Teen-accessories retailer Claire’s Stores has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while it seeks to restructure a crushing debt load that is hampering profitability. The retailer says it reached an agreement with creditors, including its private-equity-fund owner, Apollo Global Management, to reorganize $1.9 billion in debt. The company plans to close 96 of its 7,500 stores, according to Bloomberg.

Traffic at the chain's mall-based stores has fallen off by about 8 percent year over year, CFO Scott Huckins said in court papers. Nevertheless, the chain has faith in its brick-and-mortar operations, Huckins says, and he points out that one of the company's primary services is impossible to replicate online: ear piercing. “To date, the company estimates that it has pierced over 100 million ears worldwide,” he said in an affidavit. 

The company says it plans to emerge from Chapter 11 in September with roughly $150 million of liquidity. International subsidiaries of Claire’s are not part of the U.S. filings.