Club Libby Lu was an experiential/experience-based retailer for young girls ages 4 to 12. Founded by Mary Drolet, a former executive at

Claire's Claire's (formerly known as Claire's Boutiques, Claire's Boutique and Claire's Accessories) is an American retailer of accessories, jewelry, and toys primarily aimed toward tween and teen girls. It was founded in 1961 and is based in Hoffman E ...

and Montgomery Ward, in August 2000, the store chain employed 98 stores in 28 states in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

before closing in 2009. The stores were named after founder Mary Drolet's childhood imaginary friend. A makeover cost between $25–$60, depending on the package of choice, and included a full hair updo, nail polish, and makeup. In addition to playing dress-up for the day, Club Libby Lu VIPs (Very Important Princesses) were guided by their Club Counselors over to various sites including a "potion bar" where a VIP could make their own lotion, perfume, fairy dust, or lip gloss, and a Pooch Parlor, where the guests could own stuffed animals of their choice. At the end of every experience, each VIP was encouraged to join the free club, and was given a friendship bracelet.

History

Club Libby Lu was opened in 2000 by Mary Drolet and her two partners in a suburban

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

mall based on the three partners' concepts. In 2003, Saks, Inc. purchased Club Libby Lu when it had 11 stores. 50 locations were opened in 2004. With a bit of advertising by 2005, revenues were about $46 million, a 53% increase over 2004. In 2006, the chain had 87 locations. In early November 2008, parent company Saks Incorporated announced that due to the dismal state of the economy they would be closing all 98 locations.

References

{{Reflist Children's clothing retailers Clothing retailers of the United States Retail companies established in 2000 Retail companies disestablished in 2009 Defunct retail companies of the United States