Pier 1's Dec. Comp-Store Sales up 11.3%

January 4, 2012  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Financial Reports on January 5, 2012

Home furnishings retailer Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) reported Thursday that December 2011 comparable-store sales rose 11.3 percent compared with the prior year.

Combined with comparable-store increase of 10.3 percent for December 2010, Pier 1 has a three-year cumulative comparable-store sales increase of 30.2 for the month.

President and Chief Executive Officer Alex W. Smith credited the December gain to increases in traffic and average ticket.

"The strong sales trend during the first half of the month continued through the final days leading up to Christmas and the week thereafter, with strength throughout every geographic region of the country," he said. "Merchandise margins remained strong in December with good sell-through of our holiday assortments. Merchandise margins for the fourth quarter are expected to be approximately 59 percent of sales as previously indicated. As we end our seasonal clearance event, we are very excited about our new spring product, which is now arriving in stores."

Pier 1, Fort Worth, Texas, will announce fourth-quarter sales for the period ending Feb. 25 on March 1. The company will announce fourth-quarter and fiscal 2012 year-end results on April 5, and will host a conference call later that morning to discuss the results.