How coronavirus pandemic makes it harder to get bargains at Pier 1 liquidation sale
The coronavirus pandemic could prolong the closeout sale underway at Pier 1 Imports.
The home furnishings retailer announced last month that it will close all 540 of its stores, including those at the Boise Towne Square mall and at The Village at Meridian.
While liquidation sales often attract crowds of shoppers seeking heavy discounts on merchandise, the pandemic will put a wrench into that. Pier 1 is allowing only 25 customers into its stores at a time to keep shoppers at least 6 feet from one another so they can follow social distancing guidelines.
“Safety is top of mind for most consumers today,” Naveen Jaggi, president of retail advisory services at brokerage firm JLL, told USA TODAY. “The idea of being in a tight location with lots of people and touching items in a store will likely deter some shoppers, which will affect the speed in which liquidation will occur.”
Typically, store liquidations attract the most customers in the beginning, when stores are filled with merchandise. But that’s when the discounts are the lightest. To begin with, Pier 1 is offering items “up to 30% off.”
Discounts are increased as fewer and fewer items are left on the shelf. But shoppers risk the products they have their eye on may already be gone by the time prices become a bargain.
With a small number of people allowed in Pier 1’s stores, it could take longer to reduce the inventory.
The company announced it plans to permanently close its stores by the end of October. Pier 1’s website — which is offering the same discounts available in stores — is expected to operate through July.
Several people pulled up to Pier 1’s Boise store on Tuesday morning, looking to shop. They drove off after seeing the store had not opened for the day. Store hours have been shortened from noon to 7 p.m. seven days a week.
A sign posted near the entrance said the store is hiring temporary workers to assemble furniture and handle freight.
Fate of Treasure Valley J.C. Penney stores to be announced
J.C. Penney Co. is scheduled to identify in a court filing Thursday the 242 department stores it plans to close.
The Plano, Texas, company announced earlier this month it plans to close nearly a third of its 846 stores. J.C. Penney, founded in 1902 in Kemmerer, Wyoming, operates eight stores in Idaho, including at Boise Towne Square and in Nampa.
In the past two months, the company has missed debt payments of $29 million. Last month, Penney’s filed for bankruptcy protection.
At the time, the company said it planned to close its worst-performing stores, but did not identify them.
Penney’s has reopened its stores in waves after they closed in March because of the virus that causes COVID-19. Penney’s said it plans to have 500 stores operating by Wednesday up from 304 currently.
Stores in Boise, Nampa, Twin Falls, Idaho Falls and Pocatello have reopened. Three others, in Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston and Ponderay, remain closed.
Other stores face bleak futures.
The liquidation sale at Pier 1 comes as several national retailers have filed for bankruptcy in the past few weeks, including Tuesday Morning, J. Crew, Modell’s Sporting Goods, True Religion and Nieman Marcus.
Gordmans, which operates stores in Meridian and Nampa, filed for bankruptcy last month. A third store, in Boise, closed in 2017.
