Bed Bath & Beyond, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse from Retail Archaeology and Company Man

I ended the list of chains closing stores in Many stores closing for good even as economy reopens, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse and COVID-19 pandemic with "Finally, Bed, Bath & Beyond is closing 44 stores, more than the 40 stores I reported in CNBC warns that Bed Bath & Beyond is 'facing extinction,' a tale of the Retail Apocalypse." Two days later, Retail Archaeology uploaded Bed Bath & Beyond: Can They Survive? Take it way, Erik!

In this episode we take a look at Bed Bath & Beyond. They've really been struggling and the future looks uncertain for them.

While the footage is from before the COVID-19 pandemic, I'm still impressed that Erik of Retail Archaeology uploaded the video so soon after the Business Insider article I quoted earlier this week. I'm also impressed that he's taken a look at the corporation's stock price history along with a quick summary of the chain's founding and growth. It reminds me of Company Man, who examines store numbers, sales, and stock prices as part of his company histories.

Speaking of Company Man, he uploaded Bed Bath & Beyond vs. Linens 'n Things earlier this year and provided lots of "store numbers, sales, and stock prices" as part of his comparison and contrast of the two home furnishing chains.

This video compares two strangely similar stores that were once among the top retailers in the U.S. They've both since fallen but at different times and for different reasons. In this video I talk about what happened while highlighting some key differences that have lead to their separate fates.

Company Man's graphs show why CNBC was so concerned last year when Bed Bath & Beyond lost money for the first time since going public. Even then, I was fairly sanguine.

Compared to a lot of chains in trouble, a net loss of 25 stores out of more than 1,000 hardly registers. I'm not terribly worried that the nearest location, just a little more than two miles west of me, is going to close any time soon. I also think that the chain is facing a crisis, but it's not in imminent danger of going out of business. Still, it's a sign that issues with brick-and-mortar are spreading beyond dead malls and the businesses associated with them, including chain restaurants.

I'm not as calm about the fate of the chain now, if only because 100,000 dead and 40 million unemployed in the U.S. has made the economic environment much more precarious for retailers other than daily essentials such as food and medicine, which I shopped for yesterday and picked up without ever entering the store.

I expect I'll write more about the Retail Apocalypse in June. In the meantime, stay tuned for the Sunday entertainment feature as the final post of the month