Current:Home > InvestHomeware giant Bed Bath & Beyond has filed for bankruptcy-LoTradeCoin
Homeware giant Bed Bath & Beyond has filed for bankruptcy
View Date:2024-12-23 16:33:43
The once-dominant home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond has filed for bankruptcy protection after months of losing shoppers and money.
The company, which also owns the BuyBuy Baby chain, has struggled to regain its financial footing after a series of turnaround attempts that proved to be mistimed or ineffective.
The retailer says its 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and 120 BuyBuy Baby stores remain open, but will shutter over time. Starting on Wednesday, April 26, the chain will stop accepting coupons and discounts and sales will be final. Gift cards are expected to stay valid through May 8.
"We appreciate that our customers have trusted us through the most important milestones in their lives – from going to college, to getting married, to settling into a new home, to having a baby," the company said in an email to shoppers on Sunday. "We have initiated a process to wind down operations."
Since first warning of a bankruptcy in January, Bed Bath & Beyond has exhausted numerous last-ditch efforts to shore up financing, including store closures, job cuts and several lifelines from banks and investors.
The retailer previously cited "lower customer traffic and reduced levels of inventory availability" as it flagged "substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern." A preliminary report for the holiday-season quarter showed sales falling 40% to 50% from a year earlier. Sales had fallen similarly in the quarter before that, down 32%.
Bed Bath & Beyond was once a dominant "category killer" that absorbed or outlived many early rivals. As recently as 2018, the chain had over 1,500 stores. But its website has long lagged behind its peers.
A few roller coaster years finally tipped the retailer into bankruptcy.
During the pandemic, the chain missed out on the historic home-goods shopping boom because it was in the middle of an overhaul that involved replacing big name brands with more profitable private brands. The strategy exacerbated the industry-wide supply chain crisis, leaving top products like KitchenAid mixers missing from Bed Bath's shelves.
Last year, its shares rose and crashed as a meme stock on the news that activist investor Ryan Cohen invested in the company. He shook up corporate leadership and then cashed out of his bet with a tidy profit.
Then came hundreds of store closures, sweeping layoffs and news of the shocking death of the company's financial chief. Suppliers hesitated about sending more stuff to Bed Bath & Beyond, worried they wouldn't get paid.
Late last summer, the company had secured financing to propel it through the holiday shopping season. But lackluster sales led to waning enthusiasm from creditors in a trickier economic environment.
In January, the chain defaulted on some of its loans, prompting those lenders to cut off its credit. The company began striking last-chance deals to stay afloat, selling more shares, asking landlords for breaks on rent and even having another company pay for its merchandise. In mid-April, its stock price sank to 24 cents.
Launched in the 1970s as a single store in New Jersey, Bed Bath & Beyond seemed unstoppable even through the Great Recession as it outlived its main rival, Linens 'n Things, and later bought BuyBuy Baby, World Market and online retailer One Kings Lane.
Shoppers flocked to Bed Bath & Beyond for a treasure-hunt-like stroll through aisles stacked floor to ceiling with trash cans, kitchen gadgets, shower caddies and bedding. Its blue never-expiring 20% off coupon became such a cultural staple that it's frequently sold on eBay.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader Throws Shade At Her DWTS Partner Sasha Farber Amid Romance Rumors
- The Little Mermaid: Halle Bailey’s Locs and Hair Extensions Cost $150,000
- Here are the best U.S. cities for young Americans to start their career
- World Bank Favors Fossil Fuel Projects in Developing Countries, Report Says
- Residents urged to shelter in place after apparent explosion at Louisville business
- American Climate Video: She Loved People, Adored Cats. And Her Brother Knew in His Heart She Hadn’t Survived the Fire
- States Begged EPA to Stop Cross-State Coal Plant Pollution. Wheeler Just Refused.
- In Florence’s Floodwater: Sewage, Coal Ash and Hog Waste Lagoon Spills
- GM recalling big pickups and SUVs because the rear wheels can lock up, increasing risk of a crash
- Teresa Giudice Accuses Melissa Gorga of Sending Her to Prison in RHONJ Reunion Shocker
Ranking
- A $1 billion proposal is the latest plan to refurbish and save the iconic Houston Astrodome
- How New York Is Building the Renewable Energy Grid of the Future
- What heat dome? They're still skiing in Colorado
- Florida woman who shot Black neighbor through door won't face murder charge
- Anti-abortion advocates press Trump for more restrictions as abortion pill sales spike
- Senate 2020: In Mississippi, a Surprisingly Close Race For a Trump-Tied Promoter of Fossil Fuels
- Malaria cases in Florida and Texas are first locally acquired infections in U.S. in 20 years, CDC warns
- Human remains found in California mountain area where actor Julian Sands went missing
Recommendation
-
2 weeks after Peanut the Squirrel's euthanasia, owner is seeking answers, justice
-
The Dropout’s Amanda Seyfried Reacts to Elizabeth Holmes Beginning 11-Year Prison Sentence
-
Tyson Ritter Says Machine Gun Kelly Went Ballistic on Him Over Megan Fox Movie Scene Suggestion
-
Mountaintop Mining Is Destroying More Land for Less Coal, Study Finds
-
Horoscopes Today, November 11, 2024
-
Latest Bleaching of Great Barrier Reef Underscores Global Coral Crisis
-
Lisa Rinna Reveals Horrible Death Threats Led to Her Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Exit
-
Shop Amazing Deals From J. Crew's Memorial Day Sale: 75% Off Trendy Dresses, Swimwear & More