Pier 1 Imports, Inc.Fort Worth, TX, United States (NYSE: PIR)

Tough Economic Times Call for Thrifty Shopping - Resale and thrift stores are becoming an increasing threat to home furnishings stores, as consumers cut spending and look for sources of extra income. Comparing the first eight months of 2008 to the same period in 2007, 66 percent of the National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops' members say that their sales increased, with an average uptick of about 35 percent. The survey also finds that 86 percent of stores had more new customers.

Retailers Brace for Not-So-Merry Christmas - Total 2008 holiday season sales will increase just 2.2 percent for November and December from a year ago, to $470.4 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. If the prediction holds true, the year's holiday sales growth would be well below the 10-year average of 4.4 percent and the slowest rate of growth since 2002, when it was just 1.3 percent.

Tight Credit Blamed for Chain's Ultimate Demise - After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2008 in an attempt to survive the downturn in consumer spending, Linens 'n Things is officially going out of business. First, its plan to restructure failed, then its attempt to auction stores to a buyer who could keep them going collapsed, leaving the firm no option but to liquidate its 371 remaining stores. The once-leading home goods retailer has value, says NPD Group; however, the value is too difficult to buy in the throes of America's credit crisis.