Pier 1 Imports to close all
540 stores after 58 years
by
Lisa Fickenscher
Original Article
Posted By: NorthernDog,
5/19/2020 1:59:56 PM
Pier 1 Imports is calling it quits. The bankrupt home-goods retailer has asked a court for permission to liquidate its remaining 540 stores once they reopen after coronavirus-driven lockdowns, ending a 58-year legacy of selling glassware, wicker furniture and other home decor. Pier 1 said it is in talks with several prospective buyers to sell its remaining assets, including its intellectual property and e-commerce business, during a court-supervised auction on July 15. The company has tapped Gordon Brothers to begin liquidating its locations this weekend across the US, according to court documents. “It is now clear that Pier 1’s future
Reply 1 - Posted by:
HPmatt 5/19/2020 2:04:38 PM (No. 416053)
Going to miss them. Really no retailer quite like them for seasonal goods.
30 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
stablemoney 5/19/2020 2:18:54 PM (No. 416060)
At this rate, we will not have to worry about store re-openings. There won't be any stores. Mandates to stay at home will become unnecessary, as there will be nowhere to go.
31 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
earlybird 5/19/2020 2:32:02 PM (No. 416075)
Pier 1 was very popular in Southern California, but has been in decline in recent years. I used to love it. Interesting merchandise. Even some clothing items (a pink cotton dress from India that I loved). Very good quality at good prices. Then it dropped the quality...
14 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
OhioNick 5/19/2020 2:34:07 PM (No. 416079)
I stopped shopping at the chain when they decided to hire an actor from Queer Eye For the Straight Guy as their television spokesman. Why do so many of these short-sighted companies choose to play politics instead of focusing on selling merchandise?
27 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
starboard 5/19/2020 2:38:42 PM (No. 416084)
A favorite of mine for years. They always carried quality import items. However when Home Goods and other stores came along, they had stiff competition, especially price. Even so, I enjoyed shopping there and will miss them.
17 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
GoodDeal 5/19/2020 2:56:07 PM (No. 416100)
Democrats are high fiving and doing the moonwalk as they put another greedy profit-hungry corporation out of business.
13 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 5/19/2020 3:15:27 PM (No. 416113)
Good work, dims and msm. You own this corporate failure.
9 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
bamapreacher 5/19/2020 3:19:14 PM (No. 416118)
Sad. Pier One had some really neat stuff you couldn't easily get anywhere else.
20 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Bluefindad 5/19/2020 3:23:25 PM (No. 416121)
We enjoyed shopping there but almost never bought anything. Their prices were always higher than their competitors.
4 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
MickTurn 5/19/2020 3:40:26 PM (No. 416137)
A good friend of mine once dated the original owner's daughter...that didn't work out...looks like Pier1 didn't work out either...but 58 Years is a good run!
6 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Heraclitus 5/19/2020 4:34:56 PM (No. 416187)
Pier 1 sold their store in Portsmouth, NH years ago, and I missed it as a good source for gifts. Plus, not everything was from China. My favorite glasses made of recycled green glass, from Spain, I purchased 35 years ago.
Purchasing habits and preferences have change quite a bit. At the same time, "baby-boomers" are trying to purge their(our) years of accumulated everything, in the process of downsizing. We don't shop much for home goods anymore, and the younger generations are not as interested in that kind of merchandise. So then, whatever children and/or grandchildren don't want (and they don't want "old") ends up in storage units. Sometimes our parents'' things also tumble in amongst everything else we're trying to unload. And we resist the idea of throwing it out, and they won't find a home in antique shops, either, as most antique shops (okay, most are "second-hand," "used" goods and furniture) are struggling and they, too, may not be able to survive much longer,, as I've been told by more than one antique dealer that young people prefer Ikea to antiques.
Generally speaking, then, cultural mores regarding setting up a household, decorating, ideas of quality and value and beauty are changing, as are notions of permanence, community, family --past, present and future. I think that's why we can even feel a little sad when "landmarks" (add in here Sears, Woolworth's, Filene's, 5 & 10, Bonwit Teller, Lechmere etc), once part of every stage of our lives, are crumbling away.
26 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Cindiana 5/19/2020 5:03:07 PM (No. 416213)
Excellent points and analysis, #11. I'm dealing with the purge now, and you hit the nail on the head! Sorry to see these retail giants face away, but time marches on...
9 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
kono 5/19/2020 5:04:20 PM (No. 416214)
I realize Pier 1 Imports was different from Cost Plus World Markets in several ways. But I always had a hard time remembering which was which without going to the local mall to compare them yet again...
This is one of what's likely to be a series of closures of stores that have been part of the retail landscape my whole life. And while having a lot of market niches opening up may have its benefits, I'll miss a lot of familiar stores. Lord have mercy and bless our economy.
7 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
chumley 5/19/2020 5:10:29 PM (No. 416219)
Never saw a store in all my travels. If I had I might have stopped in. I only knew of them because they got plugged by the game shows when I was a kid. Still sorry to hear they are closing.
1 person likes this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
anniebc 5/19/2020 5:34:34 PM (No. 416234)
I knew P1 was in trouble as far back as 2018. They started having sale after sale that led to a constant run on 40% off sales. Those sales were pretty rare for P1. I was able to get a papasan with cushion for under $50 last summer. Then, the stores started to have less and less merchandise. It was one of my favorites, and our local sales team were awesome! I have about $40 in rewards to unload. My heart hurts, but these things happen.
3 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
smcchk 5/19/2020 6:41:38 PM (No. 416281)
Agree #11. Do not get the obsession with IKEA though! It is OK but everyone has the same, sparse-looking living spaces.
6 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
Jethro bo 5/19/2020 7:15:19 PM (No. 416305)
Sadly, one of many to come. Goobernment over reaction, fascist dictates and total disregard for Constitutionally rights is the hallmark of Democrat and al goobernment policies. Lost jobs, ruined businesses and a collapsing economy helps move the goobernment to more drastic destruction of this country.
3 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Texas544 5/19/2020 9:06:13 PM (No. 416347)
I went into one of those stores once.
1 person likes this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
TXknitter 5/19/2020 9:40:50 PM (No. 416377)
I can’t enjoy the closing of longtime businesses even if they were not my very favorite places. I sure feel for the employees. A friend of ours in Colleyville said about ten popular shoppes in their elegant local strip mall are throwing in the towel. We have not even begin to see the economic wreckage of this overdone shutdown.
5 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
RuckusTom 5/19/2020 10:13:25 PM (No. 416409)
Over 20 million people out of work because the company they work for (usually small) is "non essential".
1 person likes this.
How very sad. Last year I emailed their home office to ask if my local store was closing. I was told to contact the store directly. Maybe the CEO's are getting younger and don't see the need.
As far as IKEA, I can't stand the smell of knock down furniture. When Target first came here, it smelled like a tire store and I had to leave. Quality is not in millennial's vocabulary.
3 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 5/20/2020 12:34:42 AM (No. 416495)
Happy Nancy?
2 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
4Justice 5/20/2020 3:57:38 AM (No. 416524)
The lockdown has killed off many long time businesses.
0 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
Muguy 5/20/2020 7:24:06 AM (No. 416606)
Shopping trends come and go.
It was fast becoming time for them to go.
0 people like this.
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They had been struggling like many retailers. But the lockdowns were the coup de grâce.