By Roxana Popescu | The San Diego Union-Tribune
PIRCH, the Oceanside-based purveyor of high-end appliances, has abruptly paused operations, according to an email sent to employees Wednesday.
“Based on the current business conditions we are experiencing, we are going to pause operations in our showrooms and distribution centers beginning tomorrow as we chart the best path forward.
“This means the showrooms and distribution centers will be closed starting Wednesday 3/20/2024. No employees should be scheduled in either distribution centers or the showrooms until further notice. Non-exempt employees may use available PTO to fill in hours that will not be worked for the remainder of the week,” Jan Sangl, PIRCH’s chief human resources officer, wrote in the email, which was shown to the Union-Tribune.
In all, there are six Pirch showrooms scattered throughout Southern California, including stores in Mission Viejo, Costa Mesa, Glendale, Rancho Mirage and two in San Diego County. All are temporarily closed.
Gene Hodges, Pirch’s vice president for Marketing and Corporate Communications, sent a statement to the Union-Tribune in response to an interview request.
“As of Wednesday March 20th, PIRCH is temporarily closing all our showrooms through this weekend. This is a pause of business to give management the opportunity to complete a go-forward plan. We are navigating through various options. We take this situation very seriously and are working diligently to resolve it. We appreciate your patience while we work to find a path forward. We intend to share the go forward plans sometime next week.”
The statement was also posted Thursday on PIRCH’s Facebook pages.
Immersive luxury retail
The company opened in 2009, a year into the global recession and housing market downturn.
While other home and garden brands struggled — that same year, Home Depot and Z Gallerie shuttered some stores and Smith & Hawken shut down — PIRCH stood out for its luxury…
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