Claire’s Holdings LLC, the mall-based jewelry and accessories retailer, will shut 291 stores—235 under its flagship banner and 56 under the Icing label—after entering Chapter 11 protection on Aug. 6. Store-closing sales have begun and the locations will wind down on a rolling basis this year, according to an Aug. 25 court filing. The restructuring plan is anchored by an agreement to sell the company’s North American business to an affiliate of private-equity firm Ames Watson for $104 million in cash and a $36 million seller note. The buyer has pledged to keep at least 795, and potentially as many as 950, stores open and retain most employees, though the transaction still requires approval from bankruptcy courts in the United States and Canada. Based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, Claire’s once operated roughly 2,750 stores worldwide. The chain cited rising interest rates, persistent inflation, a 145% U.S. tariff on Chinese goods and mounting competition from online fast-fashion platforms such as Shein and Temu as factors that pushed it into its second bankruptcy in seven years.