Pier 1 Readies Catalog Roll-out

A year after testing a mail order catalog in selected markets, home décor retailer Pier 1 Imports is getting ready for a nationwide roll-out. It will mail 2 million copies of an 80-page catalog in September. A second catalog is scheduled to mail in November.

In an earnings call last month, chairman/CEO Marvin Girouard said that most of the products offered in the catalog will also be available in stores. And as of Nov. 1, all the merchandise will be for sale on the company’s Website as well.

In July and August, prior to the fall catalog launch, the Fort Worth, TX-based company will complete what Girouard described as “the largest ever transition of products, replacing over 70% of Pier 1 merchandise that has been in stores for six to 12 months, especially in furniture offerings.” Pier 1 has had 15 straight months of declining same-store sales, which the company has blamed in part on copycat competitors.