Bed Bath & Beyond Closes Its Doors
If you’ve been waiting for the right time to buy that new shower curtain, bath mat, or electric tea kettle, next month will sadly be the ideal time to do it at Bed Bath & Beyond. The giant 52-year-old home furnishings franchise which had been struggling over the last couple of years, has officially filed for bankruptcy and has plans to close all stores by the end of June.
Dating back to the recession in 2008, Bed Bath & Beyond has historically been able to obtain new retailers to ensure that its prevalent place in society as a home furnishings supplier would not soon meet its end by expanding the stock of its stores to keep customers happy. However, cut to a short 15 years later, and the store (including BuyBuy Baby, bought by Bed Bath & Beyond in 2007) has officially run out of solutions to remain in business. Though Bed Bath & Beyond aims to sell parts of its company away, for the most part, hundreds of stores will be fully closing down all throughout the country over the next couple of months.
Leading up to the announcement of their bankruptcy, the company had been running out of crucial funding to pay off their loans, and were also unable to provide their interest payments, eventually contributing to the stores having no other option but to resign from the market. Despite the devastation this has caused for many longtime Bed Bath & Beyond devotees, the closing of these stores will also result in the unemployment of thousands of workers countrywide.
As of April 26, the company halted all acceptance of coupons, a notorious aspect of the Bed Bath & Beyond shopping experience for many frequent customers. Those with gift cards to spend had until May eighth to make their final purchases, and then the 360 Bed Bath & Beyond and 120 BuyBuy Baby locations are to be permanently shut down.
As its parting remark to all customers, Bed Bath & Beyond thanked its shoppers for their continuous support over the years, but conceded that they will have to “begin winding down [their] operations.” And so, we watch the curtains draw on yet another prominent American realtor.
Quincy Rane is a senior at Girls Academic Leadership Academy. She is in her fifth year of journalism and is currently the Co-Sr. Editor-in-Chief for The...