Pier 1 Imports, Inc. announced that it has filed a motion seeking Bankruptcy Court approval to begin a wind-down of the company’s retail operations.
Pier 1 has stores in Christiana, north Wilmington, Dover, and Rehoboth Beach. Delaware stores were closed due to the state’s stay at home order.
As part of the wind-down, the Company intends to sell its inventory and remaining assets, including its intellectual property and e-commerce business, through the court-supervised process.
Robert Riesbeck, Pier 1’s CEO said, “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 company entered Chapter 11 proceedings before the coronavirus crisis.
Pier 1 intends to initiate store closing efforts and liquidation sales once store locations can reopen, in compliance with COVID-19 guidelines from local government and health officials. The Company is currently continuing to serve customers through Pier1.com, and orders are being processed and filled.
The company that specialized in household goods and furniture had struggled for years in a changing retail environment. (See earlier story)
