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Edited by: TJVNews.com
Bed Bath & Beyond — one of the original big box retailers known for its seemingly endless offerings of sheets, towels and kitchen gadgets — filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday, following years of dismal sales and losses and numerous failed turnaround plans, the AP reported.
The beleaguered home goods chain made the filing in U.S. District Court in New Jersey and said it will start an orderly wind down of its operations, while seeking a buyer for all or some of its businesses. The AP also reported that in the bankruptcy filing, the retailer said it anticipates closing all of its stores by June 30.
For now, the company’s 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and its 120 Buy Buy Baby sites as well as its websites will remain open to serve customers.
The New York Post reported on Monday that Bed Bath & Beyond shoppers in New York City were “devastated” the home goods retailer filed for bankruptcy and flocked to its Chelsea outpost to stock up on merch before its anticipated closure.
Many customers at the retailer’s shop on Sixth Avenue bemoaned the blow to brick and mortar shopping. Speaking to the Post, Steven Bonamassa, 41, a creative director who lives in Chelsea and shops at the store regularly said “I’m devastated,” and added that he was looking to “hoard and stock up” on whatever he can from the store before it shuts down.
Bonamassa suggested that amid the flurry of closures of physical stores in the US, online shopping could soon be the sole option and was saddened at the news of the closure of this iconic chain of stores.
“It’s really a shame because … where are you supposed to find your bedding? Where are you supposed to find all these things?, “ he told the Post. “What are children of our next generation going to do? Like it’s Amazon. That’s it,” he said.
Along with reporting for bankruptcy, the company noted that customers will have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to use their remaining 20%-off coupons at their stores, the Post reported.
Founded in 1971, Bed Bath & Beyond had for years enjoyed its status as a big box retailer that offered a vast selection of household items that were unmatched by department store rivals, the AP reported. It was among the first to introduce shoppers to such items like the air fryer or single-serve coffee maker, and its 15% to 20% coupons were ubiquitous.
In a statement, the company, based in Union, New Jersey, said it voluntarily made the filing “to implement an orderly wind down of its businesses while conducting a limited marketing process to solicit interest in one or more sales of some or all of its assets,” the AP reported.
The store closings will put thousands of jobs at risk. The AP reported that the company employed 14,000 workers, according to the court filing. That’s drastically down from the 32,000 as of February 2022.
Bed Bath & Beyond said it secured a commitment of roughly $240 million in financing from Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. to allow it to keep operating during the bankruptcy process.
“It’s the death of an icon. A lot of people have grown up with it, ” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, as was reported by the AP. “It’s an institution in retailing, but unfortunately being an institution doesn’t protect you from financial woes.”
