CHICAGO _ Struggling teen chain Claire's Stores has hired investment bank Lazard to help the company address its debt.
"We believe this is the right time to undertake this initiative and we want to assure our vendors, employees and stakeholders that we believe we have ample liquidity to honor our commitments through the completion of this process," CEO Ron Marshall said in a news release Monday.
Claire's said its operations remain strong. Sales at stores open at least a year were up 1.1 percent during the third quarter of 2017, Marshall said during a December call with investors. The chain hasn't announced when it will release fourth-quarter earnings.
But the retailer also has sizable debts. Claire's total long-term debt topped $2.1 billion as of Oct. 28, more than $1.4 billion of which is due in 2019.
Claire's said it is working to adapt to changes in consumers' shopping habits while dealing with those debts, including giving shoppers more ways to buy that don't require a trip to its mall-based stores. Claire's plans to have its products in roughly 4,000 CVS stores in 2018 and is working to boost its online business, Marshall said.
That would nearly double the number of locations Claire's sells its jewelry and accessories. Claire's says it has 4,220 company-owned stores, concessions and franchise stores in 45 countries.
