Posted on 05/19/2020 12:05:36 PM PDT by Enlightened1
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 does not involve any brick-and-mortar retail locations,” Pier 1 said in court filings.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based chain — founded in 1962 in San Mateo, Calif., under the moniker Cost Plus Imports — filed for bankruptcy protection in February, pushed to the brink by increasing competition from online home furnishings giant Wayfair, Target and Walmart.
In March, Pier 1 canceled a court-administered auction to sell the company, citing a lack of interest. Lenders explored buying the company but ultimately backed away, forcing Pier 1 to shut down for good, according to court papers.
“This is not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve,” Robert Riesbeck, Pier 1’s chief executive and chief financial officer, said in a statement.
At the beginning of this year, Pier 1 had 936 stores and had hoped that closing half of them in bankruptcy would be a linchpin to its reorganization. But the coronavirus quashed the company’s ability to restructure, according to court documents.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
The Oldsmobile Division gone too.
Frankly I've been to several of the Pier 1 store closing sales and found the best deals were on the display equipment. Got some fabulous heavy duty welded and powder coated stands on castors which I repurposed for supporting shop equipment. $25 was the most expensive item. Previously used for heavy ceramic pieces. I put 3000lb on one and it was rock steady, rolled smooth, and the lock held. Also the modular wall display systems were unusually good quality but someone bought the entire stock 90 seconds before I could pick up some for my garage.
Amazon is not tired of winning.
I believe China started buying Buicks during the 1910's.
GM was just Buick back in 1908 when William Durant formed GM. Durant bought Buick in 1904. He quickly purchased other makers post 1908 in this order - Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Oakland (which became Pontiac), and then Chevrolet.
We have a 1922 Buick roadster that is a time capsule. We're the second family to own it.
The Pier 1 in Keene has had the “going out of business” banner up for 6 months.
I think more people went in there to look around, than to actually buy anything. Because once you see the price tags on their junk, you just walk out.
I think every piece of furniture in my daughters house came from Wayfair. And if it needed put together she did it with no problem. She actually has a 4 piece leather living room set she got for free from them. It came and had a knife scratch on the back of it. Barely visible but she told them it was damaged and they credited her and told her they’d email her a pick up date. They never did so she contacted them and said....when? The guy looked and said that item has been discontinued so not worth us picking it up. Keep it. Lol
I have shopped at Pier One stores for decades. Its been a wonderland of both exotic and practical items for me...... colorful, stylish, unique, well-made items of all sorts. I loved going to their stores just to be there and enjoy myself.
I'm looking right now at 2 twenty-year-old, still like-new, still sharp-looking Pier One wicker chairs with tropical cushions sitting on my sun porch that visitors ooh and aah over. My buffet drawers contain two sets of their one-of-a-kind, unique silverware. An elegant table lamp I bought there years ago draws raves from my guests. I could go on forever as I have many things in my stylish digs that I bought from Pier One stores.
I'm a knowledgeable buyer and I don't buy run-of-the-mill, cheap-crap........and I never found my Pier Ones to be mostly full of cheap-crap like some are claiming here.
Yes, they did have some lower-level, imported stuff, but I even loved to browse and buy interesting things like the cheap-crap, inexpensive, lovely oriental paper fans which I used for some wall decor in one of my guest rooms. They are very eye-catching and fill the bill in the space they are in.
Pier One was always a mecca for interior designer-type folks like me, believe me !
The posters on this thread who are knocking Pier One stores as cheap, cheesy, no-go joints must live in an alternate universe from where I live. I will sorely miss their presence in my shopping world because they were my kind of store !
Leni
LOL! I was a kid in the '70s and I remember my mother referring to Pier 1 as "the funny incense store." But they updated/upgraded a lot in the past 20 years or so and actually became one of my favorites. I'm sad to see them go.
Buick’s best seller in the US is the Encore, made in Korea.
Agree with you completely. Esp those saying the “haven’t kept up with the times.” Hello, Magnolia/farmhouse anyone? And for those odds and ends, art, mirrors, and assorted accessories they’re really hard to beat.
Good post. I will miss them as well.
More Death by Fauci???
Maybe I was in the wrong aisle.
(Hope you’re feeling better, Minute Gal!)
Their stores always have interesting merchandise, but generally not things that are practical for us. We did find our perfect bar stools there when we moved into the new house. And my sister got her beautiful upholstered dining chairs there.
I hate to see any business close.
There’s a funny IKEA meme of a piano that was delivered.
They actually used to be part of Tandy, Radio Shack’s parent company. Which explains why they were headquartered in Ft. Worth.
LoL!
Late ‘60s Riviera. It just sits in a garage, been there over 10 years. I think it’s a ‘66 but I’m not a car buff. Belonged to an old guy, and I bought the house and contents. It’s in fairly good condition, unlike the heap that was right next to it.
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