Pier I loss widens in Q2

10/4/2018
A struggling Pier 1 Imports Inc. reported disappointing second quarter results amid a sharp decline in same-store sales.

The company’s loss widened to $51 million, or 63 cents a share, in the period ended Sept.1, from a loss of $7.8 million, or 10 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 12.8% to $355.3 million from $407.6. Analysts had been expecting revenue of $361 million. Same-store sales dropped 11.4%.

In a statement that reiterated remarks he said last month, Pier I president and CEO Alasdair James said that the company’s results reflected “execution challenges” related to its August brand re-launch and ‘New Day’ strategic plan initiatives, which are taking longer than expected to gain traction.

“However, we have already taken steps to refine our marketing program and product allocation and are encouraged by early signs of improvement in some of our key customer metrics in recent weeks, including conversion and customer growth. Indeed, as we sharpen our execution on key initiatives around product and marketing, we continue to expect our top-line trend to improve over time,” he said.

For the first half of its fiscal year, Pier 1’s net loss grew to $79.6 million, or 99 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $10.8 million, or 13 cents per share, for the same period last year.

Net sales for the first six months decreased 11% to $727.2 million. Same-store sales fell 9.8%.

Pier I operated 989 stores at the end of the second quarter.
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