Pier 1’s Girouard to Retire in February

October 1, 2006  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on October 2006 After 32 years with Pier 1, Marvin Girouard, the specialty retailer’s chairman and chief executive officer, will retire Feb. 28.

The company made the announcement Saturday morning. In addition, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company has hired Herbert Mines Associates, a New York executive search firm, to find a new chief executive.

Girouard has been with the company since 1975, and was named chairman in 1999.

The announcement follows changes by the company to revise its merchandise mix in an attempt to turn around six consecutive quarters of losses. The company has also been in talkes with Jakup Jacobsen, a major shareholder, about a

“I feel that it is time for me to leave in the course of a normal retirement and allow new leadership to emerge and flourish,” Girouard said.

Pier 1 has more than 1,200 stores and 17,000 employees. In its most recent earnings report, for the quarter that ended Aug. 26, the company posted a net loss of $73 million.