Pier 1 Imports Reports Weaker Results as It Struggles to Stabilize Its Business

Pier 1 Imports sales continued to slide as the Fort Worth-based home furnishings retailer struggles to reorganize its business.Pier 1, operator of 970 stores in the U.S. and Canada, reported Wednesday a first quarter loss of $81.7 million, compared with a loss of $28.5 million a year ago. It posted a 15.5 percent decline in sales to $314.3 million. The results come a week after the company completed a 1-for-20 reverse stock split in order to avoid its shares being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Sales and margins remained under pressure in the three months ended June 1, "and we anticipate this will continue through the second quarter," said interim CEO Cheryl Bachelder. She said the start of the year was marked by aggressive clearance of lower-priced and lower-margin goods. The plan is to present shoppers with "a strong, on-brand style statement for fall," she said in a statement.Bachelder, a director since 2012, stepped into the job of interim CEO after Alasdair James left the company a week before Christmas and in the first year of what had been outlined as a three-year turnaround plan. Sales fell 19.5% in the holiday quarter and the company posted its first annual loss since the Great Recession.  Continue reading...