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Pier 1 raises 4Q outlook
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January 3, 2002: 7:44 a.m. ET
Home furnishings retailer raises estimates on higher December sales.
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Home furnishings retailer Pier 1 Imports raised expectations for fiscal fourth-quarter earnings Thursday, citing a double-digit increase in December sales and cost controls for improving the bottom line.
For the quarter ending Jan. 5, Pier 1 now anticipates earnings of 44 cents to 46 cents a share instead of its previous forecast of 40 cents to 42 cents a share. Analysts on average anticipate a profit of 42 cents a share, according to earnings tracker First Call.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based chain said sales at stores open at least a year, a closely watched gauge known as same-store sales, increased 14 percent in December compared with the same period a year earlier. Pier 1 also forecast sales for the fiscal month of December, which ends on Jan. 5, will have increased 8-10 percent from a year ago.
Specialty retailers have been hit hard in the last year as price-conscious consumers turned to discount chains after a surge in corporate layoffs and steeled themselves after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. However, home furnishings and home entertainment have seen an uptick in sales as those same factors led Americans to focus on family and the familiar.
Pier 1 (PIR: Research, Estimates) shares slipped 34 cents to $17 in trading Wednesday. 
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