Molly Sims, now 48, might seem an unlikely candidate for a Claire’s spokesperson. But upon talking to the actor and model, it’s clear that her soft spot for the mall store and ear piercing emporium is not only genuine, but in fact, organic.
Over the summer, Sims posted two Reels with Claire’s of Bridgehampton as the backdrop. In the first, from July, she is lying flat across the floor of the store and tells her daughter she is “taking a nap.” Her daughter, Scarlett, 6, responded, “We’re in a store, we’re in Claire’s.” Sims’ caption read, “Stuck with two girls under 7 in Claire’s … highly do not recommend. 🤦🏼♀️” Shockingly, the post was not paid. In August, Sims used her time spent in the store to work the desk. With a fluffy pen in hand and a unicorn eye mask atop her head, Sims answers a customer’s call. She wrote, “Update: I work and sleep here now 🦄”
Naturally, the retailer reached out to formalize the relationship, though, as Sims said, “I had a relationship with them before they had a relationship with me.”
Sims is now working with Claire’s to announce the launch of “Cdrop,” the brand’s first venture into the world of subscription boxes. As an official partner, she will post to her Instagram about the launch. There are three versions of the box: the GlitzyDrop, the BitsyDrop and the VibeyDrop. With a subscription, boxes are $30 and will be delivered quarterly. Purchased individually, the boxes cost $32. According to the brand, the GlitzyDrop will contain curated selections of earrings. Meanwhile, BitsyDrop includes Claire’s staples, like “butterfly clips, scrunchies, popper fidget toys, stud earrings, and a necklace, bracelet and earring set,” and is geared to a younger customer. Finally, the VibeyDrop has “everything an older teen and young adult could want, including the season’s best jewelry and makeup, a mini backpack, blue light glasses, a silky bandana, rings, earrings and layered necklace multipacks.”
Claire’s merchants and designers, who listen to the Claire’s customer and monitor cultural trends, have tailored the boxes based on their observations. As for what those trends currently are, CMO Kristin Patrick pointed to Y2K essentials like butterfly clips and scrunchies.
“Claire’s has always been a place of discovery and self-expression. We were thinking about our consumer and the ways they partake in the brand, and they’re highly digital,” said Patrick. “They’re collecting the products in bulk sometimes. And so what we wanted to do was really deepen our relationship with consumers and start to build a stronger emotional connection, but also tap into the way they’re shopping and living their lives,” she added, noting that a majority of Claire’s customers shop both in stores and online.
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Claire’s said its target customer is Gen Z, and it has collaborated with young stars like 18-year-old YouTuber Jojo Siwa. But it sees a wide range of customers in its stores, including parents and grandparents. In August, Kourtney Kardashian got an ear piercing at a Claire’s. “Went to the mall for the first time in years and got my ear pierced 😛,” she wrote on Instagram Stories. Of Sims, Patrick said, “She and her daughter are fans of Claire’s. They were a natural partner for us to speak to the way that the subscription box allows young consumers to explore.”
Sims grew up in Kentucky, where a visit to Claire’s with her mom was the ultimate treat, she said. This past summer, taking her daughter, niece and goddaughter to the store became such a tradition, Sims was able to name-check Olivia, a salesperson at her local Claire’s, in her Reels post. On a call with Glossy, Sims said, “Olivia is now my best friend.”
“This sounds crazy, but I do love an accessory — and so does my girl,” Sims said of her daughter. “She loves tie-dye and lace and best-friends-forever necklaces… It’s not crazy expensive. And it really is for all ages.”
All that to say, it’s a store where she likes to treat her kids. And she has high hopes for Cdrop. “I get subscription boxes, but I don’t really do them for the kids. So I’m like, ‘tThis is genius.’ Because they do want to have someone else pick it out sometimes, too. It’s, like, freakin’ Santa every month.”
