One month of same store sales growth cannot exactly be defined as a path to resurrection, but home décor retailer Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (PIR) has certainly come a long way from its March lows. After touching an all-time intra-day low of 10 cents on March 13, the stock has achieved significant gains, closing Tuesday's trade at $4.85.
For the month of September, Pier 1 posted 9.9% growth in same store sales, compared to a decline of 11.7% in September last year, citing increases in traffic and conversion rates since the end of the second quarter. The company says it sees nothing to indicate that recent sales and traffic trends will not continue, although it is still early in the quarter.
The retailer also said merchandise margins improved in the third quarter, as it marked down fewer items and sold less inventory at clearance prices. Inventory levels are expected to peak at the end of the quarter at about $350 million.
If recent trends in the company's stock price continue, the company expects to terminate the conversion rights of the holders of the company's 9% convertible note into shares. Until date, about $15 million of the original $61.2 million bonds have either been converted or submitted for conversion into about 6 million shares, the retailer noted.
The company has been pursuing efforts to reduce rent and has reached rental reduction agreements on about 30% of its stores. These agreements will reduce the company's reported rental expense by $6 million for this fiscal year, and result in rental savings of about $11 million on a cash basis in fiscal 2010. On an adjusted basis, these agreements are expected to reduce rental expense by $37 million, with over 75% of the cash savings being realized within the next three fiscal years.
The management still expects to close about 50 locations in total this fiscal year, which is significantly less than the 125 locations it was originally planning to shutter. A near-term catalyst could be the all-important holiday shopping season.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.