partnerships allows us to celebrate and deliver our brand to consumers in even more locations where they shop,” said Ryan Vero, Chief Executive Officer of Claire’s.