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 1s 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 1s 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 companys ability to restructure, according to court documents.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Mine cost $2k, nearly as much as everything else in the house. Pretty sure it cost less new. Got the original bill of sale somewhere, and the original sticker it had in the window.
That’s because places like TJ Maxx and Marshall’s buy closeout and surplus lots from places like Pier 1. They get it at a deep cut for discontinued lines, and still turn a profit on the retail end. I used to be a store detective for Marshall’s, and their theory was, in order to be effective at loss prevention (and the bulk of it was internal theft, in many cases), we had to know how the business was run, from merchandise procurement to layaway to front end to inventory to cash office. Popping nickel and dime shoplifters was small potatoes compared to where the real shrink was going.
The last time I stepped into a Pier One a wrought iron Baker’s Rack tumbled from the top of its precariously stacked position and landed on my head. When I came to I decided I really didn’t need anything from Pier One. True story
In my last house, I had purchased a kit to assemble a large desk. It was quite large with many drawers, complete with a hutch on top.
The package the desk was delivered in was so heavy, I
cut open the package and moved few parts at a time from the garage to the room where it was going to be placed, and assembled it there.
Then we were moving to another house in another town. I dis-assembled all dozens of parts of the desk, which made it easy to move into the U-Haul van. And in the new house I re-assembled it! Self-assembly has it’s advantages.
“Seems like theyve been on the edge of bankruptcy for decades. Not surprising this would finish them off.”
indeed ...
“The biggest markdown I saw was -20%. Not exactly going out of business savings.”
but typical of their normal fake “sales” ...
The working idea is to hold onto it until I have a child interested in cars. My dad has a few vintage autos and the right kind of garage so the car’s with him, staying warm and dry. I doubt it’s worth much, though its original owner clearly babied it. For me a car is just a tool, but one day I might have a teenager in the house who thinks it’s better than a trip to the moon with an all-girl band.
“Pier 1 is such a ripoff.”
totally ...
Don't say that while I'm nesting in my papasan! :D
“the cheap fix to a bad apartment” is no more...
Kind of like nursing home patients...anyone on the verge of death has been done in by Covid.
American retail has been so stale, so bad, so pathetic and over marketed, under qualitied for so damn long... in a way, it’s a good thing.
Remember the “Fear This” t shirts? That is when I knew that retail was dead, because in every store, in every mall, across all the USA that stupid T shirt was seen.
“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.”
absolutely ... that was the way it was for me the last time i went in one ..
Bought some wicker stuff from Pier 1 maybe 30 years ago. It was well made and lasted for many years before I finally threw it out. Haven’t been in a Pier 1 since, though - no reason to. Don’t know how they lasted as long as they did.
It was a nice ride
What will happen to all that wicker furniture?
Buyers like overstock will buy up the inventory!! Maybe even Big Lots!!
They will rename it "John Wicker" and it will kill everyone in sight.
I always loved the quality of Pier One products!! I could spend hours in that store just looking at everything!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.