The Lana’s Life x Claire’s partnership is a Roblox giveaway blended with real-world retail

After enduring multiple rounds of bankruptcy filings, Claire’s could use a win, and it’s hoping that the Roblox community can deliver a sales boost. A partnership between the retailer and the popular creator Lana’s Life will bring Roblox-inspired items to 866 Claire’s locations in the U.S. and Canada.

Lana Rae, the woman behind Lana’s Life, is known for serving up looks in Dress to Impress, a Roblox game that has been played more than ten billion times to date. To bring Rae’s virtual glam into the real world, Claire’s enlisted her for a line of cosmetics, accessories, and squishies, including a handful of items that are exclusively available at Claire’s.

The American trend of dying physical malls has encouraged beleaguered retailers to appeal to one demographic that is still down for a shopping spree: Gen Z. That strategy begat numerous partnerships between creators and mall retailers: We’ve witness Danny Duncan x Zumiez, Karl Jacobs x Journeys, and SypherPK x Pacsun, to name three.

Claire’s has certainly been part of that movement. It has sold JoJo Siwa’s signature bow and even launched a collection alongside Doug the Pug.

As Gen Alpha began to usurp Gen Z in the cultural hierarchy, Claire’s pivoted to the world of Roblox. Its 2022 partnership with gamer MeganPlays

was an innovative “phygital” campaign that blended Roblox-inspired designs with brick-and-mortar promotions.

Four years later, the world of Roblox has changed significantly. The sandbox is now a goldmine for brands, and on YouTube, Roblox content has reached one trillion views. The celebration of that milestone included a video that featured, among others, MeganPlays and Lana’s Life.

So as Claire’s kicks off its partnership with Lana Rae, it is taking its phygital approach to the next level. Rae hosted a demo of her Claire’s line at VidCon, and after it launched, the first 8,000 customers who purchased a Lana’s Life product at Claire’s received a complimentary Roblox avatar.

Michelle Goad, the Chief Brand Officer at Claires, described the Lana’s Life partnership as a move that brings virtual fanbases into physical stores. Goad joined Claire’s after private equity firm Ames Watson acquired the brand’s North American operations out of bankruptcy for $140 million.

“The only way to access the other is to actually go in and meet the other’s fans, and that was very intentional for us,” Goad told Glossy. “It’s a strategic way to actually get people off their couches just to meet other fans.”

The Lana’s Life line won’t be the latest creator partnership for Claire’s. If Gen Alpha is going to go to the mall, retailers have to appeal to the voices that cohort trusts. That means more deals with creators, so as Goad put it, “this is just the beginning.”