Pier 1, with five stores in the St. Louis region, announced that it has filed a motion seeking bankruptcy court approval to begin an orderly wind-down of the company’s retail operations as soon as reasonably possible.
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 chief executive officer and chief financial officer, said this decision follows months of working to identify a buyer who would continue to operate the 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.” Riesbeck added.
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.