Pier 1 has announced plans to discontinue its e-commerce and catalog operations this August 31st, reports Internet Retailer.

The move comes despite online sales that grew to $18.9 million. The figure was not enough to offset losses that reached $227.6 million in its 2007 fiscal year-to-date.

Pier 1 was also working on building its e-commerce site, which was receiving 5.7 million visitors a month and had recently introduced an improved check-out functionality.

The retailer will also be shutting down its catalog operations as it seeks to trim operating costs and get back to profitability. Pier1.com will still exist as a corporate marketing site.