Pier 1 Imports' 4Q comp sales increase 7.9%, up 7.5% for year

Home Accents Today Staff -- Home Accents Today, 3/7/2013 9:39:42 AM

Pier 1 Imports reported a sales increase of 15.7%, to $552 million, for the 14-week fourth quarter ended March 2, 2013. Comparable store sales for the period increased 7.9% over last year's 10.3% gain.

Strong comparable store sales results for the quarter were primarily attributable to increases in store traffic and higher average ticket. Fourth quarter merchandise margins at the store level are expected to be essentially flat year-over-year. Gross profit is expected to be approximately 46.2% of sales for the fourth quarter versus 45.5% of sales for the fourth quarter of last year.

For the fiscal year ended March 2, 2013, total sales for the 53-week period increased 11.2% to $1.705 billion from $1.534 billion last fiscal year. Comparable store sales for fiscal 2013 on a 52-week basis increased 7.5% versus an increase of 9.5% last fiscal year. Over three years, cumulative comparable store sales have increased 27.1%

President and CEO Alex W. Smith said, "Our 2013 fiscal year ended strongly, with another quarter of significant growth in sales and earnings. Our talented and dedicated associates continue to do an outstanding job of executing our robust operating and growth strategies.

"We are confident that fiscal 2014 will be another terrific year as we continue our evolution into a true multi-channel retailer, exploiting the growth potential in our two mutually supportive and interdependent businesses - our wonderful Pier 1 Imports stores and our new, two quarters-old e-commerce business."