Accessories chain Claire’s and homeware and electrical discount store The Original Factory Shop could soon shut their doors after being placed into administration, putting jobs and retail space under threat across the county.
Claire’s currently has stores in Crawley, Worthing and Eastbourne.
It shut multiple other Sussex stores in Horsham, Chichester, Brighton, Haywards Heath, Hove and Bognor Regis as part of a previous collapse into administration.
Almost 150 stores and around 1,000 jobs were lost before Claire’s was bought by investment firm Modella Capital in September.
The Original Factory Shop, acquired by Modella early last year, will also be placed into administration.
It has five stores in Sussex which could now be at risk of closure, in Rustington, Newhaven, Heathfield, Crowborough and Bexhill-on-Sea.
The closure of its store in Shoreham-by-Sea was previously announced in October 2025.
Modella pointed to poor Christmas trading, weak consumer confidence and recent budget costs including hikes to national insurance contributions as the reasons behind the collapse.
The firm owns other high street chains including arts and crafts retailor Hobbycraft and TG Jones, formerly known as WH Smith.
It is hoped the administration proceedings will provide space to find a new buyer for the chains.
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