Claire's Stores, Inc. Announces Issuance of $320.0 Million of 7.75% Senior Notes due 2020 and Redemption of 9.25% Senior Notes Due 2015 and 9.625%/10.375% Senior Toggle Notes due 2015

CHICAGO, May 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Claire's Stores Inc. (the "Company") today announced the closing of the previously announced offering of $320.0 million aggregate principal amount of 7.75% senior notes due 2020 (the "7.75% Senior Notes").  The 7.75% Senior Notes were issued at par.

The Company today also announced that it has instructed The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as Trustee (the "Trustee"), under the indentures governing the Company's 9.25% Senior Notes due 2015 (the "9.25% Senior Notes") and the 9.625%/10.375% Senior Toggle Notes due 2015 (the "Toggle Notes" and together with the 9.25% Senior Notes, the "Notes"), to notify the holders of the Notes that the Company will redeem all of the outstanding Notes on June 13, 2013.  The redemption price will be 100% of the aggregate principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest.

The 7.75% Senior Notes are being offered only to "qualified institutional buyers" in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act and outside the United States only to non-U.S. persons in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act. The 7.75% Senior Notes have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of any 7.75% Senior Notes in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

Company Overview

Claire's Stores, Inc. is one of the world's leading specialty retailers of fashionable jewelry and accessories for young women, teens, tweens and girls ages 3 to 35.  The Company operates through its two store concepts: Claire's^® and Icing^®.  As of February 2, 2013, Claire's Stores, Inc. operated 3,085 stores in North America, Europe, and China.  The Company also franchised 392 stores in Japan, the Middle East, Turkey, Greece, Guatemala, Malta, Ukraine, Mexico, India, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Venezuela, Panama, Honduras, and Indonesia.  More information regarding Claire's Stores is available on the Company's corporate website at http://www.clairestores.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" which represent the Company's expectations or beliefs with respect to future events. Statements that are not historical are considered forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Those factors include, without limitation: changes in consumer preferences and consumer spending; competition; our level of indebtedness; general economic conditions; general political and social conditions such as war, political unrest and terrorism; natural disasters or severe weather events; currency fluctuations and exchange rate adjustments; uncertainties generally associated with the specialty retailing business, such as decreases in mall traffic due to high gasoline prices or other general economic conditions; disruptions in our supply of inventory; inability to increase same store sales; inability to renew, replace or enter into new store leases on favorable terms; increase in our cost of merchandise; significant increases in our merchandise markdowns; inability to grow our store base in Europe and China or expand our international franchising operations; inability to design and implement new information systems or disruptions in adapting our information systems to allow for e-commerce sales; delays in anticipated store openings or renovations; uncertainty that definitive financial results may differ from preliminary financial results due to, among other things, final U.S. GAAP adjustments; results from any future asset impairment analysis; changes in applicable laws, rules and regulations, including changes in federal, state or local regulations governing the sale of our merchandise, particularly regulations relating to the content in our merchandise, general employment laws, including laws relating to overtime pay and employee benefits, health care laws, tax laws and import laws; product recalls; loss of key members of management; increases in the cost of labor; labor disputes; unwillingness of vendors and service providers to supply goods or services pursuant to historical customary credit arrangements; increases in the cost of borrowings; unavailability of additional debt or equity capital; and the impact of our substantial indebtedness on our operating income and our ability to grow. These and other applicable risks, cautionary statements and factors that could cause actual results to differ from the Company's forward-looking statements are included in the Company's filings with the SEC, specifically as described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2013 filed with the SEC on April 3, 2013. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. The historical results contained in this press release are not necessarily indicative of the future performance of the Company.

Additional Information

Note: Other Claire's Stores, Inc. press releases, a corporate profile and the most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q reports are available on Claire's business website at: http://www.clairestores.com.

Contact Information

J. Per Brodin, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Phone: (847) 765-1100 or E-mail, [email protected]. 

SOURCE Claire's Stores, Inc.