National Chain To Shutter Stores, Layoff Staff

FORT WORTH, TX - Pier 1 Imports, the specialized home furnishings and décor importer, has informed investors it plans to close almost 50 percent of its stores nationwide, laying off some 40 percent of its staff in the process.

Pier 1 operates 5 stores in Oklahoma including 3 stores in the Oklahoma City area, plus stores in Stillwater and Tulsa. A list of the stores to be closed has yet to be made public. One local store worker, requesting anonymity, expressed frustration that staff did not know whether their jobs would be saved.

In a statement to investors, group CEO Robert Riesbeck said the closings would help the struggling retailer "better align its business with the current operating environment."

In addition to closing store sites Pier 1 also plans to close distribution centers and lay-off workers at the company’s corporate office in Texas.

"Although decisions that impact our associates are never easy, reducing the number of our brick-and-mortar locations is a necessary business decision," Reisbeck added.

The company has engaged a third-party liquidator to help with the closings.

As internet sales continue to increase as a percentage of customer spending, Pier 1 is the latest in a string of retailers struggling to keep their storefront locations open. Net sales for the group’s 2019 third quarter were down more than 13 percent. Company comparable sales are down more than 10% against the previous year, and current quarterly revenues are down almost 30 percent from their 2016 high.

Last year, Pier 1 announced that at least 145 stores would close early in 2020. It’s not known at this time whether the yesterday’s announcement of 450 closures includes, or is in addition to, those 145 planned closures. The retailer had already closed 30 stores earlier in 2019.

Riesbeck, who was appointed both CEO and CFO last November, remains positive on the company’s future, “Looking ahead, we believe that we will deliver improved financial results over time as we realize the benefits of our business transformation and cost-reduction initiatives.”

Other commentators are not so sure. “As Pier 1’s losses deepen, the planned large-scale store closures and cost cuts will likely be insufficient to turn around the business in time to address the company’s looming debt maturities, making restructuring or bankruptcy highly likely scenarios,” Moody’s credit rating agency vice president Raya Sokolyanska said, speaking to Business Insider.

Pier 1 was founded in San Mateo, California, in 1962. By 2006 it had grown to a network of almost 1,000 stores in both the U.S. and U.K. On the NYSE, the company’s stock fell more than 40 percent overnight.

Phone calls to Pier 1’s corporate office seeking comment for this article have not been returned.