Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Pier 1 Reports Better-Than-Expected Sales Trends
November 15,
2016 by Larry Thomas in Financial Reports, Industry 
Retailer Pier 1 Imports (PIR), which is being pressured by activist shareholders to improve results, said sales in the current quarter are better than expected to date, and noted that sales and earnings should be at the higher end of the projections issued in late September.
The retailer said comparable company sales, which include e-commerce, were up in the low-single digits though the end of October (the current fiscal quarter began Aug. 28), although sales slowed in early November.
“The election appears to have disrupted sales during the first ten days of November but we anticipate that sales trends will improve as we move through the month,” said Alex Smith, president and CEO. “We are seeing strength in our gross margin – a result of great merchandise, balanced promotional activity and efficiency improvements in the supply chain.”
As a result, Smith said comparable company sales, net sales and earnings per share should be at the upper end of projections issued in late September. The current quarter ends in late November.
The September projections had net sales declining 2% to 4%, while comparable company sales were projected to fall 1% to 3%. Earnings per share were projected at 3 cents to 9 cents.