Saturday, June 10, 2023

Pier 1 files for bankruptcy; hundreds of stores to close, 1 on the Peninsula

Screenshot of the Pier 1 location in Newport News. (WYDaily/ Courtesy of Google Maps)
Screenshot of the Pier 1 Imports location in Newport News. (WYDaily/ Courtesy of Google Maps)

Pier 1 Imports, the home decor and furniture chain, is filing for bankruptcy, the company announced Monday.

The business plans to close up to 450 stores, including all of its stores in Canada.

The Peninsula has three store locations in Williamsburg, Hampton and Newport News.

“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,” said Robert Riesbeck, chief executive officer and chief financial officer for the company in a Feb. 17 news release about the Chapter 11 bankruptcy. “We are moving ahead in this process with the support of our lenders and are pleased with the initial interest as we engage in discussions with potential buyers.”

WYDaily called all three stores on the Peninsula to see which locations were closing and when.

The Pier 1 location in Newport News, 12551 Jefferson Ave., is closing, according to an employee.

The Newport News location no longer shows up on the retail chain’s website store locator, according to Pier 1 Imports’ website.

The stores Williamsburg, 4625 Casey Blvd. Ste. 110, and Hampton, 1045 West Mercury Blvd., will remain open, according to the assistant store manager in Williamsburg and a store employee in Hampton.

WYDaily reached out to Jennifer Engstrand Reeder, spokeswoman for Pier 1 Imports as well as Leigh Parrish and Andrea Rose from Joele Frank Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher, a public relations firm based in New York City.

Reeder, Parrish and Rose were not immediately available for comment.

“We will continue to serve our customers regardless of how and where they shop with the style, value and selection of merchandise they want as we move through this process, and we are committed to working seamlessly with our vendors and partners,” Riesbeck noted in the news release. “We appreciate the ongoing dedication of our associates, whose efforts in providing our loyal customers with the experience they expect from our brand are critical to our success and the future of Pier 1.”

Julia Marsigliano
Julia Marsiglianohttp://wydaily.com
Julia Marsigliano is a multimedia reporter for WYDaily. She covers everything on the Peninsula from local government and law enforcement agencies to family-run businesses and weather updates. Before WYDaily, she covered Hampton and Newport News for WYDaily’s sister publication, HNNDaily before both publications merged in December 2018. Julia was born in Tokyo, Japan and moved to Long Island, New York in 2001. A true New Yorker, she loves pizza, bagels and good Chinese food. Send comments, tips and other tidbits to julia@localvoicemedia.com. You can follow her on Twitter at @jmarsigliano

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