Claire's, the fashion and accessories chain that's a staple of suburban malls across the country, could be the next retailer to file for bankruptcy, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg reports that Claire's will have $1.4 billion in debt mature this year, and has a $60 million debt payment due next week. The report also says that Claire's parent company, Apollo Global Management, LLC, is working on a deal that would pass control of the retailer to lenders.
If Claire's chooses to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company will still be able to operate while restructuring its debt.
According to Claire's website, the company operates more than 2,500 stores in North America and Europe and more than 1,000 other stores throughout the world. While Claire's focuses on fashion for pre-teen and teenaged girls, it also owns Icing, a fahsion retailer targeting women aged 18-35.
Claire's is just the latest retailer to run into financial problems as the eCommerce industry continues to shutter stores. Toys 'R Us may announce as soon as Monday that it will close all stores, and retail giant JC Penney announced more layoffs earlier this month.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
