Home goods retailer Pier 1 Imports is officially going out of business - after a court approved its bankruptcy application.
That now allows Pier 1 to liquidate its retail operations in about 500 stores across the country once they can re-open in the wake of pandemic.
Pier 1 had more than 1,000 stores at one point selling home goods like furniture, pillows and decor.
It has struggled however because of online competition and big-box chains.
Pier 1 aims to have all its stores permanently shut down by October.
The company is currently continuing to serve customers through Pier1.com, and orders are being processed and filled.
Robert Riesbeck, Pier 1’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer said on May 19th, “We are grateful to our dedicated and hardworking associates, millions of customers and committed vendors who have collectively supported Pier 1 for decades. We deeply value our associates, customers, business partners and the communities in which we operate, and this is not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve. This decision follows months of working to identify a buyer who would continue to operate our business going forward. Unfortunately, the challenging retail environment has been significantly compounded by the profound impact of COVID-19, hindering our ability to secure such a buyer and requiring us to wind down.”
The Fort Worth, Texas-based company, which was founded in 1962, has been struggling with increased competition from online retailers such as Wayfair.
The company previously said that lenders have committed approximately $256 million in debtor-in-possession financing so it can still operate during the Chapter 11 proceedings.
“In recent months, we have taken significant steps forward in our business transformation and cost-reduction initiatives. We have worked to establish an appropriately sized and profitable store footprint, operating structure and merchandise assortment that will enable Pier 1 to better serve our customers across store and online channels. Today’s actions are intended to provide Pier 1 with additional time and financial flexibility as we now work to unlock additional value for our stakeholders through a sale of the Company. We are moving ahead in this process with the support of our lenders and are pleased with the initial interest as we engage in discussions with potential buyers.”
In January, Pier 1 announced it would close 450 stores, including all its stores in Canada.
The company is also closing two distribution centers.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
