Dive Brief:

• Hoffman Estates, IL-based Claire’s Stores, an accessories retailer popular with teens and tweens, announced Q4 results that were sharply down. Revenues fell 11.7% over last year, and sales fell 8%. 

• CEO James D. Fielding, who took the position in 2012, will be replaced Wednesday by Beatrice Lafon, the president of Claire’s Europe.

• The company attributed the sales and revenue declines to store closings, and announced more closings in China. Most of the stores had been open less than a year, and the company said it was considering re-opening them as franchise enterprises.

Dive Insight:

Claire’s has been in turmoil since its acquisition by private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which is when it began acquiring large amounts of debt. Its success has mainly been in Europe, which is likely why Beatrice Lafon, president of Claire’s Europe, has been tapped to oversee the company. It’s not clear, though, how this successful European expansion might translate to any plans for the company’s salvation.