DALLAS (AFX) - Home furnishings retailer Pier 1 Imports Inc. said Thursday its first-quarter loss nearly doubled on weak customer traffic, and that it will close more stores than previously announced.
For three months ending May 27, the Fort Worth-based company's loss grew to $23.2 million, or 27 cents per share, from $12.5 million, or 14 cents per share, a year ago.
Quarterly revenue slipped 3.6 percent to $376.1 million from $390.3 million in the year-ago period, and same-store sales, a key measure for retailers, dropped 6.6 percent.
On average, analysts were expecting a loss of 26 cents per share on higher sales of $382.4 million, according to a Thomson Financial poll.
In recent years the company has been squeezed between big-box retailers offering multiethnic merchandise long found in Pier 1 stores and high-end stores.
Once recognized as a niche retailer for its imported goods, Pier 1 lost this identity as it idly watched other retailers stock their own imported selections, analysts said.
'A lot of brand damage has occurred the last three and half years,' said Brian S. Postol, analyst with A.G. Edwards. 'You can't wait two or three years to tackle these issues.'
Chairman and Chief Executive Marvin J. Girouard told analysts in a conference call that Pier 1's most drastic merchandise and marketing change in the company's 43-year history just began in the spring. Introducing Modern Craftsman merchandise with a more urban feel to attract upscale customers requires a new advertising campaign and updated catalogs, he said.
The company said Thursday it plans to close 45 to 50 stores within a year rather than the previously announced 30. Pier 1 also will open 35 stores instead of the previously stated 40. It will close five Pier 1 Kids stores, even as same-store sales increased 9 percent for that division.
There are more than 1,200 Pier 1 stores in 49 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico and 43 Pier 1 Kids stores in the U.S.
Shares of Pier 1 Imports fell 20 cents, or 2.4 percent, to close at $8.20 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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