Coronavirus News
2 home good stores reopen in Dallas, but it's curtains for another
Two home-goods chains have reopened their Dallas-Fort Worth stores. But for another, it's curtains.
The good news first:
Bed Bath & Beyond has reopened 13 of its DFW locations following the lifting in Texas of retail restrictions due to COVID-19.
The reopened stores are in Plano, Addison, Caruth Plaza in Dallas, Soouthlake, Denton, McKinney, Arlington, Fort Worth, Frisco, West Plano, Lewisville, Rockwall, and Flower Mound, and will observe the usual post-coronavirus safeguards, including limiting the number of people in stores. They're also offering early shopping hours for customers over 60 and those at risk.
Lamps Plus has reopened both Dallas-area locations in Arlington and Plano. (It has one other location in Texas in Austin, which has also reopened.) These are the first Lamps Plus stores reopening in the company's 36-store chain.
The stores were temporarily closed since March. They'll follow new guidelines to ensure the safety of both customers and employees. They'll also implement new contactless curbside pick-up. Customers can do their transactions via a credit card or phone call, prior to arriving at the store. When the customer drives up, they will stop and contact the store via call or text. An employee will verify identity, payment receipt, and place the order in the car.
The bad news:
Pier 1 Imports has begun what it calls an orderly wind-down of its retail operations. So sad.
Over the next two months, they'll reopen enough of their 600 locations closed by the pandemic to sell off their inventory and other assets.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February in the hopes that they'd be purchased by someone who would continue operating the business. But no suitor arrived.
"We are grateful to our dedicated and hardworking associates, millions of customers and committed vendors who have collectively supported Pier 1 for decades," said CEO Robert Riesbeck in a statement.
"We deeply value our associates, customers, business partners and the communities in which we operate, and this is not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve. This decision follows months of working to identify a buyer who would continue to operate our business going forward. Unfortunately, the challenging retail environment has been significantly compounded by the profound impact of COVID-19, hindering our ability to secure such a buyer and requiring us to wind down."
