13 Illinois Pier 1 Stores Doomed To Close: Reports

ILLINOIS — Though it hasn't officially released a list of the 450 stores it said it would likely close, Pier 1 Imports has apparently revealed some of the planned closings, according to Business Insider. Earlier this month, Pier 1 said it would likely close half of its stores to "better align its business with the current operating environment."

Last week, Business Insider reported that the chain has erased 260 locations from its website, including 13 in Illinois, and that there's strong evidence the retailer plans to close those stores.

"Business Insider contacted 20 of the stores from the list at random, and employees at each location confirmed they would close. Many of the deleted locations were advertising clearance sales online in the days before they disappeared," the report said.

Pier 1 also confirmed on Facebook that stores removed from the website will be closing, telling a customer, "If you have any questions about stores in your area, you can visit Pier1.com and enter your zip code at the top of the page. Closing locations have been removed from this list."

These Illinois stores have been removed from the website:

• 1143 West Lake St, Oak Park IL
• 1401 East Main St, Carbondale IL
• 4362 East New York, Aurora IL
• 987 S Route 51, Forsyth IL
• 481 North Randall, Batavia IL
• 358 Randall Road, South Elgin IL
• 2331 Willow Road, Glenview IL
• 718 South Randall Road, Algonquin IL
• 3062 W. Rt 60, Mundelein IL
• 1116 W Boughton Rd, Bolingbrook IL
• 1574 N Kingsbury St, Chicago IL
• 360 W Army Trail Rd, Bloomingdale IL
• 1522 E Golf Rd, Schaumburg IL

As Patch previously reported, the company plans to close some distribution centers and lower its corporate spending, as well as lay off workers at the corporate level. Pier 1 said it will use a third-party liquidator to help with the closings, noting that its lenders signed off on its plan to reduce its brick-and-mortar footprint.

Robert Riesbeck, CEO and CFO of the retail chain thanked store workers for their hard work and commitment to serving customers.

"Although decisions that impact our associates are never easy, reducing the number of our brick-and-mortar locations is a necessary business decision," he said in a statement.

The planned closures come as the company faces smaller foot traffic.

Founded with a single location in 1962, Pier 1 Imports currently operates 936 stores in the United States.

Dan Hampton, Patch Staff, contributed to this report