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Claire's is a retailer of accessories and jewelry primarily aimed toward girls and young women, founded in 1961, and based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, suburb of Chicago.〔(Claire's Stores, Inc. 10-K filing for fiscal year ending Jan 2014 )〕 As of October 27, 2012, Claire's has 3,469 stores in 36 countries: 1,947 in North America (United States & Canada), 1,141 in Europe (United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Italy), and 381 franchised and licensed stores elsewhere in the world (Japan, Middle East, India, Mexico, Turkey, Ukraine, Greece, Serbia, Malta, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Venezuela, and Dominican Republic)〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/claires-stores-inc-announces-first-store-openings-in-venezuela--panama-expanding-its-global-reach-to-36-countries-176421261.html )〕 Their stores are in 95% of all U.S. shopping malls, and Claire's has done more ear piercings than any other retailer, over 80 million in 25+ years.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.claires.com/ear_piercing.asp?top=f&bcid=ear&cid=4 ) 〕 In 1996, Leslie Mann of the ''Chicago Tribune'' said that "Although the management of Claire's says the company doesn't advertise and is deliberately low-profile, the name "Claire" is as familiar to female Baby Boomers as "Ringo". To the Boomers' mall-cruising daughters—and, more and more, to their sons—it's right up there with singer Puff Daddy."〔Mann, Leslie. "(Hot Stuff )." ''Chicago Tribune''. December 14, 1997. Retrieved on December 24, 2011. "Since 1973, Schaefer has been commuting from his offices in Pembroke Pines, Fla., to the company's main facility and distribution center, first located in Wood Dale and now in Hoffman Estates. (The company also has offices in New York and Hong Kong.)"〕 ==History== 1961: Founded as Fashion Tress Industries by Rowland Schaefer. FTI focused on wigs, and became the world's largest retailer of fashion wigs.〔(Funding Universe: History of Claire's Stores, Inc. )〕 1973: Fashion Tress acquired Claire's, a 25-store jewelry chain, and shifted focus away from wigs to a full line of fashion jewelry and accessories. The new firm was named Claire's Stores, Inc.〔 1978: Claire's began providing ear piercing services. 1980: Established a Hong Kong based sourcing office. 1980s: Claire's continues store expansion throughout the United States. 1989: Bought Topkapi, a Japanese chain with 16 stores〔 1995: Bought Bow Bangles, a British chain with 71 stores in England, Wales, and Scotland.〔"(TO EXPAND OVERSEAS, CLAIRE'S STORES ACQUIRES OPTION TO BUY BRITISH CHAIN )." ''Miami Herald''. September 6, 1995. p. 3C Business. Retrieved on June 20, 2013.〕 1996: Bought The Icing, an American chain with 85 stores. This would become the company's primary brand for women in their 20s.〔 1996: Bought Accessory Place, an American chain with 31 stores.〔 1998: Bought Bijoux One, a Swiss chain.〔Altaner, David. "(CLAIRE'S BUYS SWISS CHAIN; 53-STORE BIJOUX ONE EXPANDS COMPANY'S EUROPEAN BASE )." ''Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel''. November 12, 1998. Business 3D. Retrieved on June 20, 2013. "Claire's Stores based in Pembroke Pines, said on Wednesday that it bought a Swiss women's accessory chain, Bijoux One, that it expects to use as an entry into()"〕 1999: Bought Cleopatre, a privately owned chain based in Paris with 42 stores, for $11 million in cash.〔"(CLAIRE'S SETS EYES ON FRANCE )." ''Miami Herald''. December 15, 1999. p. 1C Business. Retrieved on June 20, 2013.〕 1999: Bought Afterthoughts, which were converted to Icing stores〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Claire's Stores Buys Rival Afterthoughts )〕 2001: Launched claires.com 2005: Claire's Stores, Inc was listed on the NASDAQ. 2007: Taken private by private equity firm Apollo Global Management in a $3.1 billion leveraged buyout〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Debt-Laden Claire's IPO Is for Test Market )〕 2008: Consolidated its European operations into one group, headquartered in Birmingham. 2010: Opened its first stores in Ukraine. 2011: Launched e-commerce in the United States and opened its first stores in India and Mexico. 2012: Opened its first stores in China, Italy, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Dominican Republic, Panama, and Honduras 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Claire's」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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