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Bankrupt home-furnishings chain Pier 1 Imports has canceled plans to auction off its stores and other assets this week, according to court documents. The Fort Worth, Texas-based retailer pulled the plug on an auction that was slated for Tuesday “in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing government shut-downs and overall unstable market conditions,” according to …
Bankrupt home-furnishings chain Pier 1 Imports has canceled plans to auction off its stores and other assets this week, according to court documents.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based retailer pulled the plug on an auction that was slated for Tuesday “in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing government shut-downs and overall unstable market conditions,” according to a Friday court filing.
Instead, the company’s lenders will take on the business — which has been squeezed in recent years by stiff competition from rivals ranging from Wayfair and Target at the lower end to Williams-Sonoma and Restoration Hardware on the high end — and may it up for sale at a later date, court papers said.
Canceling the auction was a mere formality because the 58-year-old chain had failed to attract interest even before the coronavirus crisis began to engulf the US, according to bankruptcy experts.
“No qualified bidders showed up,” last week when bids were due, said distressed-debt expert Adam Stein-Sapir.
Pier 1 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Feb. 17 when it laid out a plan to close nearly half of its 942 stores.
“They canvassed the market and even before the pandemic was in full swing they didn’t have anyone that was extremely interested or else they would have signed them up as the stalking horse bidder,” Stein-Sapir added.
