Scenes of thinly populated stores, empty shelves, and expired merchandise dominated across the US locations of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. The erstwhile giant domestic goods chain blazed towards bankruptcy, signaling one of the largest retail collapses.
The new jersey-based retailing chain warned that it does not have the fund to pay its lenders and stalled moves to find a bidder who could put the retailer back on track.
The situation is a far cry from the heady days when Bed Bath & Beyond offered 20% off coupons across its stores and was a big draw among wedding registries and shopping lists across the USA.
While the clearance items in other retailers vanished after Christmas, the Bed & Beyond stores were still stuck with the festive items. Many customers could not find basic items but found the Dyson vacuums worth $649.99 and sharper image massage tools for $209 available in plenty.
Gain for Competitors
Customers and employees worried about the future of the retail chain after the company announced it will close another 87 stores. This is in addition to the 150 stores closure announced by the company in August 2022.
Shoppers wondered if they would be left with Walmart and Target if Bed Bath & Beyond were to close. However, an employee at a store in Dallas said that though there were negative headlines about the company, the stores were receiving merchandise regularly and there were no plans to close.
Competitors such as Walmart and Target Corp. will gain customers if Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy and shutters its stores completely. According to Rupesh Parekh, an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co., the continued rationalization of the retail sector ranging from specialty players like Toys “R” Us and other department stores will benefit companies like Target.
Target to Benefit
Target can gain up to 20% of Bed Bath & Beyond customers and add around $ 1.11 billion in sales and 28 cents earnings per share in event of the company going for liquidation.
Shopper’s scare was evident in the Bed Bath & Beyond Dallas store on Friday as only a few late-morning shoppers trickled into the store. Some loyal customers for years keep coming back to shop at the store despite less merchandise selection as they found it easier to shop than at larger stores.
A large store of Target operates in the Dallas area. Others like Walmart, Ross Stores Inc.,
Lowe’s Cos. Inc., and TJX Cos, owned HomeGoods have stores near the Bed Bath & Beyond
store.
