By the end of March, a selection of Claire’s seasonal and core products, including jewelry, hair accessories and cosmetics, will be available in more than 4,400 Walgreens locations nationwide, the company announced on Tuesday.
The new partnership with the healthcare and pharmacy retailer is the latest in Claire’s global retail expansion strategy, which partly focuses on concession locations. As part of this new partnership, participating Walgreens locations will have a dedicated display of trend-forward products within the seasonal section of the store.
Ryan Vero, CEO of Claire’s, said Claire’s will manage the inventory for Walgreens, selecting products based on Claire’s deeply-researched, in-house data of what its younger consumers want “both in their everyday accessories and during seasonal moments.”
“We work together with our retail partners when building out our product strategies to ensure we’re creating the best selections for how our partners’ consumers shop,” he said.
According to Vero, Claire’s had just “a few” consumer product partners when he joined the company in 2019. Since then, the business has significantly grown, “demonstrating our ability to span not only multiple categories but also specialty partners,” he said.
Claire’s previously reported $1.4 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ending January 29, 2022, marking a 53% increase from the prior year. The company declined to share current revenue and growth.
“Walgreens is an industry leader that services millions of people every day with a broad assortment of products, making it a one-stop destination and a natural fit for us to provide convenience and incredible value through our fashion products,” Vero said.
Claire’s retail partnerships strategy has been building momentum since Vero became CEO. It’s now in more than 40 other retailers in North America, including Walmart, DSW and Toys ‘R’ Us. In addition, Claire’s has opened shop-in-shop locations internationally, in locations including the French department store Galeries Lafayette. According to previous Glossy reporting, sales from this category of the business the brand classifies as consumer products retail grew 70% in 2021.
To market the Walgreen’s partnership, Claire’s will continue to lean into its current, successful marketing and advertising channels. “We work in partnership with these retailers to market the product in their stores, but our marketing overall is focused on elevating our brand and our mission of self-expression,” Vero said. Currently, the company’s marketing is focused on immersive experiences, new retail formats, engaging content, brand partnerships, category expansion and its piercing business. “These retail [partners], in turn, benefit from the overarching marketing that we do for Claire’s,” he said.
According to Vero, based on “a lot of testing” conducted by the brand, its retail partnerships are working to boost market share for Claire’s and category sales for its partners.
And, he added, the success of its retail partnerships will ultimately support Claire’s goal of meeting younger consumers at every global touchpoint.
“We are focused on our global business. This includes our expansion within Europe last year and reentry into Mexico. Together, this strategic combination of our owned channels and consumer product partnerships allows us to deliver our brand to consumers in even more locations where they shop,” Vero said.
