Pier 1 Imports Closing Up To 450 Stores

BOSTON — Pier 1 Imports, which has 18 locations in Massachusetts and two in Rhode Island, is closing hundreds of stores, the company announced Monday. The retail chain said up to 450 locations — about half of its total — would be closed to "better align its business with the current operating environment."

Pier 1 plans to close certain distribution centers and lower its corporate spending, as well as lay off workers at the corporate level. The company is using a third-party liquidator to help with the closings, noting that its lenders signed off on its plan to reduce its brick-and-mortar footprint.

Robert Riesbeck, CEO and CFO of the retail chain thanked store workers for their hard work and commitment to serving customers.

"Although decisions that impact our associates are never easy, reducing the number of our brick-and-mortar locations is a necessary business decision," he said in a statement.
The planned closures come as the company faces smaller foot traffic.

Net sales for the third quarter plummeted more than 13 percent to $358.4 million. That number was $413.2 million in the same quarter for the previous fiscal year. Company comparable sales fell more than 11 percent compared to same period a year ago.

The company also said there will be layoffs at the corporate level.

The Massachusetts locations include stores in Braintree, Danvers, Framingham, Plymouth and Woburn and the Rhode Island locations stores in Warwick and Westerly.

Last fall, Pier 1 announced up to 145 store closings were possible in coming months.
Founded with a single location in 1962, Pier 1 Imports currently operates 936 stores in the United States.

Patch has reached out to the company for a list of stores closing and will update when we hear back.

Patch editor Dan Hampton contributed to this report.