By Paris Goodnight

Salisbury Post

Pier 1 Imports is closing its store in the Innes Street Market on Feb. 3.

A representative of the store said items there are on sale now for half price.

The 8,500-square-foot building opened in 2001 in the same shopping center as Old Navy and Marshall’s. A manager then said the store would employ about 20 full-time workers.

The year did not end well for the home furnishing retailer, which operates more than 1,200 stores nationwide.

Pier 1 saw same-store sales drop 10.7 percent in December, while overall sales declined 10.9 percent to $242.5 million. It was the 11th straight month of declining same-store sales.

The company, based in Forth Worth, Texas, has posted seven consecutive quarterly losses.

The company’s management tried to reverse the problems by experimenting with more merchandise. But consumers appear to be moving toward competitors such as Target, Wal-Mart and Bed Bath & Beyond.