[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 32 (Thursday, February 16, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9004-9005]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3958]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[Docket 4-95]


Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (Home Furnishings, Housewares and Gift 
Products) Application for Subzone Status; Grove City, OH

    An application has been submitted to the Foreign-Trade Zones Board 
(the Board) by the Rickenbacker Port Authority, grantee of FTZ 138, 
requesting special-purpose subzone [[Page 9005]] status for a 
distribution facility of Pier 1 Imports, Inc., located in Grove City, 
Ohio, within the Columbus, Ohio port of entry area. The application was 
submitted pursuant to the provisions of the Foreign-Trade Zones Act, as 
amended (19 U.S.C. 81a-81u), and the regulations of the Board (15 CFR 
Part 400). It was formally filed on February 8, 1995.
    Pier 1 is a nationwide retailer of home furnishings, housewares, 
clothing, fashion accessories, and gifts, headquartered in Fort Worth, 
Texas. The company operates 586 stores in North America with total 
sales of $700 million. Pier 1 has seven distribution centers in the 
United States.
    Pier One's Grove City distribution facility (527,000 sq. ft. on a 
30-acre site) is located at 3500 Southwest Boulevard in Grove City, 
Ohio, some 5 miles west of Columbus. It is used to distribute a wide 
range of consumer products, most of which are of foreign origin. While 
the company currently uses the facility (46 employees) to supply Pier 1 
stores only in the northeastern United States, it plans to expand the 
plant to accommodate the relocation of Canadian distribution operations 
to the Grove City site.
    Zone procedures would exempt Pier 1 from Customs duty payments on 
the foreign products that are reexported. On domestic sales, the 
company would be able to defer Customs duty payments. Foreign materials 
and finished products held for export would be eligible for an 
exemption from certain state and local ad valorem taxes. The 
application indicates that the use of zone procedures at the facility 
is needed for the proposed Canadian export activity.
    In accordance with the Board's regulations, a member of the FTZ 
Staff has been designated examiner to investigate the application and 
report to the Board.
    Public comment on the application is invited from interested 
parties. Submissions (original and three copies) shall be addressed to 
the Board's Executive Secretary at the address below. The closing 
period of their receipt is April 17, 1995. Rebuttal comments in 
response to material submitted during the foregoing period may be 
submitted during the subsequent 15-day period to May 2, 1995.
    A copy of the application and the accompanying exhibits will be 
available for public inspection at each of the following locations:

U.S. Customs Service, Port Director, Port Columbus International 
Airport, 4600 17th Avenue, Room 221, Columbus, Ohio 43219.

Office of the Executive Secretary, Foreign-Trade Zones Board, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, Room 3716, 14th Street & Constitution Avenue, 
NW, Washington, DC 20230.

    Dated: February 9, 1995.
John J. Da Ponte, Jr.,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-3958 Filed 2-15-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P