Pier 1 Imports, which has Fresno-area stores, will cease operations

National retailer Pier 1 Imports announced Tuesday it has filed a motion with a bankruptcy court to “begin an orderly wind-down” of the company as soon as possible.

According to a news release, the move will effectively close all 540 stores for the company, which has locations at 7457 N. Blackstone Ave. in Fresno and 1055 Shaw Avenue in Clovis.

The wind-down will happen “as soon as reasonably possible after store locations are able to reopen following the government-mandated closures during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the release. said

“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, the company’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer, thanked Pier 1’s associates, plus “millions of customers and committed vendors who have collectively supported Pier 1 for decades.”

He said the 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.”

Pier 1 was founded in 1962 in San Mateo, Calif. and moved to Fort Worth in 1966 becoming one of the largest U.S. home furnishings specialty stores with 1,100 locations and sales of nearly $2 billion, according to the Dallas Morning News.

For generations, particularly for the baby boomers, it was the go-to store for adding a layer of personal style to a dorm room, new apartment or house.

Pier 1 graduated from its original beanbag and papasan chairs, love beads and incense – its peace and love days – to offering unique home furnishings and decorative accessories under its own private label. In the 1990s, it expanded into the U.K. and Mexico with boutiques inside Sears stores. It shut down its online business in 2007 and relaunched it in 2012. That gap online as shoppers were gravitating to shopping from home was one decision that some say hurt the retailer, Dallas Morning News reported.

More recently, competition was fierce in home furnishings not only from Wayfair and Amazon online, but also as Walmart and Target improved merchandise. At the same time competitors moved into more markets. Ikea opened more stores and T.J. Maxx’s HomeGoods rapidly expanded.

This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Pier 1 Imports, which has Fresno-area stores, will cease operations."