Struggling Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy protection

Published 10:43 am Sunday, April 23, 2023

Bed Bath & Beyond — one of the original big box retailers known for its seemingly endless offerings of sheets, towels and kitchen gadgets — has filed for bankruptcy protection, following years of dismal sales and losses and numerous failed turnaround plans.

The beleaguered home goods chain — which had a store in Lake Charles — made the filing Sunday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey and said it will start an orderly wind down of its operations including eventually closing its stores, while seeking a buyer for all or some of its businesses. For now, its 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and its 120 Buy Buy Baby stores as well as its websites will remain open to serve customers.

It listed estimated assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion and $10 billion. The move comes after the company failed to secure funds to stay afloat.

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 store closings will put thousands of jobs at risk.

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. “It’s an institution in retailing, but unfortunately being an institution doesn’t protect you from financial woes.”

The filing comes as the company’s shares have tumbled even more as speculation of an impending bankruptcy filing increased. Its financial performance has also deteriorated. In late March, it noted that preliminary results showed anywhere from a 40% to 50% decline in sales at stores opened at least a year for the quarter ended Feb. 25.