Article: Pier 1's profits vanish.(Pier 1 Imports Inc. )

Fort Worth, Texas -- Shelling out more than it's taking in at the register, putting its margins into freefall, with same-store sales declining by almost eight percent, Pier 1 Imports Inc. recorded a second quarter loss of $10.2 million, reversing a prior-year profit of $10.5 million.

Taking a bite out of the bottom line, same-store sales continued their downward slide, falling 7.7 percent. But helped by new store opening, overall sales declined at a slower pace of 3 percent, to $438.6 million from $452.3 million last year.

Doing even more damage to the bottom line, average gross margin skidded down 590 basis points, or 5.9 percentage points, to 31.5 percent from 37.4 ...

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