Claire’s, the mall teen retail staple, has filed bankruptcy for a second time (story HERE). In their statement they cited…

“Increased competition, consumer spending trends and the ongoing shift away from brick-and-mortar retail, in combination with our current debt obligations and macroeconomic factors.”

Let’s talk specifically about those “consumer spending trends”. Specifically one you may be familiar with known as taking something you didn’t pay for. Or shoplifting.

Many of you know that I worked retail security for years. The number one most stolen from store in the mall? Claire’s.

It’s not even close.

And to be fair, it’s not the fault of the underpaid employees working there. The stores are a security nightmare. Aisles of tiny objects on tall racks that can be easily swiped by the teens who are trying to impress their friends. It’s just too easy for them.

And even when we catch them stealing, we’re still talking about an item that is usually not more than $10 to $20 dollars. Most of the employees themselves can’t stop working to chase thieves. And authorities aren’t prepared to stop looking for bigger criminals to ruin a 14 year old’s day over a Hello Kitty keychain. Sadly, the offenders just get braver until they do get caught swiping something more expensive and get in trouble anyways.

This means everyone loses. Especially Claire’s.

While “tariffs” has become something of a buzz word recently, I don’t doubt Claire’s concerns over them. These products scream Chinese manufacturing. This post isn’t meant to discount those concerns.

It’s meant to discount the dismissal of the “Five Finger Discount”.