Fargo's Pier 1 store closes doors for good at end of the day Wednesday

FARGO — The West Acres area Pier 1 Imports store will close for good at the end of the business day on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

The home goods store at 4330 13th Ave. S. was nearly out of merchandise Monday, with discounts of 70-80% on the remaining stock, mostly dishes, pillows, wreaths and a few other decorative items. Office supplies and store fixtures were also on sale.

A store manager said she was not authorized to speak to reporters about the pending closure.

Store hours are noon to 7 p.m. daily.

In mid-January this year, it appeared that the Fargo store was one of the survivors in the Fort Worth, Texas-based furniture and home decor chain’s attempt to restructure. At the time, the company had declared it was going to close 450 of its 952 stores.

By February, Pier 1 Imports was in bankruptcy and looking for a buyer.

Soon after, the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic took hold in the U.S., and retail shutdowns took a toll on the 58-year-old brand that it could not survive. Pier 1 Imports petitioned the bankruptcy court in mid-May to go out of business and liquidate all of the approximately 540 remaining stores once they were allowed to reopen.

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In July, Pier 1 Imports was purchased after a bankruptcy bidding war by Retail Ecommerce Ventures for $31 million for its intellectual property, which included its trademark name, its data, including customer lists, and other assets related to e-commerce, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Retail Ecommerce Ventures said it planned to launch a new e-commerce business under the Pier 1 brand name.

REV has made a name for itself by buying distressed brick and mortar retailers - sometimes called zombie retailers - and turning them into e-commerce businesses.

In 2019, REV purchased Dressbarn's e-commerce business after the company decided to wind down operations at all 544 of it's retail locations. The company relaunched the Dressbarn website earlier this year, Furniture World News reported.

Earlier this year, REV bought Linens N Things. In August, a subsidiary of REV purchased Modell’s Sporting Goods’ assets. REV also acquired online bookseller The Book People.

Forbes reports that REV also owns the Franklin Mint brand, FarmersCart (an online meat and grocery site), and MentorBox, a subscription service for business and self-development books and courses.

REV is co-owned by Tai Lopez and Alex Mehr. Mehr was a NASA scientist before founding, and later selling, the online dating site, Zoosk. Lopez is a social media celebrity who became known for his business advice and motivational courses, Forbes reported.