- Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 protection in New Jersey on Sunday, a court filing showed.
- The retailer had long endured sliding sales, making its financial position increasingly precarious.
Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey Sunday, according to a court filing.
The US home-goods retailer warned in January that there was considerable doubt about its survival after grappling with sliding sales.
The chain has closed hundreds of stores, cut jobs, and taken other steps in recent years to shore up its finances.
The company subsequently abandoned a turnaround plan to raise $1 billion from a hedge fund in February. In another last-ditch move, Bed Bath & Beyond tried this month to raise $300 million from other investors.
All those efforts have failed to adequately improve its situation.
Its shares have fallen by 87% this year, valuing the company at just $138 million on Friday. The company also recently missed payments on bonds worth about $1 billion.
Bed Bath & Beyond will start holding closing-down sales at its 360 stores from Wednesday, with steep discounts on merchandise likely to clear stock.
A number of factors have played parts in the downfall of the retailer that started out with just one store in New Jersey in the early 1970s. The company temporarily closed its stores during the pandemic, which hit sales in both 2020 and 2021. Competition from both physical and online rivals has also increased.
The retailer said in February it aimed to further reduce the number of US stores, down from a peak of more than 1,500, as well as about 120 Buybuy Baby stores.
A series of turnaround efforts in recent years fell short and the company has experienced a series of management changes, too.
Bed Bath & Beyond has long been known for its discount coupons, which stores will only accept until Tuesday. Its former president, Arthur Stark, told Bloomberg that offering coupons wasn't the right approach in the long term because it made it difficult to phase them out without alienating customers.
Mark Tritton became the CEO of Bed Bath & Beyond in 2019 and tried to move the store away from big brands in favor of its own private-label offerings.
However, customers voted with their feet, prompting a reversal of the policy last year. The company ousted Tritton as CEO last June, and Sue Gove replaced him in the wake of falling sales.
The company has tapped Holly Etlin, who became interim CFO in February, to serve as chief restructuring officer, and she will oversee the liquidation-and-sale process, the Chapter 11 filing shows.
She took over for Laura Crossen, who stepped up following the death of Gustavo Arnal in September.
Crossen has since resumed her position as the chief accounting officer and vice president of finance.