Zone 1

What Do You Think You're Looking At? #191

We’re in Cary, North Carolina today, with a fun little bit of architectural reuse. A place like Cary is interesting, because most of the stuff there was built recently, and there are fewer of these “what did this used to be?” examples.

But here you go:

This is a standard “model” building for the previous tenant, but it’s a newer one, so it’s quite possible you’ve never seen it before; I’ve never seen it in person myself, but I’d recognize the previous iteration of the brand’s model building.

Hint: it has nothing at all in common with AutoZone, and it’s kind of funny that AutoZone did nothing to alter the exterior of the building. I always love one recognizable brand-centric building becoming home to a new business. Especially a chain that has its own visual styles.

Anyway, this was a Pier 1 Imports home store! Here’s an example of this building type:

And here’s the probably more recognizable look:

The last Pier 1 stores closed in October 2020. Those articles screenshotted above, here and here, are interesting write-ups of what happened to the company. This bit is especially interesting:

The biggest problem Pier 1 faces is its inability to find a sweet spot. In its heyday, Pier 1 offered aesthetically interesting items that were slightly cheaper than top design brands but more expensive than the average discount furniture warehouse. Today, the market for this type of product no longer exists. There’s a growing array of inexpensive items that have a more sophisticated look and feel. Similarly, there’s thriving demand for high priced designer-quality products.

“It’s very hard to be that mid-tier player,” said Sokolyanska.

This seems like the same thing that happened to Bed Bath & Beyond and to other category-killer stores. A Pier 1 seems a tad big for an AutoZone, but you’ll see more of this as these mid-sized stores go vacant and the spaces are less of a fit for the chains that are still out there. It looks to me like the erosion of the middle-tier stores goes along with a decrease in the number of mid-sized stores. That’s interesting.

Every time a chain with it’s own style of building closes up, those buildings suddenly enter the architectural public domain. Many will be demolished or renovated so they no longer have the old brand motif. But many will just keep on going, becoming part of the color and variety of the American roadside landscape.

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Related Reading:

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