Bankrupt Pier 1 Imports Inc. said it hopes to reopen a “critical mass” of its stores by June 1, the latest company getting ready for the possibility of welcoming back shoppers as more states relax stay-at-home restrictions, the Wall Street Journal reported. The home-goods retailer, pressed by a bankruptcy judge yesterday to be more specific, said that it would resume its brick-and-mortar operations if enough states allow the company to reopen at least half of its roughly 540 stores. The company said that it would also depend on whether reopening would be economically feasible and whether it has the supply chain in place to support operations without losing money. Pier 1, which filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in February, won approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Va., to continue suspending payments to landlords, suppliers and shippers until May 31 amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin R. Huennekens said yesterday that he would approve Pier 1’s extension request despite several landlords that objected and expressed frustration that they wouldn’t receive rent for another month. Lawyers for the landlords said that they worried there is a risk that Pier 1, of Fort Worth, Texas, could be left unable to pay the bills it racks up during the chapter 11 process. “The world has been turned upside down as a result of this pandemic and we gotta deal with it,” Judge Huennekens said at the hearing, which was conducted by telephone conference. Pier 1 “has mapped a clear path forward, which is what I asked them to do.”
