Pier 1 on the upswing in Q2

FORT WORTH, Texas — Pier 1 Imports continued its comps momentum, reporting a 6.7% increase for its second quarter on top of last year's 10.8% gain.The company's three-year cumulative comparable-store sales increased 28.7%.

Total sales for the quarter increased 8.3% to $368 million.



For the second quarter, Pier 1 expects earnings per share to be approximately 24 cents (GAAP) and 19 cents (non-GAAP) versus 14 cents in the second quarter of fiscal 2012.



Alex Smith, president and CEO, commented, “We are very pleased with our profitable sales growth this quarter, which reflects strong execution across all aspects of the organization. Our stores have transitioned from summer to fall and customers have responded favorably to our new assortments.”



Smith added, “We are delighted with the highly successful, on-time launch of our new e-Commerce enabled website, Pier1.com, in late July. The new site includes direct-to-customer shipping, a full redesign, enhanced functionality and new features, and has met with positive response from our customers. The continued development and expansion of our e-commerce business will be an important part of our growth strategy going forward.”