Pier 1 may cut up to 850 jobs

[rainbow4321]

Source: Dallas Morning News

Pier 1 Imports Inc. said Tuesday it is trying to renegotiate leases on 125 underperforming stores and may cut as many as 850 jobs.

The home furnishings chain is seeking rent reductions and aims to complete talks with landlords by the end of May. Some of those stores could stay open – saving jobs – if lower rents make them profitable, a spokeswoman said.

The company plans to cut up to 10 percent of its 8,500 full-time equivalent positions. Cuts at its Fort Worth headquarters have already begun; others will be in field administration and at a 514,000-square-foot distribution center closing in St. Charles, Ill.

The company has been struggling for several years. Home goods retailers have been especially hard-hit during the consumer spending slowdown as sinking home values have discouraged shoppers from decorating their houses.



Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/industries/retail/stories/DN-pierone_04bus.ART.State.Edition1.4c512fa.html

[Thrill]

1. Are companies just doing this to use the recession as an excuse?

[mitchum]

6. Yes (n/t)

[Dreamer Tatum]

9. Don't you think that's sort of tautological?

Duh - people lose jobs in a recession.


Jesus. Do people use hot weather as an excuse to sweat?

[Horse with no Name]

2. Renegotiate leases?

You mean hold the landlords hostage to their demands? EITHER YOU TAKE WHAT WE ARE OFFERING OR WE WILL FIRE PEOPLE!
Fuck them.
Seriously.

[rainbow4321]

4. Wonder if this has anything to do with it

Looked at another article at the DMN site and they wrote about Circit City stores closing and how shopping center owners are being affected by all the stores closing....sounds like Pier 1 is doing a "what will happen to your strip mall site if we are gone" threat?
I drove by our city's CC store and they have a HUGE ASS "going out of business sale" banner on it's outside wall. Weird to see..they've been here as long as I can remember. The only other "big" store in that strip mall is PetSmart.


http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/020509dnbuscircuitcityripples.24dbb0e.html

The vacant stores leave a huge hole for shopping center owners to plug. The 18.71 million square feet of space is like the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., where the Super Bowl was played – multiplied by 11.

Finding new tenants is increasingly difficult, as chains like Linens 'N Things, Mervyns and Steve & Barry's also go out of business. Other companies such as Starbucks and Ann Taylor are retrenching from an era of swift expansion.

Making matters more difficult is the size of most Circuit City stores, which range from nearly 17,000 square feet in Steubenville, Ohio, to more than 66,000 square feet in El Paso, Texas. Very few retail tenants require such large spaces, said Green Street Advisors analyst Nick Vedder.

"The anchors are really one of the most important pieces of the center," Vedder said. "They bring in the traffic, they are the lifeblood that (other) tenants rely on to bring customers to the stores."

[OhioChick]

3. When will this end???

K&R

[FirstLight]

5. I knew things were bad when I saw 75% off signs in the windows...

I wouldn't doubt if our store here closes altogether

too bad, I worked at their larger Oakland storeback in 91...they had clothes back then and were very close to Cost Plus - then both of them comercialized and their prices went way up...
between that and the anti-china crap mentality many of us have... no wonder they are going under
besides, I guess if your house is forclosed, you can't decorate! :(

[CoffeeCat]

7. Pier 1's business model worked only...

...when people were spending like drunken sailors.

Pier 1 has been around for a long time--decades! In the past, you could find all sorts
of fun, reasonably priced things.

During the past 15 years or so, Pier 1 has sold mainly larger items, and also more expensive
items. They push their Pier 1 credit card and store financing. This makes it easier for people
to buy those more-expensive items and larger pieces.

I've noticed that their prices have risen on almost everything. Candles are $40 and some
mirrors are $300. This is different from the Pier 1 of the past.

Pier 1 has become a finance company--that sells furniture, dishes and decor items.

This business model worked when people had jobs, could tap into their home equity and
were spending money hand over fist.

This is true of many retailers. They offered store credit cards and then pushed the higher-priced
items and increased the prices on most things. Because, when you've got a credit card, you're more
willing to spend loads of cash.

This business model is now obsolete. It even looks ridiculous now.

People have lost jobs. People see their co-workers, neighbors and friends losing jobs. Their
401ks have been stripped. Who's going to run out in this economic storm--to buy a $300 footstool
shaped like an elephant or a $75 lemonade pitcher?

[AsahinaKimi]

8. Pier 1 imports

In San Francisco, out by Fisherman's wharf, where all the tourists would go, it seemed like that store was always empty. Last summer, while I was tutoring my Japanese Student, I used to go wait and sit on their chairs outside the store to study a few hours before I tutored my student. Barnes and Noble next door, had far more people in their store then Pier 1 imports. Pier 1 had signs in the windows advertising many sales for such things as tea, candles, and other store wide items, yet many of the tourists, most of whom, were from other countries, simply ignored the stores. I would often hear more "French" and German spoken at Fisherman's wharf then even English..for most of the tourists were from Europe. It seemed like it was only a matter of time they would sink along with many of the other major stores around the country.

[pjt7]

10. I'll be suprised if Pier 1 survives

~

[treestar]

11. Well we don't want imports. That provides jobs only for

foreigners! :sarcasm: