That is something that confused me in this piece. I always associated Pier 1 with 'overpriced', kinda a remnant of the yuppy craze of the 80s where a bunch of newly affluent people wanting overpriced status symbols. Pier 1 is where you went if you were 'too good' for Ikea.
Back in the 1960s, 70s & 80s, the word "Imports" brought to mind images of stuff that was exotic and interesting, in 2020 the word "Imports" brings to mind images of cheap plastic crap from China.
I seriously don’t mind if they are cheap and useful even if it last shortly. Because it’s cheap I can buy a few more to use it throughout a longer time period.
@@a.s.l711 actually it's proven that cheap weak products will cost more in long term. Let say you get a cheap pair of work boots for $200 that last a year compared to a pair of high quality work boots for $1200 that can last for 10 years. If you keep replacing the $200 boots every year for 10 years it will cost you total of $2000. So you actually spend 800 dollars more compared to just buying a pair of high quality work boots that can last you 10 years.
Cheap? I never go to Pier 1 because of how expensive it is. I went in the other day because they were having their closing sale (I thought I could find some pillows for cheap) and their pillow were still 40 bucks ON SALE
I worked at one of the stores that closed, I had to laugh when he said that as everyday I went in and thought "Jesus, we've marked them down and they're still to expensive". On his chaotic layout comment, at least at my story, it was purposeful. Sort of... The intention was supposed to be making playsets to show you potential combinations of items.
@@jtf5223 I used to buy from an importer of African goods. You wouldn't believe how cheap that stuff is wholesale... and I wasn't a big time purchaser.. I also had a friend that used to raid peir 1 dumpsters. Much of the stuff they threw out, we had a very hard time finding anything wrong with. Even anything with a small chip, instead of marking it down, they'd trash it.
I used to work at Pier 1, they're completely Sexist towards the Men in the work place (unless your Gay) the stores Training quote is literally "Make her feel at home"
@Oskrow: shop now and catch the sales. My husband found pendant lamps for our 9 foot ceilings on clearance the first year we had our house. We bought a bunch of "ambiance" for about $5 a piece. I buy dining room textiles (India!) from the clearance shelves at Cost Plus or downstairs at IKEA.
Remember when Starbucks' Howard Schultz didn't know the cost of a box of Cheerios? He mucked it up to say he doesn't eat the brand... but most cereal, unless in those bags, typically cost $2.75-$4.
This is the one thing I love about TH-cam. I would never actively look for content like this but then I find it and absolutely love it. Thanks for all the hard work for my entertainment i highly appreciate it! I binged practically your whole channel lol
Update: Company filed for Chapte 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2020. In May, they closed all of their stores, and an e-commerce company bought the rights to continue Pier 1 as an e-commerce store.
Looks like stuff you might find at Crate and Barrel. No indication of where it's made, so it really doesn't have that legitimate Pier 1 feel. It looks like the same company bought Linens •n• Things also.
Here's the connection I'm making: Lower to middle class families have stagnant wage increases. More people are renting, less people are buying homes, and when they are buying, they're buying smaller, more affordable homes. When you're a store that sells furniture and home decor: 1) People who aren't buying houses aren't buying furniture. 2) People who DO need to buy furniture can find furniture elsewhere, cheaper. 3) People with less money to spend, spend less money on frivolous decor like throw pillows, dining placemats, and pricey wall art. All of this adds up to home goods stores suffering because there isn't a customer base for their product anymore, and the few people who ARE in the market for the types of products they sell can get comparable products elsewhere, cheaper.
Agreed, I'm a new home owner and I bought my furnishings from craigslist and letgo. Got my bed new from a mom and pop store local. Anything else new was IKEA. I have 0 intentions of going to pier 1
The_GamingChef go to Goodwill or Salvation Army, they have great things for very little money. Some stores are not good but some stores have great items and it will save you A LOT of money. Good luck!
My grandma shopped at pier 1 all the time! God I hated all of those splintery wicker chairs and the unnecessary "decorative" pillows that made it impossible to sit on the couch.
anastasia46 maybe that’s at your locations, but in my area (big city) there are several of these stores and I have rarely seen something broken or damaged for sale.
Basically, Pier 1 finance watched this video 5 months ago... said, "He's right... we're screwed"... and that's how we got to now.... Oh yeah, also the rest of the world started falling apart on a voting year with diseases, toilet paper shortages, Murder Hornets (Or Baskin Bee's), Riots, ect... so there's that...
We used to shop there in the early 70s when Pier 1 was a head shop for paraphernalia and middle eastern tapestries. That's when Pier 1 was all by itself and was considered underground.
I've tried Pier 1 years ago when I first bought my home. Their prices were just too high. Even their sale items were too high. Si I went to Hobby Lobby , Target, and other stores that offered better looking items. Some for almost half off.
Hobby Lobby are run by unethical religious lunatics who violated Federal law by purchasing items from the UAE and Israel which neither country had the discretion to sell. It's not responsible to trade with them. H/L illegally acquired ancient Babylonian artifacts which were the rightful property of Iraq. Then, as if they were the arbiters of morality, the company thinks its employee health insurance carrier can decline to cover prescriptions for the hormone active in contraceptive pills, even though it's also prescribed for a variety of women's health issues having nothing to do with contraception. Just because the owners are Christian doesn't obligate their employees to have sex only if married and for the purpose of procreation, the moral edicts of their religion obligates the owners to comply with federal import/export regulations. They got it exactly BACKWARDS.
@@JaninaTylr It's always the most vocal anti-LGBT politicians and pastors who get caught cheating on their wives, sometime with gay men, or who get arrested for financial fraud. Here's the story about the illegal imports: www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/01/607582135/hobby-lobbys-smuggled-artifacts-will-be-returned-to-iraq
@@troyevitt2437 When I was job hunting a few years back, my mom kept asking if I'd applied with Hobby Lobby. After about the third or fourth time she suggested I get an application with them (she'd been suggesting other craft stores as well though except for a passing fancy with crocheting, I haven't a creative bone in my body), I finally told her that I didn't approve of the company not supporting birth control for its employees. Her response to me was "So?!" Well, mom, as one who had three kids by the time she was 18 due to failed contraceptives, I'd figure you, of all people, would want your daughter to have cheaper access to (better) contraceptives herself. Not that I have any intention of being intimate with anyone anytime soon but it's the principal. I actually don't intend to have kids and I have a women's center in mind to do my tubal ligation in the next year or so. What if my employer doesn't like this and yanks support for such an operation away from me? I don't want to work for a company that feels its employees should live their lives exactly to their standards, like your employer are your parents. And it's when you start pulling access to contraceptives, like pulling a sex ed program from a school, that can begin to lead to harmful outcomes. Honestly, after having worked for Walmart for a year, I wasn't crazy to work retail again anyways.
@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley The USA needs to get T/F OVER Christianity. Just because 9/11 happened in our lifetimes, versus how many centuries back the Crusades, inquisitions and witch-hunts, does not really give it any more high ground than Islam. You might could argue that Christianity's "freewill" is a measure more compatible with Western Democracy than Islam's literal translation-"submission", but it's still a poison from the same tree as Islam, patriarchal/counter-scientific/a haven for pedophiles. As to Hobby Lobby's birth-control policy-A married, female Christian employee, would be denied coverage for a Rx for the same hormone as birth control, REGARDLESS OF WHAT OTHER CONDITION her Obi/Gen was addressing. I'm a dude (who thinks dudes shouldn't even enter the abortion debate since we just "have the fun, cum and run"...) So I don't know EXACTLY WHAT those other feminine issues are, but I know Hobby Lobby wouldn't even cover it for a Christian mother of 3 kids-who might one day want a 4th-regardless.
Used to occasionally go to Pier 1 back in the day. The problem for me was that they were SUPER expensive compared to everyone else. I could go find something very similar somewhere else for half the price.
I used to work at Pier 1. The quality of the products is shoddy at best. The stores are CRAMMED with merchandise that gathers dust because ultimately, while home decor may be a must for some customer demographics, it isn't essential for everyone and the price point was wayyyy higher than it should have been. (Side note, I got a 10 cent raise in the nearly 1.5 years I worked there.)
In my opinion, 1986-1989 were the glory years for Pier 1 Imports and their once younger clientele. The imports were just eclectic enough (some stores even sold beautiful and unique boho style women’s clothing and accessories back then!) without seeming too bizarre or too frivolous, and the prices were still fairly reasonable. It was my go-to store (especially for gifts) during high school. I remember Pier 1 carrying less furniture in the late 80’s, and more decor pieces, especially wall art.
Nines yes, an alias for the internet lol. it’s sad that you find that rare or impossible. It’s quite normal where I am. In fact, 180k isn’t something to brag about. The attorneys I know regularly make 500k. I know a few civil engineers with their own firms that are clearing 500k too. My friend sell downloadable files globally and is making 200k a month in sales.... all the millennials I associate and work with are doing well. Maybe that’s because I don’t associate with losers and unmotivated people without aspirations (people who studied history, humanities, liberal arts lol, or anyone who works retail) maybe this is you?
@@metromusic5725 I think it has to do with the fact that they sell overpriced items. They sell cups for $10-15 per glass in the store, you can get a full set of that for $15 in TJ Maxx. They're overpriced and I don't know anyone who has legitimately bought anything in their stores. Just go into one sometime. Chairs for $300, whole sets for $900-1800 that aren't good quality. He's right, millenials aren't paying for a $500 coffee table because they can get a $50-$100 one anywhere else.
@jacob f I'm a millennial too and I can tell you this: unless you're very particular about your furniture/style, a $200 table will work just as well as a $500. Look at wayfair and their kitchen sets - whole sets for $500 and under, more lavish ones for just $1k. Just the coffee table? Lots of affordable new ones for under $500. Piers1 is extremely out of touch with reality with their expectations. If you're furnishing a new home $500 for a coffee table is a lot.
The problem with their store whenever I went there with my mom (she loved that store) is how chaotic and disorganized the store was. It felt like they always had too much stuff for how small the stores were. The other issue is ecommerce with sites like Wayfair, Overstock, etc selling similarly priced stuff and having a good variety of styles to suit people's needs. You also have brick and mortar retailers like Target, TJ Maxx, At Home, IKEA, West Elm, Crate & Barrel, etc stepping their game up in relation to either ecommerce, physical stores, or customer service to bring customers into their stores. Pier 1 is a bit like Bed Bath and Beyond, in that it has no idea what it wants to be and a master of all and none at the same time
I am really benefiting from your videos. I am 5 years into my business and always looking for insights into other companies. Your videos are easily digestible fly-overs that get to the point. Thank you!
I've been waiting for you to do a video on Pier 1! They had a CEO for years who brought the company back from the brink of bankruptcy. So of course, they FIRED him and brought in an imbecile who drove the company right into the toilet! Then they replaced him with the former CEO of Popeye's Chicken. They deserve to be wiped off the map! I wrote this review on Indeed dot com and I barely scratched the surface of the abuse of their employees: When I started there 11 years ago, it was the best job (and boss) I ever had. The General Manager was fair and professional. Then the company started treating its workers more and more poorly. Benefits were starting to erode away, and they were starting to micromanage the stores. The GM saw the writing on the wall before we did and quit. After he left we had a GM who was an absolute sociopath who did nothing but sit in her office all day and let a Manager On Duty run the entire store, and he decided to change procedures just to put his stamp on everything. He rearranged the stockroom so that it's now more crowded and actually dangerous to work in. Then the GM quit and we found out she had mismanaged the store so badly we had almost been shut down. Then the regional manager hired her friend to manage the store. Unfortunately she is a bipolar micromanager who is verbally and emotionally abusive to employees. We complained to the regional manager for years about her and nothing was ever done. Then one MOD quit and went around her, contacting the company directly. HR opened an investigation and the regional manager quit before the company could fire her. Pier 1 left our GM in place where she remains to this day. One day while just the two of us were unloading a massive shipment (with NO equipment to save pennies) I quit. Nothing I was doing was right or good enough for her. Any positive aspect of working for Pier 1 has long been stripped away by the corporation. They have no respect for their workers and they deserve the slow death they are suffering from.
I was there for 7. I emptied 3 40 foot trucks a week by myself. No one ever helped. The managers were lazy and crooked. I was terminated when they learned I was not gay. F Pier 1 and all their slave labor made communist junk.
Vincent Grimmly --Interesting having your first hand experience recorded on here-it was helpful to see how companies treat their employees, has a direct impact on how well the store will do. Makes me worry for World Market, since many of the same tactics are being used there. No stockroom staff, no janitorial staff, employees do everything, and they lose people because who can keep that up?
I've said it before and I'll say it again employees are an asset and they will bring you money if you treat them well. Sometimes a little more up front is worth it in the long run.
existential crises yes!!!! I love going there and you never know what you're going to find, I bought a 1936 vintage typewriter in beautiful condition for $23 in an auction.
existential crises nope! Lol. I've found so many real vintage things not "fake vintage", it's like a treasure hunt, you never know what you're going to find.
I remember in the 1970s that Pier One had really inexpensive stuff. It was a good place to go to furnish your dorm room. The few times I have been in one of the stores in the last few years, I was surprised at how expensive it had become. A lot of stuff that was a staple years ago-cheap bamboo window shades, for example-they no longer carry. It became too upscale.
Used to be in the 80's and 90's, but now lots of it is overpriced junk. Nothing worth their insane prices. I miss in the late 80's when they had affordable, to die for scented candles that did not smell like chemicals. I also got cheap funky earrings. My friend gave me one of those glass heads they had for a while. I got a blue velvet dress and a wine baroque dress that I wore to a friends wedding. I got them a wedding gift from there too. It was not only affordable but was unique at the time. Now you can get tons of unique and affordable stuff online.
I remember my friend/neighbor in elementary school bragging about how her mom shopped at "Pierre 1" (pronounced like the French name) and I thought it sounded so fancy lmao
A girl in my class and her mom work there, she said the higher ups were insisting that their store wouldn’t go out of business even as they were giving her the “everything must go” signs.
That's typical. I was in Sears before christmas and commented to the kid at the register that it was getting really thin on inventory. He said they were clearing out of old inventory and had new inventory coming in after the first of the year.... I can't see anyone believing those stories...
I work at one right now and we have to keep telling our customers everything is fine (we get calls every day about it). I'm just holding my breath at this point.
When I was in highschool, i used to shop Radio Shack for audio cable couplings, adapters and stereo/mono splitters, such as RCA-to-1/4" male or 1/4" to 1/8" and Y-cables. One day I asked about applying and the store manager said I would have to cut my hair short-it was about the lenght of Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine's. I told him I was a semi-pro metal guitarist and bassist and I didn't do haircuts*. The store manager said that Radio Shack was founded by Navy veterans and while he, too, was ex-Navy, he said, "The company is hurting itself not hiring men with long hair. Most of the best talent in audio production, computer geeks and phone phreaks, tend to be part of the entertainment industry, at least part time, and mostly have long hair". That rule was changed by the Tandy Corp and in Radio Shack's last decade or so, I saw a lot of dudes with long, but neat and professionally styled, hair, usually hard-rock musicians in local scene bands. (*I'd actually defied my Christian private school's dress code with my dad's support. The school wanted my father's tuition payments badly enough that they let me cuck them with my long hair for the rest of that year.)
I’m a pier one customer and a credit card holder as well I love the store in my opinion they need to modernize their product reduce store clutter and also for people that are young in their 20s and 30s they need to lower the cost of their products as well no one in their 20s and 30s that’s just moving out into their own house or apartment what’s the spent $300 on a chair, lamp or rug.
Agreed. I worked there in the early 2000s and I went down and bought some stuff I somehow couldn't find at another store that some friends of mine really wanted for their wedding and its THE SAME STUFF nearly 20 years later. I looked at the sku numbers and it literally was the same stuff.
I do not agree with you. You want to target a population that is not at the height of their earning power. You sound like your taste is just cheap tacky garbage by the sounds of it. A person with no elegance or taste.
My apartment is pretty well furnished by now, but if I'm looking for something, it has to be clean crisp design... not all that old-lady kitsch. Too many knick-nacks.
I have a Pier 1 and HomeGoods literally just a few doors away from each other. The HomeGoods is usually pretty crowded and I rarely see anyone inside the Pier 1.
I loved Pier1 stuff so much as a loyal customer of 17 years, that I worked their part-time for 3 yrs just for fun. I always knew their stuff was overpriced, but the quality and style seem to justify the price in the early days. I felt the sale model was outdated and when Homegoods opened up within walking distance from our location, the customers found similar items much cheaper. Since leaving employment a few years ago, I barely like to shop there because of the prices. I remember the days of just walking around the store 100 times until you found something cheap.
IKEA is expensive as hell to me. I've never been in one but if their store prices are the same as their online prices, you can definitely find comparative quality and cheaper prices elsewhere. And even get that same satisfaction and drive to take care of the items you built (that last part being a big part of their emotional targeting with shoppers...which is fine, it does make sense).
Pier 1 used to a lot of interesting & affordable things for your house. Now all of the major retailers (Target, Walmart, Costco, etc) have similar assortments. TJX has a competitive “department” in all of their TJ Maxx & Marshall’s stores plus their free-standing Home Goods chain. In short, bigger players have moved into the Pier 1 space, offering similar items at competitive prices, in more convenient locations.
Their stores were typically smaller than Home Goods, so it felt more cramped. I liked the bigger store vibe. Also, it reminded me of the Charming Charlie stores where there were items *everywhere* and it was a bit overwhelming! It was hard to enjoy the experience of going into the store because of that.
Who is determining that they are affordable?? They sold the most expensive decorations in my entire city of almost 200,000. When they closed, I checked out their closing sale and couldn't find a single painting for under $200.
A few ideas for 2020 videos. Whataburger: They celebrate their 70th Anniversary in 2020 and made one of their biggest changes in their history by no longer being a family owned company in the summer of 2019. One of the biggest changes in the companies history. It made huge news in Texas where the company got its start. The International Olympic Committee (IOC). Be interesting to see how a major sports federation runs differently from most business’s and they affect sports federations worldwide. As well as some of the major controversies like being slow to crackdown on steroid use.
Again thank you for your videos! I really like how you get to the point and no BS to fill time. It kinda reminds me of bullet point presentations. Which is my preferred method in so many ways.
About 4 years ago before our local Dallas store shut down, my wife and I went to shop for our new home. We thought it was crazy expensive even with the “sale” although we did buy some decorative items for our table we agreed not to return and instead purchase form a cheaper place.
I like Pier 1, I bought an absolutely great outdoor hanging chair, well made, sturdy, had it for over 5 years. When lost some hardware during recent move, customer service was very nice and resolved an issue immediately.
excited for this one!! edit: i really cant imagine going to a pier 1 imports anymore when you can get essentially the same items from 10 other stores, 5 of which are more convenient and cheaper
Great video. Really well researched and informative. Fun to watch! I loved Pier 1 imports! It was fun to go in a look around. However, they rarely had anything I wanted to buy. I bought a rattan and glass table and chairs from them that I still have today. They are well made and good quality. But, once you bought and decorated with a few things from them, you were done shopping there. Now they are just an online company which makes a lot more sense in light of all the things brought up in this video. Kind of like Bed Bath and Beyond who's retail store are failing big time because they got on the online bandwagon too late.
My mother was actually in a Pier 1 commercial some years ago. She got to take any of the set furniture that she wanted. Gave me a generally positive view of the brand considering how long the table & chairs we got lasted, but we never actually shopped there much longer after that commercial filmed.
yangtai1992 I used to like Kirkland. I still have a a glass table from there. I haven’t been in a while, I can’t find a store near me anymore since they shut them down
zina azarova, it had been at least 10 years since I had gone into a Kirkland. At that time, I had very limited funds, but I loved the items in the store. I couldn’t afford to buy anything then. Well, now I have the funds to afford the items formerly carried by Kirkland, but a I bought absolutely nothing when I made a recent visit to one of their stores. The stuff was not to my liking. I could have easily bought similar items at Walmart.
There's a Kirkland that's not affiliated with Costco? You mean, it's not like Walmart is to Sam's Club? That's very interesting, and I would like to see that video. Suggest your idea and vote on others at companymanideas.com
Oh man, I actually was working at Pier 1 Imports up until it's liquidation here on Maui, and I also worked at Sports Authority, which were both at the same mall area
I love that you did this video and that this is happening to this company. I worked for them briefly in 2005 - 2006 and I'm honestly surprised it took so long for them to implode. I've been working in retail operations for 22 years. My areas of expertise are Chain Supply Management, Loss Prevention, Warehouse Management and Inventory Control. In 2005 I was hired to take over Shipping and Receiving and Warehouse Management at their Fort Lauderdale location. I could provide you with a long list of bad operational decisions that I witnessed during that time. Trucks full of merchandise would ship to the wrong locations and no one in store would notice because they had a flimsy receiving process. There wasn't any tracking method on outgoing shipments so I could have easily shipped everything in the store to my apartment and no one would have been able to prove it. They spent a ton of money using companies like Labor Ready to increase staffing when they could have just hired a few extra employees for half the price. I could go on and on. I'm sure there are a lot of reasons why they're in the state they're in beyond their operational weakness but the fact that they were logistically weak can't have helped.
I literally live down the street from one and I've only been there once. There's no reason for me to buy their overpriced stuff when I can get the exact same thing or similar elsewhere. Also, they have to compete with IKEA where I am, and they're losing by a long shot.
I'm a Gen Z'er who loves the online shopping experience. I hate IKEA because all they have is Chinese-made junk. Online, you can get pretty much anything you want, whereas in a store, you're so limited.
When you first move into a new house/apartment you do. After that, your wants for it starts to wear off. That's where I am right now. I just moved into a new apartment and have been shopping around for stuff like that. However, I haven't once touched Pier 1 (I almost forgot the place existed) and instead got my decor and furniture from cheaper places like Walmart, Ross, Burkes, and TJ Maxx. The later 3 being huge discount stores where you can find similar items from Pier 1 that start as low as $3.
Everyone wants clean lines and minimalist style homes and furniture. Pier 1 gives the impression of clutter and 90s/early 2000s dated designs & fabrics.
They used to be called “the uncommon store” but now as you said you can find anything that they have at just about any other store and certainly online.
Where I live, within a one mile section of busy retail space, we have a Home Goods, a World Market, and what used to be a Pier 1 store. The market crowded them out. It's been a while since my wife and I moved into our house, and we don't need more stuff to clutter it up, so their main product lines at all three chains don't tempt us. World Market does sell beer, wine, and certain unique food items, so it tends to get our business from time to time instead of the others. That's just my take on the situation.
The detail about the floor layout is spot on-it’s absolutely intentional. I worked at a Pier One around 2005, and the manager would just move things around the store every few weeks. There would be no new inventory. Just a different layout in hopes the customers would stumble upon new items.
As a teenager in the 80s and 90s, I loved to go there, see their exotic items, and dream about decorating my own place, one day... but at no point did I ever become rich enough to pay their prices. And now I never would. Low value, high cost, nothing special.
It's one of those stores that I can walk through, look at everything and find maybe 2 things I like. Then I look at the price tag and walk out. Haven't been there in 5+ years. Same thing with Cost Plus.
I worked at a World Market for a few years and they always talked about Pier One being the main competitor. There was even a Pier One within eyesight of that World Market and a few employees of Pier One left to work at our store. I always thought World Market sold much of the same stuff (as far as furniture and accessories anyway) and usually at least a little cheaper. It's funny to know now they had the same origin.
I went into their store during a closing sale, and the best they could do was 40% off. And even at 40% on a few things, we're still talking most things being at least 70 bucks or more. Most store closings I've been to are in the 50-70% off range. They're gonna lose it all anyway, if they want to actually sell their garbage they need to cut the prices more.
Retail stores are going away. As a consumer I am not happy. I want to touch and use all my senses to look at the products I buy. Shopping in the web universe I can't tell quality, I pay shipping on most things, and return fees on most too. Finally, often the stores on the web charge me restocking fees. I feel insecure about anything I cannot use my senses to appraise for fear of expensive return and shipping fees.
their stuff is extremely expensive and there are other stores with similar stuff for less. its their own fault
That is something that confused me in this piece. I always associated Pier 1 with 'overpriced', kinda a remnant of the yuppy craze of the 80s where a bunch of newly affluent people wanting overpriced status symbols. Pier 1 is where you went if you were 'too good' for Ikea.
neeneko where I live there is no competitor (aside from Ross, but their stuff is real trash) but they still closed :/
FACTS!! Lol
I can find the same shit they have at Ross, Marshall's or Walmart 😂😂😂😂
spartan246 Agree. They offer a beautiful presentation but are way overpriced.
Damn right. TJ Maxx/ Marshall’s/ Homegoods/ Christmas Tree Shop all sell the same weird nicknacks and furniture for a fraction of the price.
Back in the 1960s, 70s & 80s, the word "Imports" brought to mind images of stuff that was exotic and interesting, in 2020 the word "Imports" brings to mind images of cheap plastic crap from China.
Ironic, considering now in China, the word "imported" in stores and supermarkets usually means that the product has higher quality
Thx1138sober don’t forget it carries the Wuhan virus
I seriously don’t mind if they are cheap and useful even if it last shortly. Because it’s cheap I can buy a few more to use it throughout a longer time period.
@@a.s.l711 actually it's proven that cheap weak products will cost more in long term. Let say you get a cheap pair of work boots for $200 that last a year compared to a pair of high quality work boots for $1200 that can last for 10 years. If you keep replacing the $200 boots every year for 10 years it will cost you total of $2000. So you actually spend 800 dollars more compared to just buying a pair of high quality work boots that can last you 10 years.
Nailed it. I remember as a kid how cool the rattan furniture looked when I passed one in the mall.
Why shop at Pier 1 when there’s usually a Marshalls, Home Goods or Target in the same shopping center with MUCH better prices?
Exactly! And Amazon
Joluvslilhorses YEP! 👍👍
deontaer or TJ Maxx or even Kohl's too!
because the stuff you find in those stores will be crap. i have pier 1 furniture and accessories i bought over 20 years and several moves ago.
And probably better quality as well
Cheap? I never go to Pier 1 because of how expensive it is. I went in the other day because they were having their closing sale (I thought I could find some pillows for cheap) and their pillow were still 40 bucks ON SALE
I worked at one of the stores that closed, I had to laugh when he said that as everyday I went in and thought "Jesus, we've marked them down and they're still to expensive". On his chaotic layout comment, at least at my story, it was purposeful. Sort of... The intention was supposed to be making playsets to show you potential combinations of items.
@@jtf5223 I used to buy from an importer of African goods. You wouldn't believe how cheap that stuff is wholesale... and I wasn't a big time purchaser.. I also had a friend that used to raid peir 1 dumpsters. Much of the stuff they threw out, we had a very hard time finding anything wrong with. Even anything with a small chip, instead of marking it down, they'd trash it.
Pier one was always expensive
“They sell things at an affordable price” I literally have a $45 Christmas tree ornament that was given to me as a gift from there.
I used to work at Pier 1, they're completely Sexist towards the Men in the work place (unless your Gay) the stores Training quote is literally "Make her feel at home"
@@AlejandroGutierrez-mi6hg you sound very feminine. Like a snowflake. You gay?
@@AlejandroGutierrez-mi6hg I used to work there as well and never saw that at all.
“They sell things at an affordable price” *shows a table lamp on clearance for $75*
That was funny they are "affordable" for the low quality stuff they sell.
Haha I just looked as their prices since I just bought a house. No way imma pay those prices. You can find the same cheaply built stuff somewhere else
Aldous Huxley LoL that’s funny
Aldous Huxley 😂I hate going out,hate crowds and over all hate people. Shopping from home will work for me.
@Oskrow: shop now and catch the sales. My husband found pendant lamps for our 9 foot ceilings on clearance the first year we had our house. We bought a bunch of "ambiance" for about $5 a piece. I buy dining room textiles (India!) from the clearance shelves at Cost Plus or downstairs at IKEA.
"There isn't the highest quality, but it's cheap and unique."
Um, negative on both fronts. That shit is overpriced and definitely overproduced.
Crate&Barrel is shit and people adore that store like is The Wizard Of Oz or something.
Pier 1 is cheap????? Lies Company Man. LIES! 😂 They’re very expensive.
Raven R he’s ascended past us poor people lol
@@s103792 😂😂😂😂
💯
Remember when Starbucks' Howard Schultz didn't know the cost of a box of Cheerios? He mucked it up to say he doesn't eat the brand... but most cereal, unless in those bags, typically cost $2.75-$4.
@@hellomynameisrodney damn that's cheap cereal around here is like 6 bucks a box. 8 if you want family size
This is the one thing I love about TH-cam. I would never actively look for content like this but then I find it and absolutely love it. Thanks for all the hard work for my entertainment i highly appreciate it! I binged practically your whole channel lol
Update: Company filed for Chapte 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2020. In May, they closed all of their stores, and an e-commerce company bought the rights to continue Pier 1 as an e-commerce store.
Thanks, I'll check it out now and see if they have reasonable prices now lol
Update 07/23-they’re still closed.
Thank you!
Looks like stuff you might find at Crate and Barrel. No indication of where it's made, so it really doesn't have that legitimate Pier 1 feel. It looks like the same company bought Linens •n• Things also.
Here's the connection I'm making:
Lower to middle class families have stagnant wage increases. More people are renting, less people are buying homes, and when they are buying, they're buying smaller, more affordable homes.
When you're a store that sells furniture and home decor:
1) People who aren't buying houses aren't buying furniture.
2) People who DO need to buy furniture can find furniture elsewhere, cheaper.
3) People with less money to spend, spend less money on frivolous decor like throw pillows, dining placemats, and pricey wall art.
All of this adds up to home goods stores suffering because there isn't a customer base for their product anymore, and the few people who ARE in the market for the types of products they sell can get comparable products elsewhere, cheaper.
Smart comment.
Agreed, I'm a new home owner and I bought my furnishings from craigslist and letgo. Got my bed new from a mom and pop store local. Anything else new was IKEA. I have 0 intentions of going to pier 1
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
The_GamingChef go to Goodwill or Salvation Army, they have great things for very little money. Some stores are not good but some stores have great items and it will save you A LOT of money. Good luck!
@@007Julie I hit all my local resale stores, absolutely love them. Thank you!
My grandma shopped at pier 1 all the time!
God I hated all of those splintery wicker chairs and the unnecessary "decorative" pillows that made it impossible to sit on the couch.
Wicker chairs should be criminalized. They should be illegal to manufacture, transport, sell, or buy.
@Tucson Jim
You mean losers like you, right Jim?
Tucson Jim ok boomer
Tucson Jim lmaoo okay grandpa. Lol I bet you’re just as much as a loser as we are.
@施亮
Whoah there, cowboy! I am a boomer and I had to take Latin in high school. How about we blame the centennials (1900's) for that one?
Home Goods/Marshalls/TJ Maxx carries a lot of "Pier 1-looking' stuff at far lower prices.
Home Goods/Marshalls/TJ Maxx is all the same company. and almost everything they sell is damaged, chipped or broken.
anastasia46 maybe that’s at your locations, but in my area (big city) there are several of these stores and I have rarely seen something broken or damaged for sale.
It’s over Pier 1 will be liquidating all their stores.
Just about over, the judge has to approve of the liquidation first. But after (or if) the judge approves yes, then it'll be over.
F
Update now it's over, the judge approved the liquidation plan.
Basically, Pier 1 finance watched this video 5 months ago... said, "He's right... we're screwed"... and that's how we got to now.... Oh yeah, also the rest of the world started falling apart on a voting year with diseases, toilet paper shortages, Murder Hornets (Or Baskin Bee's), Riots, ect... so there's that...
Sucks their going out out of business but it’s not a store I’m crazy about so it’s a meh
We used to shop there in the early 70s when Pier 1 was a head shop for paraphernalia and middle eastern tapestries. That's when Pier 1 was all by itself and was considered underground.
Do you remember the Bombay Company with all of the dark wood and furniture.
I love his tone of voice in these videos 😂 it's always so factual but like "I'm judging you slightly"
Heather Berg 😂
Pier 1 Imports just couldn't compare to Pier 2 Imports 😔
This just end, pier 3 imports emerges from the ashes!
Pssh mere mortals only go to pier 3 imports pier 4 imports is where it’s at
First Buster1999 there’s talk about a pier 5 now.
Pier 6 and his brother Pier 7 became the ruler of the world
Which is then when pier 8 causes a civil war
Pier 1 imports seems like a store where everyone's kind of heard of it but no one shops there.
I can’t even remember the last time I’ve been in a Pier 1 Imports. I can find similar at Marshalls, Home Goods and occasionally Ross.
Soon to be known as Pier None.
I'll see myself out.
PickelJars ForHillary you saw into the future 😭👏
Got emmmmmm 🤣🤣🤣
Lol that actually made me laugh so thank u
Oh nooo where else will I buy my tacky Chinese Lion statues 😭😭
Yard sales.
Ross lol
pawn shops
You can always try the tacky Chinese lion statue store.
@@Saxie81 yessss🤣🤣🤣
I've tried Pier 1 years ago when I first bought my home. Their prices were just too high. Even their sale items were too high. Si I went to Hobby Lobby , Target, and other stores that offered better looking items. Some for almost half off.
Hobby Lobby are run by unethical religious lunatics who violated Federal law by purchasing items from the UAE and Israel which neither country had the discretion to sell. It's not responsible to trade with them. H/L illegally acquired ancient Babylonian artifacts which were the rightful property of Iraq. Then, as if they were the arbiters of morality, the company thinks its employee health insurance carrier can decline to cover prescriptions for the hormone active in contraceptive pills, even though it's also prescribed for a variety of women's health issues having nothing to do with contraception. Just because the owners are Christian doesn't obligate their employees to have sex only if married and for the purpose of procreation, the moral edicts of their religion obligates the owners to comply with federal import/export regulations. They got it exactly BACKWARDS.
Troy Evitt 🤔I didn’t know that.
@@JaninaTylr It's always the most vocal anti-LGBT politicians and pastors who get caught cheating on their wives, sometime with gay men, or who get arrested for financial fraud. Here's the story about the illegal imports: www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/01/607582135/hobby-lobbys-smuggled-artifacts-will-be-returned-to-iraq
@@troyevitt2437 When I was job hunting a few years back, my mom kept asking if I'd applied with Hobby Lobby. After about the third or fourth time she suggested I get an application with them (she'd been suggesting other craft stores as well though except for a passing fancy with crocheting, I haven't a creative bone in my body), I finally told her that I didn't approve of the company not supporting birth control for its employees. Her response to me was "So?!"
Well, mom, as one who had three kids by the time she was 18 due to failed contraceptives, I'd figure you, of all people, would want your daughter to have cheaper access to (better) contraceptives herself. Not that I have any intention of being intimate with anyone anytime soon but it's the principal. I actually don't intend to have kids and I have a women's center in mind to do my tubal ligation in the next year or so. What if my employer doesn't like this and yanks support for such an operation away from me? I don't want to work for a company that feels its employees should live their lives exactly to their standards, like your employer are your parents. And it's when you start pulling access to contraceptives, like pulling a sex ed program from a school, that can begin to lead to harmful outcomes.
Honestly, after having worked for Walmart for a year, I wasn't crazy to work retail again anyways.
@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley The USA needs to get T/F OVER Christianity. Just because 9/11 happened in our lifetimes, versus how many centuries back the Crusades, inquisitions and witch-hunts, does not really give it any more high ground than Islam. You might could argue that Christianity's "freewill" is a measure more compatible with Western Democracy than Islam's literal translation-"submission", but it's still a poison from the same tree as Islam, patriarchal/counter-scientific/a haven for pedophiles.
As to Hobby Lobby's birth-control policy-A married, female Christian employee, would be denied coverage for a Rx for the same hormone as birth control, REGARDLESS OF WHAT OTHER CONDITION her Obi/Gen was addressing. I'm a dude (who thinks dudes shouldn't even enter the abortion debate since we just "have the fun, cum and run"...) So I don't know EXACTLY WHAT those other feminine issues are, but I know Hobby Lobby wouldn't even cover it for a Christian mother of 3 kids-who might one day want a 4th-regardless.
Used to occasionally go to Pier 1 back in the day. The problem for me was that they were SUPER expensive compared to everyone else. I could go find something very similar somewhere else for half the price.
Their first store wasnt that way...i was there...but they went to shit fast.
I used to work at Pier 1. The quality of the products is shoddy at best. The stores are CRAMMED with merchandise that gathers dust because ultimately, while home decor may be a must for some customer demographics, it isn't essential for everyone and the price point was wayyyy higher than it should have been. (Side note, I got a 10 cent raise in the nearly 1.5 years I worked there.)
In my opinion, 1986-1989 were the glory years for Pier 1 Imports and their once younger clientele. The imports were just eclectic enough (some stores even sold beautiful and unique boho style women’s clothing and accessories back then!) without seeming too bizarre or too frivolous, and the prices were still fairly reasonable. It was my go-to store (especially for gifts) during high school. I remember Pier 1 carrying less furniture in the late 80’s, and more decor pieces, especially wall art.
I always saw them as fairly expensive for the products they sell. I’d often find the exact same items for a much lower price at Ross, Home Goods, etc.
"Appeals to young, first time home owners"
Ah, the scarcest of the marketing demographics...
I was 25 making 180k when I bought my first home in 2015. How’s that scary?
@@mitchellmitchell6938 That's as transparently made-up as your name lmao
Nines yes, an alias for the internet lol. it’s sad that you find that rare or impossible. It’s quite normal where I am. In fact, 180k isn’t something to brag about. The attorneys I know regularly make 500k. I know a few civil engineers with their own firms that are clearing 500k too. My friend sell downloadable files globally and is making 200k a month in sales.... all the millennials I associate and work with are doing well. Maybe that’s because I don’t associate with losers and unmotivated people without aspirations (people who studied history, humanities, liberal arts lol, or anyone who works retail) maybe this is you?
Mitchell Mitchell scarce. not scary
Nines lol.
"Affordable" i was shouting and laughing at that. *shows wall art for $179 Bruh i can get that at Target for $20-$40. They are MAD expensive
Pier 1 Imports is a giant lolcow, just like the ones on the KiwiFarms.
Ok bruh
No Ethan Allen and Haverty's are expensive. Give me a break.
@Don Clark calm down man youre so ignorant. thats not ebonics, its just regular slang, and why would it matter even if it was?
@Don Clark its not that serious. i’m sure you dont speak with proper grammar all the time either
3:15 "Unless something big happens"
World: "Best I can do is a pandemic"
Elwood: Pier 1 Imports!
Jake: This mall has everything.
They were soooo overpriced for stuff that I didn’t even think was cute
"They expanded internationally, starting with Puerto Rico..." 🤦♀️
I noticed that
This lamb concurs, Puerto Rico is not international.
Wobbles and Bean So Puerto Rico isn’t a sovereign nation?
True we're a territory but I guess he meant internationally in a geographical sense idk
Billy Batson an Americanized colony to put it raw
Broke Millenials aren't paying $500 for a coffee table
We should all buy some money, then we’d be all set!
@@metromusic5725 I think it has to do with the fact that they sell overpriced items. They sell cups for $10-15 per glass in the store, you can get a full set of that for $15 in TJ Maxx. They're overpriced and I don't know anyone who has legitimately bought anything in their stores. Just go into one sometime. Chairs for $300, whole sets for $900-1800 that aren't good quality. He's right, millenials aren't paying for a $500 coffee table because they can get a $50-$100 one anywhere else.
@jacob f I'm a millennial too and I can tell you this: unless you're very particular about your furniture/style, a $200 table will work just as well as a $500. Look at wayfair and their kitchen sets - whole sets for $500 and under, more lavish ones for just $1k. Just the coffee table? Lots of affordable new ones for under $500. Piers1 is extremely out of touch with reality with their expectations. If you're furnishing a new home $500 for a coffee table is a lot.
@jacob f What industry do you work in?
@@awesomebeast7509 lol ikr
The problem with their store whenever I went there with my mom (she loved that store) is how chaotic and disorganized the store was. It felt like they always had too much stuff for how small the stores were. The other issue is ecommerce with sites like Wayfair, Overstock, etc selling similarly priced stuff and having a good variety of styles to suit people's needs. You also have brick and mortar retailers like Target, TJ Maxx, At Home, IKEA, West Elm, Crate & Barrel, etc stepping their game up in relation to either ecommerce, physical stores, or customer service to bring customers into their stores. Pier 1 is a bit like Bed Bath and Beyond, in that it has no idea what it wants to be and a master of all and none at the same time
I am really benefiting from your videos. I am 5 years into my business and always looking for insights into other companies. Your videos are easily digestible fly-overs that get to the point. Thank you!
I've been waiting for you to do a video on Pier 1! They had a CEO for years who brought the company back from the brink of bankruptcy. So of course, they FIRED him and brought in an imbecile who drove the company right into the toilet! Then they replaced him with the former CEO of Popeye's Chicken. They deserve to be wiped off the map!
I wrote this review on Indeed dot com and I barely scratched the surface of the abuse of their employees:
When I started there 11 years ago, it was the best job (and boss) I ever had. The General Manager was fair and professional. Then the company started treating its workers more and more poorly. Benefits were starting to erode away, and they were starting to micromanage the stores. The GM saw the writing on the wall before we did and quit. After he left we had a GM who was an absolute sociopath who did nothing but sit in her office all day and let a Manager On Duty run the entire store, and he decided to change procedures just to put his stamp on everything. He rearranged the stockroom so that it's now more crowded and actually dangerous to work in. Then the GM quit and we found out she had mismanaged the store so badly we had almost been shut down. Then the regional manager hired her friend to manage the store. Unfortunately she is a bipolar micromanager who is verbally and emotionally abusive to employees. We complained to the regional manager for years about her and nothing was ever done. Then one MOD quit and went around her, contacting the company directly. HR opened an investigation and the regional manager quit before the company could fire her. Pier 1 left our GM in place where she remains to this day. One day while just the two of us were unloading a massive shipment (with NO equipment to save pennies) I quit. Nothing I was doing was right or good enough for her. Any positive aspect of working for Pier 1 has long been stripped away by the corporation. They have no respect for their workers and they deserve the slow death they are suffering from.
Vincent Grimmly wow! So sorry to hear y’all went through that
I was there for 7. I emptied 3 40 foot trucks a week by myself. No one ever helped. The managers were lazy and crooked. I was terminated when they learned I was not gay. F Pier 1 and all their slave labor made communist junk.
Sounds like Modell's Sporting Goods.
Vincent Grimmly --Interesting having your first hand experience recorded on here-it was helpful to see how companies treat their employees, has a direct impact on how well the store will do. Makes me worry for World Market, since many of the same tactics are being used there. No stockroom staff, no janitorial staff, employees do everything, and they lose people because who can keep that up?
I've said it before and I'll say it again employees are an asset and they will bring you money if you treat them well. Sometimes a little more up front is worth it in the long run.
Their stores looked like thrift shop/swap meet.
Sort of... With high priced tags tethered from their items.
I was going to say that too!!! I go to Thrift Stores and Goodwills all the time so I can confirm that Pier 1 Imports looks like a Thrift Store.
With ridiculous prices.
existential crises yes!!!! I love going there and you never know what you're going to find, I bought a 1936 vintage typewriter in beautiful condition for $23 in an auction.
existential crises nope! Lol. I've found so many real vintage things not "fake vintage", it's like a treasure hunt, you never know what you're going to find.
Every time i went to this place it seemed like 90% of the inventory was made of wicker.
i wish
I remember in the 1970s that Pier One had really inexpensive stuff. It was a good place to go to furnish your dorm room. The few times I have been in one of the stores in the last few years, I was surprised at how expensive it had become. A lot of stuff that was a staple years ago-cheap bamboo window shades, for example-they no longer carry. It became too upscale.
I've actually always really liked the store. very funky and electric style, cute stuff. cool global looks.
Used to be in the 80's and 90's, but now lots of it is overpriced junk. Nothing worth their insane prices. I miss in the late 80's when they had affordable, to die for scented candles that did not smell like chemicals. I also got cheap funky earrings. My friend gave me one of those glass heads they had for a while. I got a blue velvet dress and a wine baroque dress that I wore to a friends wedding. I got them a wedding gift from there too. It was not only affordable but was unique at the time. Now you can get tons of unique and affordable stuff online.
you mean eclectic style?
@@sleepful1917 yea stupid autocorrect
@@sleepful1917 or maybe I enjoy a little AC power in the looks I'm giving
I remember my friend/neighbor in elementary school bragging about how her mom shopped at "Pierre 1" (pronounced like the French name) and I thought it sounded so fancy lmao
After shopping there I like to relax with some fine cuisine at Chez Ronald
A girl in my class and her mom work there, she said the higher ups were insisting that their store wouldn’t go out of business even as they were giving her the “everything must go” signs.
Did the same at my store
Everything is all right. We're not going away. Now put up these Going Out of Business signs all over the store.
That's typical. I was in Sears before christmas and commented to the kid at the register that it was getting really thin on inventory. He said they were clearing out of old inventory and had new inventory coming in after the first of the year.... I can't see anyone believing those stories...
I work at one right now and we have to keep telling our customers everything is fine (we get calls every day about it). I'm just holding my breath at this point.
Tucson Jim why are you on every comment being an a-hole to everyone who comments as if your morally superior 🤦🏻♀️
Wow, interesting to learn about Charles Tandy’s history! Radio Shack, Pier 1, he had a hand in lots of businesses I remember from my childhood.
Would be cool to have a documentary about him
Kelly Daugherty yes certainly!
any documentary about him HAS to include the Tandy Computer Whiz Kids because that thing deserves to be examined
@@leannewho664 The CoCo Computer and Pyamid! on Tape.
When I was in highschool, i used to shop Radio Shack for audio cable couplings, adapters and stereo/mono splitters, such as RCA-to-1/4" male or 1/4" to 1/8" and Y-cables. One day I asked about applying and the store manager said I would have to cut my hair short-it was about the lenght of Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine's. I told him I was a semi-pro metal guitarist and bassist and I didn't do haircuts*.
The store manager said that Radio Shack was founded by Navy veterans and while he, too, was ex-Navy, he said, "The company is hurting itself not hiring men with long hair. Most of the best talent in audio production, computer geeks and phone phreaks, tend to be part of the entertainment industry, at least part time, and mostly have long hair".
That rule was changed by the Tandy Corp and in Radio Shack's last decade or so, I saw a lot of dudes with long, but neat and professionally styled, hair, usually hard-rock musicians in local scene bands.
(*I'd actually defied my Christian private school's dress code with my dad's support. The school wanted my father's tuition payments badly enough that they let me cuck them with my long hair for the rest of that year.)
Just drove past Pier 1 store today. It has a sign everything must go. Looks like they're closing up.
all i remember about this store is that when i would go shopping with my parents there, my parents wouldn't let me touch ANYTHING
😄😄😄😄
I’m a pier one customer and a credit card holder as well I love the store in my opinion they need to modernize their product reduce store clutter and also for people that are young in their 20s and 30s they need to lower the cost of their products as well no one in their 20s and 30s that’s just moving out into their own house or apartment what’s the spent $300 on a chair, lamp or rug.
Agreed. I worked there in the early 2000s and I went down and bought some stuff I somehow couldn't find at another store that some friends of mine really wanted for their wedding and its THE SAME STUFF nearly 20 years later. I looked at the sku numbers and it literally was the same stuff.
QueenHershe Yes! Especially if they can’t spell..
I do not agree with you. You want to target a population that is not at the height of their earning power. You sound like your taste is just cheap tacky garbage by the sounds of it. A person with no elegance or taste.
@@a.jlondon9039 lol, shots fired
My apartment is pretty well furnished by now, but if I'm looking for something, it has to be clean crisp design... not all that old-lady kitsch. Too many knick-nacks.
I have a Pier 1 and HomeGoods literally just a few doors away from each other.
The HomeGoods is usually pretty crowded and I rarely see anyone inside the Pier 1.
The best thing is when you come home from school and you see a new company man video 🤩🕺🏽
I've still got the cushions I bought from The Pier in 1998. I loved that shop.
1 Wine glass at Pier 1 is $16.00, set of 4 wine glasses at IKEA is $6.50, that sums it up.
I loved Pier1 stuff so much as a loyal customer of 17 years, that I worked their part-time for 3 yrs just for fun. I always knew their stuff was overpriced, but the quality and style seem to justify the price in the early days. I felt the sale model was outdated and when Homegoods opened up within walking distance from our location, the customers found similar items much cheaper. Since leaving employment a few years ago, I barely like to shop there because of the prices. I remember the days of just walking around the store 100 times until you found something cheap.
My wife loved Pier 1, me and the kids hated every minute of that confusing layout.
Closing of my local store was just announced yesterday. Good timing, CM.
IKEA stole their young customers
IKEA is expensive as hell to me. I've never been in one but if their store prices are the same as their online prices, you can definitely find comparative quality and cheaper prices elsewhere. And even get that same satisfaction and drive to take care of the items you built (that last part being a big part of their emotional targeting with shoppers...which is fine, it does make sense).
Target, too.
@Maui Caui amen to that.
IKEA has horrible business practices and cheaply made items.
IKEA stole the young, middle aged, and old customers. I love IKEA for small tables, sofas, candles, and textiles.
Pier 1 used to a lot of interesting & affordable things for your house. Now all of the major retailers (Target, Walmart, Costco, etc) have similar assortments. TJX has a competitive “department” in all of their TJ Maxx & Marshall’s stores plus their free-standing Home Goods chain. In short, bigger players have moved into the Pier 1 space, offering similar items at competitive prices, in more convenient locations.
Their stores were typically smaller than Home Goods, so it felt more cramped. I liked the bigger store vibe. Also, it reminded me of the Charming Charlie stores where there were items *everywhere* and it was a bit overwhelming! It was hard to enjoy the experience of going into the store because of that.
There Stuff is WAY OVERPRICE!!!!
and there are cheap foreign products but they put them overpriced
My mom would always have me put my hands in my pockets when we went in Pier 1 because almost everything is sooo fragile.
lol why
@@xxalex423xx heaps of breakable stuff in there
@@redefv ooh ok
The way you said it, it sounds like your mom was afraid you would steal things from Pier 1.
Awww I felt that in my heart 😂😂😂 I used to always break stuff in stores when I was a kid. I was so clumsy!
These guys are going thru an extremely similar situation as Sears/Kmart.
@FIREWORKS FOR LIFE Not yet. Exactly like Sears/Kmart..
I remember the store always smelled good. But never really saw younger people shopping shopping there.
Who is determining that they are affordable?? They sold the most expensive decorations in my entire city of almost 200,000. When they closed, I checked out their closing sale and couldn't find a single painting for under $200.
One near my house closed and vacated the property so fast that I didn’t even know till it was not there anymore really sad miss that place
same
A few ideas for 2020 videos.
Whataburger: They celebrate their 70th Anniversary in 2020 and made one of their biggest changes in their history by no longer being a family owned company in the summer of 2019. One of the biggest changes in the companies history. It made huge news in Texas where the company got its start.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC). Be interesting to see how a major sports federation runs differently from most business’s and they affect sports federations worldwide. As well as some of the major controversies like being slow to crackdown on steroid use.
So my parents weren’t making shit up when they told me that Tandy Leather and Tandy PC was the same company?! 🤯
Again thank you for your videos! I really like how you get to the point and no BS to fill time. It kinda reminds me of bullet point presentations. Which is my preferred method in so many ways.
About 4 years ago before our local Dallas store shut down, my wife and I went to shop for our new home. We thought it was crazy expensive even with the “sale” although we did buy some decorative items for our table we agreed not to return and instead purchase form a cheaper place.
7:29
"They made a big push to expand internationally, first in Puerto Rico"
PR is part of the US, it's not international.
As far as I'm concerned, everything south of the Mason-Dixon line is international.
@@Sonny_McMacsson Especially Texas
Wow a guy misspoke. Crazy stuff.
Cheap stuff? When has Pier 1 Imports ever been cheap? They're hell expensive compared to Ikea or Walmart. That's why I never buy from Pier 1 Imports.
Decades ago, they were actually reasonably-priced. But that's been quite a while.
Everytime my Wife & I would go through their doors I thought we were going through a time machine back to the tacky ‘80's or early ‘90's.
I like Pier 1, I bought an absolutely great outdoor hanging chair, well made, sturdy, had it for over 5 years. When lost some hardware during recent move, customer service was very nice and resolved an issue immediately.
excited for this one!!
edit: i really cant imagine going to a pier 1 imports anymore when you can get essentially the same items from 10 other stores, 5 of which are more convenient and cheaper
The decline of Forever 21 would be an interesting watch
I think he made that already.
I believe he made a video about Forever 21.
Yep its on here. I remember watching it. Great video.
Company Man is GOATed, been here since K-Mart, love these videos
Great video. Really well researched and informative. Fun to watch! I loved Pier 1 imports! It was fun to go in a look around. However, they rarely had anything I wanted to buy. I bought a rattan and glass table and chairs from them that I still have today. They are well made and good quality. But, once you bought and decorated with a few things from them, you were done shopping there. Now they are just an online company which makes a lot more sense in light of all the things brought up in this video. Kind of like Bed Bath and Beyond who's retail store are failing big time because they got on the online bandwagon too late.
My mother was actually in a Pier 1 commercial some years ago. She got to take any of the set furniture that she wanted. Gave me a generally positive view of the brand considering how long the table & chairs we got lasted, but we never actually shopped there much longer after that commercial filmed.
Another similar store is Kirkland's, not affiliated with Costco.
yangtai1992 I used to like Kirkland. I still have a a glass table from there. I haven’t been in a while, I can’t find a store near me anymore since they shut them down
zina azarova, it had been at least 10 years since I had gone into a Kirkland. At that time, I had very limited funds, but I loved the items in the store. I couldn’t afford to buy anything then. Well, now I have the funds to afford the items formerly carried by Kirkland, but a I bought absolutely nothing when I made a recent visit to one of their stores. The stuff was not to my liking. I could have easily bought similar items at Walmart.
Kirkland's seems more like an old person store than Pier1.
There's a Kirkland that's not affiliated with Costco? You mean, it's not like Walmart is to Sam's Club? That's very interesting, and I would like to see that video. Suggest your idea and vote on others at companymanideas.com
Christopher Noel yes, Costco has a house brand named kirkland’s while Kirklands is a home decor store but they closed most locations down I think.
Oh man, I actually was working at Pier 1 Imports up until it's liquidation here on Maui, and I also worked at Sports Authority, which were both at the same mall area
Miguel Morales Media damn dude that’s rough
I miss sports authority. Dicks ain't the same
I had a job interview at their corporate office this past summer.... I’m glad I didn’t get the position....
I love that you did this video and that this is happening to this company. I worked for them briefly in 2005 - 2006 and I'm honestly surprised it took so long for them to implode. I've been working in retail operations for 22 years. My areas of expertise are Chain Supply Management, Loss Prevention, Warehouse Management and Inventory Control. In 2005 I was hired to take over Shipping and Receiving and Warehouse Management at their Fort Lauderdale location.
I could provide you with a long list of bad operational decisions that I witnessed during that time. Trucks full of merchandise would ship to the wrong locations and no one in store would notice because they had a flimsy receiving process. There wasn't any tracking method on outgoing shipments so I could have easily shipped everything in the store to my apartment and no one would have been able to prove it. They spent a ton of money using companies like Labor Ready to increase staffing when they could have just hired a few extra employees for half the price. I could go on and on.
I'm sure there are a lot of reasons why they're in the state they're in beyond their operational weakness but the fact that they were logistically weak can't have helped.
And now they’re closing all their stores.
Tai Lopez just bought it and is putting it all online
The one in my town is closing, but even there stuff I can get there in the closing sell is more expensive then what I can get in other stores.
I literally live down the street from one and I've only been there once. There's no reason for me to buy their overpriced stuff when I can get the exact same thing or similar elsewhere. Also, they have to compete with IKEA where I am, and they're losing by a long shot.
I prefer Home Goods even though their stock is getting worse by the year. Basically these types of stores sell over priced cheap crap.
I'm a Gen Z'er who loves the online shopping experience. I hate IKEA because all they have is Chinese-made junk. Online, you can get pretty much anything you want, whereas in a store, you're so limited.
Uh people don’t have the money to waste on decorative accessories.
When you first move into a new house/apartment you do. After that, your wants for it starts to wear off. That's where I am right now. I just moved into a new apartment and have been shopping around for stuff like that. However, I haven't once touched Pier 1 (I almost forgot the place existed) and instead got my decor and furniture from cheaper places like Walmart, Ross, Burkes, and TJ Maxx. The later 3 being huge discount stores where you can find similar items from Pier 1 that start as low as $3.
Everyone wants clean lines and minimalist style homes and furniture. Pier 1 gives the impression of clutter and 90s/early 2000s dated designs & fabrics.
Bloomingale Not everyone ! You are shouting , What’s in! And that means it will Go out!
They used to be called “the uncommon store” but now as you said you can find anything that they have at just about any other store and certainly online.
The only time I've gone here, a LOT of merchandise was damaged
Where I live, within a one mile section of busy retail space, we have a Home Goods, a World Market, and what used to be a Pier 1 store. The market crowded them out. It's been a while since my wife and I moved into our house, and we don't need more stuff to clutter it up, so their main product lines at all three chains don't tempt us. World Market does sell beer, wine, and certain unique food items, so it tends to get our business from time to time instead of the others. That's just my take on the situation.
Is to expensive for me to shop there!
Too expensive NOT to expensive.
I went with my parents once in the 70's, all I can remember is a lot of wicker especially those wicker hanging chairs that were the rage back then.
drew wadsworth they still had those when I used to go there with my mom in like 2012. So outdated now.
I got a Papasan chair for college back in the early 90s. Nobody else had them and they were unique.
The detail about the floor layout is spot on-it’s absolutely intentional. I worked at a Pier One around 2005, and the manager would just move things around the store every few weeks. There would be no new inventory. Just a different layout in hopes the customers would stumble upon new items.
As a teenager in the 80s and 90s, I loved to go there, see their exotic items, and dream about decorating my own place, one day... but at no point did I ever become rich enough to pay their prices. And now I never would. Low value, high cost, nothing special.
It's one of those stores that I can walk through, look at everything and find maybe 2 things I like. Then I look at the price tag and walk out. Haven't been there in 5+ years. Same thing with Cost Plus.
Suggestion for a future show: Chuck E. Cheese's, likely a rise/fall/rise again scenario.
I could see them surviving as a sub brand for another company, they have name recognition, but I dont see them surviving on their own at this point.
Man, your channel is addictive.
I worked at a World Market for a few years and they always talked about Pier One being the main competitor. There was even a Pier One within eyesight of that World Market and a few employees of Pier One left to work at our store. I always thought World Market sold much of the same stuff (as far as furniture and accessories anyway) and usually at least a little cheaper. It's funny to know now they had the same origin.
Pier 1's prices are too expensive
I always found the same stuff at Marshall’s for 1/4 of the Pier 1 price...? 🤷🏾♀️
You say that they are cheap, I always thought they were over priced.
I went into their store during a closing sale, and the best they could do was 40% off. And even at 40% on a few things, we're still talking most things being at least 70 bucks or more. Most store closings I've been to are in the 50-70% off range. They're gonna lose it all anyway, if they want to actually sell their garbage they need to cut the prices more.
Retail stores are going away. As a consumer I am not happy. I want to touch and use all my senses to look at the products I buy. Shopping in the web universe I can't tell quality, I pay shipping on most things, and return fees on most too. Finally, often the stores on the web charge me restocking fees. I feel insecure about anything I cannot use my senses to appraise for fear of expensive return and shipping fees.
You really need to rename this series “The next Amazon victim”
I'm hoping Amazon will meet their demise in a few decades.
So they failed on multiple fronts and it's Amazons fault?
@@rockycomet4587 Same, its a curse among this planet and its too big in the online market