Bed Bath & Beyond, a 52-year-old housewares chain that at its peak numbered more than 1,500 stores across North America, filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey on Sunday with plans to wind down operations and seek buyers for some or all of its assets. Reports cite years of losses and unsuccessful turnaround plans including store closures due to increasing competition from online merchants as well as other brick-and-mortar retailers. The Union, NJ based retailer currently operates 360 Bed Bath & Beyond locations and 120 Buybuy Baby locations.
The company had cycled through three CEOs since 2019 while responding to two different sets of activist shareholders seeking change in their business model according to NBC News reported Sunday . “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 obtained $240 million debtor -in -possession financing from Sixth Street Specialty Lending which will support operations during their Chapter 11 process pending court approval .
According Wall Street Journal’s report , this bankruptcy filing represents another potential blow to retail landlords who are already contending with high borrowing costs but there may be hope yet; big box retailers such as bookseller Barnes & Noble have shown signs expanding again after years shrinking real estate footprints .
