<font face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Pier1 imports, a home decor retail major announced on May 19, 2020 that it was "winding down operations".&nbsp; &nbsp;In the middle of a pandemic and the ongoing online onslaught against brick and mortar retailers, one may consider this a casualty of these two causes.&nbsp;</span></font><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;">The pandemic no doubt drove the nail into the coffin, however the decline was long in the making.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;">Pier1 imports had a strong brand with a loyal customer following that appreciated the "high quality",&nbsp; "unique", "exotic", "variety" product selection, with a "fun" atmosphere, welcoming "smells" of candles and incense, friendly staff and a place that customers felt like shopping for Christmas at, the most "feel-good" season of the year.&nbsp; Some of these are attributes that an online retailer can never achieve, not even an Amazon. On the other hand,&nbsp;these are the very attributes that may have been competitive defenses in the brick-and-mortar world.&nbsp;</div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;">Despite these qualities, Pier1 ended up where it did as a result of years of neglect.&nbsp;</div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;">Customers who shopped at the store for "unique", "fun" finds from "exotic" locales, made by artisans felt that the store was no longer "innovative", and instead filled with "cheap" imitations. Many customers have expressed that t<span style="font-size: 10pt;">he goods were way over priced, and quality was questionable at best, comparing with competitors like&nbsp; Cost Plus World Market, Home Goods, and even Walmart, which does not exactly belong in the Home Decor specialty retail category. Furthermore, customer service and staff friendliness perceptions were on the decline.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">With these core brand attributes having eroded, online and pandemic onslaught or not, Pier1 was headed towards the exit.&nbsp; The pandemic conditions and the flight to online have only accelerated the brand demise that was set in motion by years of neglect. Brands need to stand out and provide value, no matter the environment.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div style=""><span style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;">As one customer succinctly put it "</span><font face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;">Not surprised. Their prices were ungodly high for nothing special".&nbsp;</span></font></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">**All quotes in the image are verbatim remarks of customers, as expressed on social media sites.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">&nbsp;</span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br></span></div><div style="font-family: &quot;Trebuchet MS&quot;, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div>