The Claire's Accessories store in The Market on State on East State Street closed this week when more than 100 locations closed nationwide.
The closing of the Claire's in Athens had nothing to do with the store's sales, said Brent Hayes, the co-owner of the Market on State. No business has signed a lease to fill Claire's space yet, he added.
It is unfortunate that Claire's had to leave here
but we have a lot of positive things coming even with the poor economy Hayes said.
A Dunham's Sports store is opening at the mall at the end of February and a DaVita dialysis clinic is opening at the east side of the mall in March. Other businesses are looking at spaces in the mall, but have not signed leases yet, Hayes said.
Claire's location is desirable because of its proximity to the entrance of Elder Beerman, a business that has not seen a noticeable decrease in sales, Hayes said.
Many other tenants in the Market on State also are doing well and not seeing much of a decrease in sales, he added.
The Claire's, which has been in the Market on State for more than two years, had a going-out-of-business sale to get rid of merchandise. The former manager of Claire's could not be reached for a response.
Claire's numbers seemed to be good given the economic climate
Hayes said. Athens is doing better than a lot of other places.
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Sarah Beth Hensley
