Pier 1 to close all stores after failing to find buyer

Specialty home furnishings retailer Pier 1 Imports announced it intends to close all of its stores after it was unable to find a buyer to take over the company.

The Fort Worth, Texas, based company sought bankruptcy protection in February and hoped to find buyer to continue operations, but officials Tuesday said the shutdown of all of its stores during the COVID-19 crisis made it impossible to find one.

The company a filed a motion seeking the bankruptcy court's approval to begin selling off its inventory and remaining assets, including intellectual properties and e-commerce business, through the court-supervised process.

"This is not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve," Pier 1 CEO and Chief Financial Officer Robert Riesbeck said in a statement. "This decision follows months of working to identify a buyer who would continue to operate our business going forward.

"Unfortunately, the challenging retail environment has been significantly compounded by the profound impact of COVID-19, hindering our ability to secure such a buyer and requiring us to wind down," he added.

Pier 1 has about 450 stores nationally, including 16 in the suburbs.