Wharf 1 Imports will close up to 145 stores in a new attempt to slow down the decline



[ad_1]

Pier 1 Imports Inc. plans to close at least 45 stores, potentially up to 100, to reduce costs after another disappointing holiday season.

In a quarterly financial report released Wednesday, Pier 1

PIR -0.65%

reported losing $ 68.8 million in three months, with sales down 19.5% to $ 412.5 million from a year earlier. A plan that seeks to generate savings of at least $ 100 million includes closing at least 45 of Pier's 970 stores and possibly much more if Pier 1 is unable to convince homeowners to reduce their rent.

"The number of closures could reach up to 15% of stores if the company was unable to meet performance objectives, sales targets, and cost savings from occupancy and the like," he said. revealed the direction Wednesday.

This is the second consecutive fourth quarter report released with a plan to pull the retail chain out of an extreme crisis. Last year, General Manager Alasdair James announced a three-year plan entitled "Quay 1 2021: A New Day", which provided for $ 45 million in capital expenditures that he hoped could be able to recover. ship. James will not last until the end of the year, leaving the company a week before Christmas, when Pier 1 announces he will explore strategic alternatives. Quai 1 announced Wednesday that Chief Financial Officer Nancy Walsh would be leaving as of now.

The acting director, Cheryl Bachelder, said Wednesday in an announcement that the results were "disappointing" and reflected "problems of execution". She promised that the plan for fiscal year 2020 "is designed to redefine our business model and rebuild our business for the future".

"I am delighted to see our teams sticking to our new action plan with urgency and I think our client will return to a revitalized Pier 1 this fall," she said in a statement, with the reference to a single customer alleged to be a typo.

Jetty 1 shares have gone up after normal trading hours, but there's still a lot left to lose after falling 81.9% last year as the S & P 500 Index

SPX, -0.23%

gained 7.4%. At Wednesday's closing price of less than 65 cents a share, Pier 1, worth more than $ 2 billion in 2014, had a market capitalization of less than $ 55 million.

[ad_2]

Source link