Pier 1 Imports sales continued to slide as the Fort Worth, Texas-based home furnishings retailer struggles to reorganize its business, the Dallas Morning News reported. The company said yesterday that it will close 57 stores this year, up from its previous estimate of 45 stores. Total sales fell 15.5 percent in the quarter to $314.3 million vs. $371.9 million a year ago. Same-store sales, or sales from stores open throughout the preceding 12 months, fell 13.5 percent. Pier 1, operator of 970 stores in the U.S. and Canada, reported a first-quarter loss of $81.7 million, compared with a loss of $28.5 million a year ago. The results come a week after the company completed a 1-for-20 reverse stock split to avoid its shares being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
