UNION, N.J. — Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) has filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey and will close all remaining stores nationwide.
At the time of the filing, the company operated 360 stores across the country under its Bed Bath & Beyond brand and 120 stores under its children-centric buybuy Baby brand. All of those locations, as well as their accompanying e-commerce platforms, will remain open temporarily as the company gradually winds down operations and conducts limited marketing campaigns for some of its assets.
To facilitate this process, Bed Bath & Beyond has secured $240 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Dallas-based global investment firm Sixth Street Specialty Lending. The financing will provide liquidity for operational obligations, such as paying employee wages and benefits, maintaining customer programs and honoring commitments to critical vendors.
The Union-based home goods retailer announced plans in August 2022 to shutter 150 of its “lower-producing” stores, laying off about 20 percent of its corporate staff in the process. At that time, Bed Bath & Beyond was focused on restructuring its existing debt and had received more than $500 million in new financing to bring that turnaround process to fruition.
“Millions of customers have trusted us through the most important milestones in their lives, from going to college to getting married, settling into a new home to having a baby,” says Bed Bath & Beyond CEO Sue Grove. “We deeply appreciate our associates, customers, partners and the communities we serve, and we remain steadfastly determined to serve them throughout this process. We will continue working diligently to maximize value for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Cole Schotz P.C. are serving as legal counsel to Bed Bath & Beyond, and AlixPartners LLP is serving as the company’s financial advisor. Bed Bath & Beyond has retained Hilco Merchant Resources LLC to assist with inventory sales.
Founded in 1971, Bed Bath & Beyond operated as many as 1,500 stores across all its brands in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico as recently as 2019. In December 2020, following months of sluggish activity brought on by COVID-19, the company sold its entire portfolio of Cost Plus World Market stores and intellectual property to Los Angeles-based private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management. Additional closures of core Bed Bath & Beyond stores were announced in waves throughout 2021 and 2022.
Bed Bath & Beyond’s stock price opened at 20 cents per share on Monday, April 24, the first full day of trading following the announcement. That figure represents a significant decline from $16.83 per share a year ago. The company’s stock price has been trading at under $1 per share since mid-March, putting it at risk of being delisted from the exchange prior to the Chapter 11 bankruptcy announcement.
— Taylor Williams