Claire's plans tech upgrades despite financial setbacks

Features

Claire's plans tech upgrades despite financial setbacks
 
Published Wednesday, January 14, 2026 11:00 am
by Makenzie Holland

This is a summary

"Claire's technology transformation comes at a time when the company is pushing to reduce costs and regain its footing in the consumer market.

In August, Claire's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in seven years. After its initial filing in 2018, the company struggled to implement its restructuring plan and pivot its business as buying habits changed. A month after its second filing last summer, it was acquired by private investment company Ames Watson for $140 million. The firm said it planned to modernize and revitalize the chain.

"Every turnaround we have done begins with people," said Tom Ripley, partner and co-founder at Ames Watson in a press release at the time. "Claire's has an incredibly passionate field team—many with 20 years or more in these stores—and their loyalty will be the foundation of this next chapter."

Technology will likely be part of that foundation as the company focuses on its data and tech stacks. In 2025, Claire's zeroed in on 'transformation, modernizing our foundation, optimizing our operations and driving measurable impact,' Lamboy wrote in his LinkedIn post."

Read the original on Retail Dive

Claire’s plans tech upgrades despite financial setbacks | Retail Dive

Image credit to Retail Dive


Send this page to a friend

Claire’s plans tech upgrades despite financial setbacks | Retail Dive

Recent News

Supreme Court rules against Trump tariffs

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that President Trump's tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are unconstitutional, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing that Trump lacked peacetime authority to use IEEPA to impose tariffs. The decision strikes down tariffs that initially imposed at least 10% on goods from most countries, with rates reaching up to 145% on Chinese imports and 25-35% on Canadian and Mexican goods, and could require the government to refund over $130 billion collected through these tariffs. Before Trump, no president had ever used IEEPA to impose tariffs, and the ruling invalidates many but not all of Trump's tariff programs, as it doesn't affect tariffs imposed under other legal authorities. The administration has indicated plans to reimpose tariffs using alternative statutes including Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, and Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, though these come with more procedural requirements and time limitations. 

Eddie Bauer files for bankruptcy, begins winding down all stores in the US and Canada

Eddie Bauer LLC, the entity responsible for operating the brand's brick-and-mortar footprint in North America, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on February 9, 2026, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, marking the end of the brand's century-long presence as a major physical retailer. Going-out-of-business sales have already begun across all 175 locations, which are set to close by April 30 unless a buyer emerges, with the brick-and-mortar operations carrying liabilities of more than $1 billion against assets of just $100 million to $500 million. The filing cites declining sales, supply chain challenges, ongoing inflation, and tariff uncertainty as key drivers, while the brand's e-commerce and wholesale operations — now managed by a separate entity called Outdoor 5 LLC — remain unaffected.  The bankruptcy marks the third filing for the storied brand, which was founded in Seattle in 1920, and follows a string of high-profile retail collapses in early 2026 including Saks Global and Francesca's. 

Francesca’s files for bankruptcy; closing all stores

After 25 years of operations, Houston-based women's clothing and accessories chain Francesca's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, with plans to close all approximately 400 stores across 45 states and liquidate. The filing came after a convergence of factors including a 2023 data breach, failed investments in non-core brands, supply chain disruptions after two major suppliers lost their own funding, and the failure of an anticipated capital infusion in December 2025. The company carries about $30.1 million in secured debt, with between $10 million and $50 million in consolidated assets and approximately 1,000 to 5,000 creditors, including landlords Simon Property Group and Tanger Properties listed among its top 30 unsecured creditors. This marks the second bankruptcy filing in six years for Francesca's, which was previously sold out of bankruptcy in January 2021 to an affiliate of private equity firm TerraMar Capital for $18 million.