Monday, April 24, 2023

Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse

I concluded 'The Klingon Hamlet' and Klingons quoting Shakespeare for Talk Like Shakespeare Day by telling my readers to "stay tuned for an update on Bed Bath & Beyond facing bankruptcy, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse." The other shoe finally dropped, as NBC News reported Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy after year of job cuts and store closures last night.

Home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond announced that it will begin “winding down operations” after filing for bankruptcy on Sunday. The news comes after a year of job cuts at the company and store closures. NBC News’ Kathy Park reports.
I wrote CNBC warns that Bed Bath & Beyond is 'facing extinction,' a tale of the Retail Apocalypse, four years ago. I was fairly sanguine then, writing "the chain is facing a crisis, but it's not in imminent danger of going out of business," but I had no idea at the time how bad things were behind the scenes and of course no idea that the pandemic was coming. Bloomberg Television examines the chain's poor management decisions in Bed Bath & Beyond Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

Bed Bath & Beyond has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, clearing the way for it to shut down hundreds of stores and lay off thousands of staff. Su Keenan reports on Bloomberg Television.
There is still some hope that a "white knight" might rescue the chain, but I'm not holding my breath. I expect every store will close by the end of the quarter.

This is a Detroit-based blog, so I'm closing with WDIV/Click on Detroit's Struggling Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy protection for a local perspective.

Bed Bath & Beyond — one of the original big box retailers known for its seemingly endless offerings of sheets, towels and kitchen gadgets — filed for bankruptcy protection, following years of dismal sales and losses and numerous failed turnaround plans.
It's interesting that the interviewee mentioned not only Amazon as a rival store, but also automation as a threat to jobs. I shouldn't be surprised; metro Detroiters have been losing jobs to automation for decades.

That's the latest on the Retail Apocalypse. I expect I'll be returning to this topic between now and the end of June. If nothing else, Erik of Retail Archaeology will be covering the shutdown of stores in Arizona and posting videos, which I will share here. Stay tuned.

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