Pier 1 is planning to close all of its stores for good, including the two local ones in Boardman and Niles.

The company announced Tuesday that it's filed a motion seeking bankruptcy court approval to begin an "orderly wind-down" of its retail operations as soon as possible.

As part of the wind-down, Pier 1 plans to sell its inventory and remaining assets, including its intellectual property and e-commerce business, through the court-supervised process.

"This decision follows months of working to identify a buyer who would continue to operate our business going forward," said Robert Riesbeck, Pier 1’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer. "Unfortunately, the challenging retail environment has been significantly compounded by the profound impact of COVID-19, hindering our ability to secure such a buyer and requiring us to wind down.”

Pier 1 plans to start store closing efforts and liquidation sales once store locations can reopen, in compliance with COVID-19 guidelines from local government and health officials. The company is currently continuing to serve customers through Pier1.com, and orders are being processed and filled.

Pier 1 expects to conduct its asset sales following the bidding procedures established by the court on February 18, 2020. The company has proposed July 1, 2020 as the asset bid deadline, July 8, 2020 as the auction date and July 15, 2020 as the sale hearing date.