Pier 1 Imports reports 8.2% comp store gain in December

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, January 3, 2013

FORT WORTH, Texas — Pier 1 Imports said its comparable store sales in the five weeks ended Dec. 29 were up 8.2% from a year earlier.

The gain was on top of an 11.3% increase in the five weeks ended Dec. 31, 2011, and capped a three-year cumulative comp store sales gain of 29.8%, the Fort Worth-based retailer said.

Alex Smith, president and CEO, said the numbers "reflect strong traffic and an increase in average ticket. We experienced momentum in sales throughout the month, including the days after Christmas, and sales were strong across all geographic regions of the country.

"Importantly, we executed our planned balance of regular and promotional pricing, enabling us to achieve strong store-level margins that were comparable to last year," Smith said. "Our direct-to-consumer business continues to build and performance at our new stores is very strong. We remain confident that the long-term opportunity for growth in both our e-commerce business and our Pier 1 Imports stores is significant. With our holiday clearance event winding down, we are excited about our new spring assortments, which are arriving in stores this week."

Pier 1 said it will announce fourth quarter, sales for the period ending March 2, on March 7, and on April 11, will announce fourth quarter and fiscal 2013 financial results for the period ending March 2.

Pier 1 was No. 8 on Furniture/Today's latest Top 100 U.S. Furniture Stores ranking, with furniture, bedding and accessories sales of $956.8 million in the 2011 fiscal year.