2 Big RI Retailers Plan Store Closures Amid Coronavirus Downturn

While thousands of businesses across the state eagerly wait to reopen, JC Penney and Pier 1 Imports may keep their doors closed for good. On Tuesday, Pier 1 Imports announced it requested to stop retail operations "as soon as reasonably possible," after filing for bankruptcy. JC Penney filed for bankruptcy over the weekend and disclosed plans to close over 200 stores.

Both companies listed the coronavirus pandemic as the reason for the bankruptcy filing.
"Until this pandemic struck, we had made significant progress rebuilding our company," JC Penney CEO Jill Soltau in a statement Friday night.

JC Penney has not released a list of the stores it plans to close but said 192 stores would close this year and another 50 stores would close next year. There are currently two JC Penney locations in Rhode Island: one in Westerly and one in Warwick.

Pier 1 is planning to close all stores. As with JC Penney, there are two Pier 1 stores in Rhode Island: one in Westerly and one in Warwick.

"Ultimately, due to the combination of a challenging retail environment and the new reality and uncertainty of a post-COVID world, the company and its advisers determined that an orderly wind-down is the best way to maximize the value of Pier 1's assets," the company said in a press release.

Both companies had been struggling and feeling the effects of the rise of online retail giants like Amazon and Wayfair. Pier 1 cut its store numbers in half last year and announced in February the closure of 450 stores.

Pier 1 plans to continue to sell the inventory it has left, its website and intellectual property.

Patch editor Sam Mercado contributed to this report.