Did Bed Bath & Beyond Go Out Of Business? : From Success to Bankruptcy

Bed Bath & Beyond is an American retail chain company that was founded back in the year 1971. The company has its headquarters in New Jersey, United States and has got a subsidiary company named Buy Buy Baby. The brand specializes in selling different kinds of houseware products, furniture, and other specialty items and has its business not only in the USA but has its stores in Mexico and Canada as well.

The company had made an annual revenue of $6.21 billion in the year 2022 which was a -22.37%  lower than its previous revenues. The company did huge business for two decades and was once counted among the Fortune 500 and Forbes Global 2000. Currently, some news has been surfacing that the company will be officially going out of business as their stores are being closed down in the US.

Bed Bath & Beyond's Financial Troubles Unraveled

Bed Bath & Beyond has been facing serious financial troubles over the past couple of years. The company had gone through a series of tragedies before which could be the reason for its downfall today. The passing of their CFO Gustavo Arnal by an alleged suicide off a New York City building is one of the tragic things that the company will never forget. 

On April 23rd the company had officially announced that they were filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This decision was taken because of the downfall of their sales over the past couple of years and a recent push searching for additional liquidity that failed to materialize. 

However, it was near the end of the year 2022, when the company Bed Bath & Beyond had accumulated more than $1 billion in debt and losses. However, the company was able to repay $123 million in stock but the stock kept sinking. It almost seems that an end of an era has finally arrived for BBB which was once one of the most beloved home furnishing retailers in the United States. 

Bed Bath & Beyond Files For Bankruptcy 

Bed Bath & Beyond has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 23. This was a necessary move taken by the upper level management as the company failed to secure its funds to stay afloat in the business. Even though the company has filed for bankruptcy most of its stores and as well as its official websites will remain open and will continue serving its customers as it was said by the company. 

The company has also listed its estimated assets and liabilities in the US District Court in New Jersey which is in the range of $1 billion and $10 billion. The filing for bankruptcy has been made because the company shares have tumbled and additionally the company’s financial performance has deteriorated over the years. It was reported in late March that there was a decline of 40-50% in sales at the stores opened at least a year for the quarter ended on Feb 25.

The Impact Of The Pandemic On Bed Bath & Beyond

It was back in the year 2019 when Mark Tritton took over as the new CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond and soon he realized that there were big challenges that his business could face. At this time the retailer company was struggling as the company faced poor sales in its business in the past couple of years. Additionally, the company also witnessed executive shakeups and as well as stick losses and fixing it was a major problem for the new CEO. 

In the year 2020 when the pandemic had hit the whole world, Bed Bath & Beyond had reported a 49% decrease in their net sales to $1.3 billion as compared to $2.57 billion which was a year ago. The company had reported a net loss of $302.29 million. 

On the other hand, the company’s net online sales had accounted for nearly two-thirds of total net sales, which surged 82% during the quarter. Meanwhile, the net store sales had decreased roughly as much as 77% due to 90% of Bed Bath & Beyond stores being closed during the majority of the quarter. 

Bed Bath & Beyond To Close All Remaining Stores

Bed Bath & Buy has filed bankruptcy and therefore it is only obvious that the majority of their stores will be closing down due to the downfall of their sales and share value over the past couple of years. The company after filing its bankruptcy have revealed that they will be closing its remaining 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and 120 Buy Buy Baby locations.

But for the time being customers those who wish to avail its products and services can avail them through the stores and as well as through its online websites. 

The company has reportedly closed almost 400 stores over the past couple of years. The empty space of the stores that have closed down could be a scarce resource for retailers, gyms and anyone else who needs an ample space. 

The End Of An Era For Bed Bath & Beyond

Bed Bath & Beyond had once become one of the most successful businesses in the United States but luck was not in favor for the company. The brand did manage to grow and expand its business to not just in the United States but in Mexico and Canada as well having hundreds of store locations. The company had also opened up its subsidiary company named BUy Buy Baby. 

However, things didn't go well for the company as it faced immense losses in revenue, and as well as their sales declined year by year. The pandemic massively blew its sales and ever since its huge losses the company had started to begin closing its stores located in various locations across the country.

The top-level management was shattered and the value of shares for the company was also declining. The company is in huge debt which made upper-level management to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. 

With more than five decades in the retailing business Bed Bath & Beyond had built a huge customer base. The company has started to shut down its stores and for the time being whoever wishes to purchase its products can avail from their official website or from stores whichever is still operating. But, all in all, it is the end of an era because the company will be shutting down immediately. 

What Went Wrong At Bed Bath & Beyond?

The company facing huge losses once used to be on the list of the Fortune 500 and the Forbes Global 2000 but the company's upper-level management did make fatal mistakes which led to the ultimate downfall of the company. One of the biggest reasons for the decline of Bed Bath & Beyond is that it made financial mistakes and miscalculations. 

The company did not adapt itself to the changing consumer behaviors as it came into e-commerce quite late. But, additionally, the company made several monumental financial mistakes. Ever since the year 2004, the company had spent around $11.8 billion to buy back its own shares. The company started borrowing money in 2014 to repurchase its shares and continued doing so. 

There were some other major mistakes as well like hiring Mark Tritton as their new CEO. Tritton began to replace higher-priced national brands with private label brands which badly flopped at Bed Bath & Beyond. The same strategy was used by Tritton while he was working for Target. 

The Future Of Bed Bath & Beyond

The future of Bed Bath & Beyond has become vague as the company has filed for bankruptcy. The empty stores of Bed Bath & Beyond are looking attractive to discount retailers looking to expand because in the current economic environment, consumers would be wanting more bang for their buck, but also construction to the space would be minimal. 

By the end of this month, all of Bed Bath & Beyond’s businesses will become defunct. And till the time being consumers can still purchase its furniture and other products from stores that are operating their business and from their official website. The company has announced this and they will be more than happy to help their customers till the end.