Pier 1 to shutter 450 stores; impact on Maine locations not yet clear
Courtesy / Pier 1
Pier 1, the home furnishings and decor retailer with two Maine locations, will close 450 stores nationally.
Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR), the nationwide retailer of home furnishings with two locations in Maine, will close nearly half of its 936 stores and may be contemplating bankruptcy.
The company plans to shutter 450 locations, close some of its distribution centers and lay off corporate staff after reporting a $59 million third-quarter loss Monday.
Pier 1 operates stores in South Portland's Maine Mall and the Marketplace at Augusta shopping area. It’s not clear if those stores will be among the ones closing, and Pier 1 has so far refused to provide more detail.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based retailer, which employs about 4,000 and was founded in 1962, has seen sales decline for many consecutive quarters.
In Monday’s report, net sales were down 13% from the previous third quarter to $358.4 million. Pier 1 has drafted a bankruptcy plan and told creditors annual revenue might eventually shrink to $900 million, Bloomberg reported.
Pier 1 had revenue of $1.55 billion during its last fiscal year, which ended March 2, about 14% less than the figure for the previous 12 months.
The company is canceling some orders and has discussed Chapter 11 financing with its lenders, according to Bloomberg’s reporting.
News of the closings comes barely a month after another brick-and-mortar chain, arts and crafts supplier A.C. Moore, announced it was closing its 145 stores and exiting retail operations. Up to 40 of the stores were to be re-opened by a competitor, Michaels, but to date there has been no word on whether they will include three Maine locations.
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