Pier 1 Sees Quarterly Loss After Declining July Sa
Fort Worth, TX, August 4--Pier 1 Imports said its same-store sales fell 7.7 percent in July, and its quarterly loss may be wider than analysts had expected.
The company said the sales decline was in line with its forecast, although analysts, on average, were expecting a more modest 6 percent drop.
The company said total sales for the four weeks ended July 30 fell 3.1 percent from a year earlier to $134.6 million.
Pier 1, which has struggled through months of disappointing sales and increasingly tough competition, said clearance sales hurt its profitability. It now expects a loss for the second quarter toward the low end of its forecast range of a profit of 3 cents per share to a loss of 7 cents per share.
Analysts, on average, expected a loss of 5 cents per share. The company had already lowered its second-quarter forecast on June 14.
Pier 1 said it was introducing fall and holiday merchandise over the next few weeks, which it said would bring "dramatic shifts in color and more relevant styles and designs."
The retailer also said it plans to improve its marketing efforts in the second half of the year, with more prominent national television, radio and print advertising.
