12 Virginia Pier 1 Stores Slated For Closure

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Twelve Virginia Pier 1 Imports stores are targeted for closure in the coming months, according to a published report and a list distributed to stores. The list, reviewed Tuesday, backs up a report by Business Insider published Jan. 15.

Calls by a Patch reporter to stores also confirmed the closings.

Executives with the home accessories chain said Jan. 6 that it would close hundreds of stores around the country; the retailer has 28 Virginia sites.

The company said up to 450 locations — about half of its total — would be closed to "better align its business with the current operating environment."

Virginia stores designated for closure are:

• 8105 Sudley Road, Manassas
• 5857-A Leesburg Pike, Falls Church
• 21050 Southbank, Sterling
• 35 Conston Ave., Christiansburg
• 1169 Nimmo Parkway, Virginia Beach
• 3901 Richmond Hwy., Alexandria
• 729 Southpark Blvd., Colonial Heights
• 12551 Jefferson Ave., Newport News
• 1250 Stafford Market Place, Stafford
• 1951 Swanson Drive, Charlottesville
• 1717 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington
• 4609 Duke St., Alexandria

Patch has reached out to the company for a list of stores closing but has so far received no response.

Pier 1 also confirmed on Facebook that stores removed from the chain's website will be closing, telling a customer, "If you have any questions about stores in your area, you can visit Pier1.com and enter your zip code at the top of the page. Closing locations have been removed from this list."

The retailer plans to close certain distribution centers and lower its corporate spending, as well as lay off workers at the corporate level. The company 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.

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 Virginia locations Pier 1 operates include stores in Duke Street-Alexandria, Falls Church, Potomac Yards-Alexandria, Rosslyn, Woodbridge, Fairfax, Manassas, Sterling, Stafford, Gainesville, Leesburg, Fredericksburg, Winchester, Colonial Heights, Glen Allen, Short Pump, Midlothian in Richmond, Charlottesville, Midlothian, two stores in Virginia Beach, two in Chesapeake, Hampton, Williamsburg and Newport News.

Related: NoVA, DC Store Closings By Chain Retailers In 2019

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

Patch Editor Kristin Danley-Greiner contributed to this story.