Claire’s new owner signs 248,000-sq.-ft. warehouse lease in Chicagoland
Claire’s has made a big investment in its supply-chain infrastructure and expansion with the signing of an industrial lease in one of Chicagoland’s key logistics corridors.
RCS Real Estate Advisors and JLL co-brokered the deal on a 248,000-sq.-ft warehouse at 1100 Tollgate Road in Elgin, Ill., on behalf of Ames Watson, the private equity firm that acquired Claire’s for $140 million last September after the accessories brand filed for bankruptcy protection.
In a recent article in Chain Store Age, Fintech senior VP Mark Landgren outlined some of the reasons Claire’s was forced to file for Chapter 11.
“The consignment model employed by Claire’s did not enable robust, real-time analytic tracking across sales, margins, out of stocks and product performance at the SKU level,” wrote Landgren.
“Without a robust internal system to analyze this sales data and track it against deliveries, the retailer lacked valuable insights to reduce shrink or prevent out-of-stocks,” Landgren observed. “Merchandising, as a result, was an exercise of prediction and forecasting, rather than being tied to sales insights.”
The signing of the warehouse lease signals that Ames Watson was thinking in that same direction.
“Retail transformations begin and end at the storefront, extending deep into the supply chain,” said RCS partner Spence Mehl. “This lease positions Claire’s with the distribution infrastructure required to support its next phase of growth, and we’re proud to help guide the real estate strategy behind that progress.”
Mehl co-brokered the deal with JLL’s Sam Brashler, Seth Geldzahler and Sharon Kariampuzha.
Located approximately 40 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, the Elgin facility is designed for large‑scale distribution operations and supports Claire’s broader efforts to modernize its logistics network, improve speed‑to‑store delivery and enhance omnichannel fulfillment capabilities.
“The lease in Elgin marks a significant investment in Claire’s supply chain infrastructure as the accessories brand continues its operational resurgence under Ames Watson’s leadership,” added Mehl.
