There’s an ear-piercing battle brewing on the mall. Claire’s, the most important participant out there, has hit laborious occasions, leaving room for upstarts to impinge on its territory.
For 60 years, Claire’s has billed itself as a spot for youths and youths to get their first piercings. The corporate says it has pierced greater than 100 million ears since 1978. However after declaring chapter in August (its second chapter in seven years), Claire’s was acquired by the holding firm Ames Watson for $140 million. These new house owners have plans to show the enterprise round, together with drastically shrinking its retail footprint which had ballooned to greater than 1,000 shops.
It lately introduced it’s shuttering upwards of 290 areas throughout the nation. And Rowan, an ear-piercing startup, has instructed Quick Firm that it’s planning to start out taking on a few of these areas beginning with a retailer in New Hampshire and out of doors of Boston.
[Photo: courtesy Rowan]
Constructing a piercing empire
Claire’s continues to be a big participant within the ear-piercing world. Final yr it generated upwards of $2 billion in income, nevertheless it has additionally collected $500 million in debt from a leveraged buyout. It has struggled to repay this debt as a result of its earnings have declined because of slowing foot site visitors at mall and elevated tariffs.
However extra broadly, whereas many millennials nonetheless keep in mind Claire’s fondly from their very own teenage years, the retailer has not developed to fulfill the wants of at this time’s shoppers. The shops really feel like a warehouse, filled with low-cost trinkets. The ear-piercing expertise doesn’t really feel notably luxurious, as retail employees carry out the process whereas additionally manning the checkout.
As Claire’s has declined, many different options have popped up, together with Louvisa, a Claire’s-like model from Australia; Studs, a startup targeted on older teenagers and adults; and Banter, a piercing-focused model owned by the jewellery big Signet.
Rowan, which was based in 2017, is attempting to unseat Claire’s because the go-to vacation spot for an individual’s first piercing. Louisa Schneider, Rowan’s founder and CEO, has labored laborious to create an in-store expertise that’s clear and cozy, notably for youngsters and their mother and father. It’s distinctive out there for using licensed nurses to carry out the piercing, and it is ready to pierce the ears of infants, which is a vital ceremony of passage in lots of cultures.
[Photo: ©Sandra Wong Geroux/courtesy Rowan]
The startup, which generated $70 million in income final yr, sees a possibility in Claire’s downfall. It raised a $20 million sequence B in 2021, bringing its whole funding to $25 million, and is working to develop its retail footprint. Now, it’s quietly transferring into lots of Claire’s former areas. By the tip of the yr, Rowan expects to function greater than 100 ear-piercing studios and make use of greater than 800 folks, greater than half of which shall be nurses.
A greater expertise
Whereas Rowan and Claire’s overlap in some methods, the 2 companies are additionally fairly completely different. Claire’s is a retailer that makes a speciality of promoting low-cost jewellery and knickknacks which are notably interesting to the tween set. Ear-piercing will not be its major enterprise, however for many years, the service has been a solution to get clients by way of the door. Many millennials, who fondly keep in mind getting their ears pierced at Claire’s, now deliver their very own youngsters to get their ears pierced for the primary time.
Louisa Schneider [Photo: courtesy Rowan]
In distinction, Rowan’s whole enterprise is concentrated on ear-piercing, which is the primary supply of the model’s income. Schneider launched the enterprise as a result of she discovered loads to be desired within the conventional mall ear-piercing expertise. “When it got here to my very own daughter, I needed the piercing to be a very powerful operate of the particular person performing it, fairly than an afterthought,” says Schneider. “However in lots of shops, overworked retail employees have been being requested to carry out a piercing, which can be a medical process. And so they’re oftentimes coping with a really younger particular person.”
At Rowan, Schneider has employed a workforce of licensed nurses who carry out the piercings with both a needle or a tool. It has small format shops that function piercing studios, with snug chairs the place the process occurs.
[Photo: courtesy Rowan]
The corporate additionally sells a variety of earrings, most of which have a better worth level than these bought by Claire’s. Rowan spends loads of time ensuring that its merchandise are hypoallergenic, to forestall irritation on newly pierced ears. Rowan additionally has an high-end line of 14k gold earrings, a few of that are embedded with diamonds. However the majority of its income comes from the piercing service, which prices $35 for one ear and $50 for 2 ears, plus the price of the jewellery.
“We check all of our earrings to make sure they comprise minimal nickel, brass, and different metals which are allergy inducing,” says Schneider. “We’re not a vogue jewellery retailer. Our focus is completely on defending newly pierced ears.”
A rising market
Till lately, piercing tended to be a service tacked on to jewellery shops, however over the previous decade, it’s change into clear that there’s a marketplace for ear-piercing as a stand-alone service. Studs, one other startup, has additionally constructed a enterprise round ear-piercing, nevertheless it solely performs the service on people who find themselves 13 and older. Rowan, however, tends to draw youthful shoppers.
“To have a number of piercings is now quite common, even in comparison with 10 years in the past,” says Schneider. “We’re seeing the demand for secure piercings go up.”
[Photo: courtesy Rowan]
Rowan is increasing its retailer footprint quickly. In contrast to a few of its rivals, it’s a service that should occur in particular person, so it’s crucial for the corporate to have brick-and-mortar shops. Schneider says that it has been capable of take over many former Claire’s areas. Whereas Claire’s has shops of many sizes, and in lots of areas, Schneider is fairly selective with Rowan’s areas. It seeks out small-format shops, and in addition areas within the extra premium components of the mall, near high-end manufacturers.
“Many Claire’s areas are close to meals courts,” Schneider says. “You’ll normally discover Rowan near the Apple retailer or Lululemon.”
However whereas Rowan aspires to impinge on Claire’s territory, it’s nonetheless a lot smaller than Claire’s. It generated $70 million final yr, which is a small fraction of Claire’s $2 billion. However Claire’s has an uphill battle forward to change into worthwhile. It’s new house owners have stated that whereas the Claire’s model is powerful, it’s enterprise mannequin is “damaged” and must be reimagined.
In the meantime, Schneider desires to remain laser targeted on catering to the wants of its clients. “There are such a lot of merchandise you may get on-line now, however the purpose you go to a retailer is due to the customer support,” she says. “That’s the place we wish to stand out.”
