As retailer Pier 1 undergoes bankruptcy proceedings, all Canadian locations are closing.
In a press release issued today, Feb. 17, the company's CEO and CFO Robert Riesbeck said the company is working on cost-reduction strategies as it prepares to be sold. This includes shuttering 450 stores.
Kamloops has one Pier 1 store, on Hillside Drive south of Thompson Rivers University. Other locations in B.C. are in Kelowna, the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island.
KamloopsMatters has reached out to the local Pier 1, but no one on staff was able to speak on the issue today.
They've already started closing 400 stores, according to the release.
The company had stated in a Jan. 6 press release that they planned to close 450 stores, but didn't give locations.
A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. In the meantime, Pier 1 said lenders have committed approximately $256 million in debtor-in-possession financing so it can continue its operations during the Chapter 11 proceedings.
“Today's actions are intended to provide Pier 1 with additional time and financial flexibility as we now work to unlock additional value for our stakeholders through a sale of the company,” Pier 1 CEO and Chief Financial Officer Robert Riesbeck said in a statement. Riesbeck, an executive with previous corporate turnarounds, joined Pier 1 last summer.
Pier 1's sales fell 13% to $358 million in its most recent quarter, which ended Nov. 30. It reported a net loss of $59 million for the quarter as it struggled to draw customers to its stores. Pier 1 has been trying to declutter its stores, improve online sales and draw in younger customers.
Pier 1's shares have fallen 45% since the start of the year. They closed at $3.58 per share on Friday.
— With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press
