Claire’s Closing Nearly 300 Stores; Mays Landing, NJ, Location Already Gone

• A popular store for girls and teens has left Hamilton Mall
• The chain is closing hundreds of stores nationwide
• Bankruptcy and declining mall traffic are behind the closures

Yet another retailer has left what is arguably the saddest shopping mall in New Jersey.

This departure, however, is just one of nearly 300 stores that have or will be closing as this company works through its bankruptcy process. And, yes, other stores in New Jersey will be closing.

Claire’s Hamilton Mall Closure

That store is Claire's, the mall outlet that sells jewelry, accessories, and ear piercings, and its location in Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing has already faded into the history books.

Recent Hamilton Mall store closures:

• Bob's Discount Furniture (moving soon)
• Bath & Body Works, Crab du Jour
• Rainbow

290 Stores Set to Close Nationwide

According to USA Today, Claire's filed for bankruptcy protection back in August, it then announced it had sold its North American business to a private equity firm, and then it posted a list of 290 stores that were going to close.

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Other NJ Stores Closing

Claire's, which also operates Icing stores, plans on closing these locations:

• Bergen Town Center, Paramus
• Deptford Mall, Deptford
• 141 East Broad Street, Westfield
• Route 18, East Brunswick
• Cumberland Mall, Vineland
• Willowbrook Mall, Wayne

As for why a store that was so popular for so many people with locations in practically every mall in the country, a number of factors are at play.

As foot traffic in malls decreases and online shopping continues to rise, Claire's customers have been spending more on dirt-cheap platforms like Temu, while on a corporate level, inflation and tariffs are cutting into profits.

Claire's was founded in 1961 and rapidly grew to nearly 3,500 stores across multiple countries with around 15,000 employees at its peak.