Claire's Stores, Inc. Opens Stores in Spain

Claire's Stores, Inc. Opens Stores in Spain
Signs Initial Leases in Holland 


PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., July 21  /PRNewswire/ -- Claire's Stores, Inc. (NYSE:
CLE) today announced that it has opened its first stores in Spain and that it
has entered into its first leases in Holland.  This is part of a broader
initiative to expand the Claire's brand to additional countries in Europe.

The Company reported earlier this year that during Fiscal 2006 it intended to
open stores in two to three new European countries.  The Company currently
operates stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland, France, Switzerland, Austria
and Germany, in addition to its large North American presence. Claire's first
entered the United Kingdom in 1996 and continental Europe in 1998 when it
completed an acquisition of 53 stores throughout Switzerland, Austria and
Germany.  Today's store openings in Spain mark the first time the Company has
commenced operations in a country through organic growth.

Two stores were opened yesterday, each in Madrid.  They are located at Calle
Narvaez 22 and Calle Bravo Murillo 101.  Two additional stores are scheduled to
open later this month as follows:

   July 22    Centro Commercial Principe Pio, Madrid
   July 29    Calle Creu Coberta, 122, Barcelona



The average square footage of the new stores is comparable to that in our other
European locations.  Each of the stores in Spain will be supplied from the
Company's Austrian warehouse and, like our other stores in Europe, will carry
approximately 7,500 SKU's.

Lease negotiations are currently underway for additional stores to be opened in
Spain in the latter half of this fiscal year or Fiscal 2007.  Three leases have
also been signed for stores in Holland, with opening dates planned for later
this year.  The three stores are located in the cities of Amsterdam, Leiden and
Nijmegen.

Bonnie Schaefer, Co-Chairman and Co-CEO stated that, "We are tremendously
excited about our entrance into Spain.  It is a dynamic country with a
demographic that we believe will be extremely receptive to our stores. We have
had a presence abroad for almost a decade and in that time we have found that
the Claire's brand translates beautifully across borders.  Tweens and teens
around the world are interested in costume jewelry and accessories that let
them express their individual personalities, and our enormous selection at
affordable prices makes that possible.  Future store opening plans for Spain
and Holland are still in development, and we will provide additional details
over the coming months."

Company Overview

Claire's Stores, Inc., is a leading international specialty retailer offering
value-priced costume jewelry and accessories to fashion-aware tweens, teens and
young adults through its two store concepts: Claire's and Icing by Claire's. 
While the latter operates only in North America, Claire's operates
internationally.  As of July 2, 2005, Claire's Stores, Inc. operated
approximately 2,845 stores in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the
Virgin Islands, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Austria and
Germany.  Claire's Stores, Inc. operates through its subsidiary, Claire's
Nippon, Co., Ltd., 165 stores in Japan as a 50:50 joint venture with AEON, Co.,
Ltd. (fka JUSCO, Co. Ltd.), a $40 billion specialty retailer headquartered in
Japan.  The Company also licenses 70 stores in the Middle East and Turkey under
a licensing and merchandising agreement with Al Shaya Co., Ltd. and six stores
in South Africa under similar agreements with The House of Busby Limited.

Additional Information:

Note: Other Claire's Stores, Inc. press releases, a corporate profile and most
recent 10-K and 10-Q reports are available via Claire's corporate website:
http://www.clairestores.com/.  For information about our products and stores,
please go to http://www.claires.com/. 

DATASOURCE: Claire's Stores, Inc.



CONTACT:  Marisa F. Jacobs, Esq., Vice President of Corporate

Communications and Investor Relations of Claire's Stores, Inc., +1-212-594-

3127, [phone] fax, 



Web site:  http://www.clairestores.com/

http://www.claires.com/ 



Company News On-Call:  http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/174913.html 

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