Marketing and all things related

During a time when the internet has practically taken over people's lives and Ecommerce is bigger than ever, Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) has decided to exit Ecommerce and all other non-Pier 1 brick-and-mortar store activities.  Do I smell takeover?

Rumors have been circulating since late 2006 about a possible acquisition of Pier 1, and with losses continuing, this consolidation effort sounds like the first step in meeting the demands of a secret buyer.  Now, I am simply feeding the rumor mill with those speculations, but can anyone actually make any sense of Pier 1's strategy to "focus on its core business" by retaining an internet presence strictly for marketing purposes but no sales and closing its catalog business and all its clearance stores and Pier 1 Kids stores?   

But that's not all.  Pier 1 also plans to stop television advertising and reduce coupons and other discounts thereby reducing marketing efforts by about $50 million from 2006.  Naturally, the first thing that always gets cut from the budget when times are tough is marketing spending, but as a marketer (and a person with common sense), I don't think Pier 1 is going to return Pier 1 stores to profitability with this strategy. 

No, the problem seems far deeper than too much spending on commercials and coupons.  When was the last time you went to a Pier 1 store?  What differentiates Pier 1 from its competitors?  Can't you get similar products at Walmart and Target for a lot less money?  What's that you say?  Walmart and Target are not direct competitors of a specialty store like Pier 1?  Well in that case, what differentiates Pier 1 from its closest competitors like Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel?  Not much. 

Yes, I think the problems of Pier 1 run much deeper than having multiple distribution points.  Their overall brand and marketing strategy is missing the boat and needs a major overhaul.  Seems like I'm not the only one who thinks that way.  Advergirl.com has a post and survey asking readers what they think about Pier 1's new strategy and the largest group of respondents (27%) cite "overall this brand is struggling for relevance."  Maybe, Pier 1's executives should take a look at those results. 

If a takeover isn't imminent, I think Pier 1 is in for more trouble than they've seen so far with their new plan to "focus 100% on their core business."  What do you think?  Is Pier 1 readying for acquisition?  If not, do you think their newest strategy will save their business and brand?

Photo courtesy of Flickr.com.