Bed Bath & Beyond, a 52-year-old housewares chain that at its peak numbered more than 1,500 stores across North America, announced Sunday it had filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. The company plans to wind down operations while seeking buyers for some or all of its assets.
Published reports cite years of losses and unsuccessful turnaround plans including store closures as well as increasing competition from online merchants and other brick-and-mortar retailers as contributing factors to the filing. The Union, NJ based retailer currently operates 360 Bed Bath & Beyond locations and 120 Buybuy Baby stores nationwide.
The company went public in 1992 but has cycled through three CEOs since 2019 responding to two sets of activist shareholders seeking change within the business according to NBC News Sunday reportage . “They had some very specific problems and made some really bad strategic mistakes,” Neil Saunders Managing Director GlobalData Retail told NBC News “But the retail environment is much more pressured now.”
The company said it obtained $240 million debtor-in possession financing from Sixth Street Specialty Lending which upon court approval will support operations during bankruptcy proceedings . Furthermore , Wall Street Journal reported Sunday this filing represents another potential blow for retail landlords already contending with high borrowing costs yet offers hope due Barnes & Noble’s bookseller expansion after years reducing real estate footprints along with discount clothing store Burlington’s similar growth pattern .
