Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV) has officially launched Pier1 imports stores. It is a new build, customer-centric online shopping platform for home furnishings and accessories. Pier 1 is the first internet retailer of home furnishings. It is a 58 years old company which closed its brick-and-mortar store recently due to bankruptcy. Executive chairperson and co-founder of REV, Tai Lopez, said that innumerable people continued to cherish Pier 1 Imports.
This July, REV acquired the trademark rights, intellectual property rights, data rights, and various ecommerce related assets of Pier 1 for a price of $31 million. Lopez also commented, “At REV, we transform beloved brands like Pier 1 into the first online store of its kind positioned for robust growth.” REV also retained veteran buyers from Pier 1 to involve with vendors and regain the merchandise that Pier 1 once had.
Sources said that REV had hired Pier 1’s 15 buying, marketing, and customer-support officials. Shayan Zadeh, CEO of Pier 1, said, “Another top priority of REV is to bring the best-in-class ecommerce experience to Pier 1.” The relaunched Pier 1 platform is offering hundreds of familiar SKUs in categories like holiday and seasonal, furniture, pillows and cushions, dining and entertaining, etc.
The basic advantage of shifting to an ecommerce model is the freedom from the limitations of brick-and-mortar stores. Zadeh added that they were able to add that much SKUs as they explore a wide range of new potent offerings. REV has also hired veteran Pier 1 executive Brian Thompson to serve in the Pier 1’s online store as Chief Merchandising and Supply Chain Officer.
Earlier this month, Thompson had attended a Zoom meeting with hundreds of Pier 1 shoppers who asked him about their plans for the brands and their availability. Thompson said, “As someone who has spent most of his adult life with Pier 1, it was exciting to see the level of engagement on that meeting.” He also added that they were looking forward to taking this journey to a long stretch with their customers and investors.