Pier 1 To Permanently Close All Stores, Including In Marin County

MARIN COUNTY, CA — Pier 1 Imports will reopen stores after the coronavirus pandemic forced closures, but only long enough to sell the company's inventory. The retail chain, which specializes in imported home decor and accessories, announced Tuesday that it will close all 541 stores in the country and the company will be liquidated.

"The company intends to sell its inventory and remaining assets, including its intellectual property and e-commerce business, through the court-supervised process," Pier 1 said in a news release.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February and had sought a buyer, but there were no offers once the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of all stores in March.

"We are grateful to our dedicated and hardworking associates, millions of customers and committed vendors who have collectively supported Pier 1 for decades," said Pier 1 CEO and CFO Robert Riesbeck.

"We deeply value our associates, customers, business partners and the communities in which we operate, and this is not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve. This 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."

Founded with a single store in 1962, Pier 1 has two stores in Marin County. The stores are in the Vintage Oaks Shopping Center in Novato and the Montecito Plaza in San Rafael.

The company continues to sell products online at pier1.com.

Patch editors Bea Karnes and Kristina Houck contributed to this report.