Pier 1 Imports, With 26 IL Stores, Closing Up To 450 Locations

ILLINOIS — Pier 1 Imports, which has 26 locations in Illinois, is closing hundreds of stores, the company announced Monday. The retail chain said up to 450 locations — about half of its total — would be closed to "better align its business with the current operating environment."

The company plans to close certain distribution centers and lower its corporate spending, as well as lay off workers at the corporate level. A list of stores that are closing has not yet been released.

Pier 1 is using a third-party liquidator to help with the closings, noting that its lenders signed off on its plan to reduce its brick-and-mortar footprint.

Robert Riesbeck, CEO and CFO of the retail chain thanked store workers for their hard work and commitment to serving customers.

"Although decisions that impact our associates are never easy, reducing the number of our brick-and-mortar locations is a necessary business decision," he said in a statement.

The planned closures come as the company faces smaller foot traffic.

Net sales for the third quarter plummeted more than 13 percent to $358.4 million. That number was $413.2 million in the same quarter for the previous fiscal year. Company comparable sales fell more than 11 percent compared to same period a year ago.

The 26 Illinois stores include 24 in the Chicago area. A dozen of the Chicago-area stores were listed as holding a "storewide sale" this week, according to the Pier 1 website.

• 3064 Plainfield Road, Joliet
• 1116 W Boughton Road, Bolingbrook
• 15150 South La Grange Road, Orland Park
• 2520 US Highway 34, Oswego
• 4362 East New York, Aurora
• 7320 191st Street, Tinley Park
• 110 Danada Square West, Wheaton
• 9820 Ridgeland Ave., Chicago Ridge
• 2155 West 22Nd St., Oak Brook
• 481 North Randall, Batavia
• 360 W Army Trail Road, Bloomingdale
• 1143 West Lake St., Oak Park
• 1660 North Illinois 50, Bourbonnais
• 358 Randall Road, South Elgin
• 1014 S Canal St., Chicago
• 1574 N Kingsbury St., Chicago
• 1522 E Golf Road, Schaumburg
• 5637 West Touhy Ave., Niles
• 2331 Willow Road, Glenview
• 2371 Sycamore Road, DeKalb
• 20530 N Rand Road, Deer Park
• 718 South Randall Road, Algonquin
• 701 N Milwaukee Ave., Vernon Hills
• 3062 W. Illinois 60, Mundelein
• 2328 N Richmond Road, McHenry
• 6325 East State St., Rockford

Last fall, Pier 1 announced up to 145 store closings were possible in coming months.

Founded with a single location in 1962, Pier 1 Imports currently operates 936 stores in the United States.

Patch has reached out to the company for a list of stores closing and will update when we hear back.

Dan Hampton, Patch Staff, contributed to this article.