BB&B files for ch 11 bankruptcy

[bimbi284]

Given that many of us first “met” on ye ol’ knot boards, I figured I would share here.

“On April 23, 2023, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and 73 affiliated debtors (collectively, the "Debtors") each filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.”

restructuring.ra.kroll.com/bbby/

www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/04/23/bed-bath--beyond-files-for-bankruptcy-and-plans-to-close-its-retail-stores/amp/

[konapoppy]

I feel like this has been the slowest decline of a company in a long time.

[penguingrrl]

This has been coming, especially when they suddenly closed all the Harmon stores a few months ago when it felt like Harmon was propping BBB up.

[tacokick]

I have found BB&B’s existence perplexing for about 30 years so I’m not surprised.

[fernweh]

All of the stores in my area are either closed or currently in the process of closing so I’m not surprised. Honestly I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did.

[chilerellanos]

I hadn’t gone in for years.

I feel like the last several years it was full of as seen on tv junk. And it was a huge store that was always empty.

Ours closed a few months ago and I don’t miss it. I don’t think they did anything to help their company out at all.

[estrellita]

Ours closed a few months ago. I liked going in there for random things you could only seem to find there. But overall I just found it so much more expensive for most things. So I'm not super surprised!

[stemmie]

Ours is still open. I find it convenient if I get a bug up my ass and need something "now" as opposed to ordering it. It's only 2 miles away and the nearest big box places are a 25-minute ride away with annoying parking. That said, sometime during COVID they remerchandised the store and it's just awful. They no longer have the breadth or depth of stoke they once carried and much of the store about 1/4 of the place is devoted to K-cups and health and beauty aids I can find everywhere for less money.

I get a lot of my kitchen stuff at Home Goods now.

[jackie011]

I worked there for 3 months, 15 years ago. I hated working there, but it served the purpose for those 3 months of my life, and it was more about hating retail then BB&B, per se. I remember their systems were really old and they were resistant to a lot of the trends (mainly online shopping) that were becoming the norm. My department manager said the company prided itself on being debt free so that it could take on more inventory, despite having the oldest cash registers on the planet, for instance. Given the way people shop now, there is very little in the store that someone needs right away.

[DotAndBuzz]

So both places I registered for my wedding are now no longer in existence. That's kind of a weird feeling, lol.

[marie]

The one near me closed about 3 months ago. I used to really like it, but it went so downhill. I needed new sheets and wanted to see them in person, so I went there about a year ago. There was one tiny aisle for sheets and they didn’t have a single one in a King size. I just remember being confused how a BED and bath store could have no sheets!

[pumpkin]

All 3 that were close to me have closed over the last 2 years. Today is the last of the clearance at the 3rd.

They usually had something when I needed it and I will miss it.

[wanderingback]

Yeah the one near me that I could walk to closed maybe 2 years ago. As someone who doesn’t really buy things online unless absolutely necessary I liked having it nearby (the closest target is a little over a mile away, which is walkable but it’s not in a location that I pass by regularly).

I don’t even remember where I registered for my wedding. It might have been there.

[dirtyred]

Apr 23, 2023 10:13:30 GMT -5 stemmie said:

Ours is still open. I find it convenient if I get a bug up my ass and need something "now" as opposed to ordering it. It's only 2 miles away and the nearest big box places are a 25-minute ride away with annoying parking. That said, sometime during COVID they remerchandised the store and it's just awful. They no longer have the breadth or depth of stoke they once carried and much of the store about 1/4 of the place is devoted to K-cups and health and beauty aids I can find everywhere for less money.

I get a lot of my kitchen stuff at Home Goods now.

Yeah, they moved focus away from name brand products to their own store brand, which was no where as nice as all the Oxo stuff they used to stock

[mcppalmbeach]

I’m talking out of both sides out of my ass since I online shop as much as the next person, but I truly mourn the demise of real stores. Our bbb is still pretty good and has great different holiday and seasonal merch. I still like to see and touch certain things.

[chilerellanos]

Apr 23, 2023 12:58:42 GMT -5 mcppalmbeach said:

I’m talking out of both sides out of my ass since I online shop as much as the next person, but I truly mourn the demise of real stores. Our bbb is still pretty good and has great different holiday and seasonal merch. I still like to see and touch certain things.

I do think it sucks. But I also think BBB had led to its demise in a lot of ways. They didn’t evolve well.

They cheapened the products offered. And the store was cluttered and junky (at least ours was).

It was so many k cups and soda stream accessories, and then the whole front half was as seen on tv products. Another whole corner was candles.

There was very little of what I needed or wanted.

[icedcoffee]

They have excellent customer service so I find this sad. I haven’t been in a while but it’s only because they closed the one closest to me. I’ll miss their presence for sure.

Amazon has killed another one.

@@@ I hope Buy Buy Baby makes it. Loved having a brick and mortar for my little ones. I’m past that stage but I think it would be a huge loss.

[icedcoffee]

This is actually a good reminder to find and spend down any remaining gift cards. At one point I had several hundred dollars from returned registry items. 😳

[icedcoffee]

I also have a huge stash of coupons from my Hs deceased grandma and I smile everytime I use one with her name and address. (Although their whole coupon game was weird when you think about it).

[lolalolalola]

They filed for bankruptcy back in Jan or Feb here in Canada. I had no idea they were not there in the US yet.

[heygrey]

Apr 23, 2023 14:32:35 GMT -5 lolalolalola said:

They filed for bankruptcy back in Jan or Feb here in Canada. I had no idea they were not there in the US yet.

Same. I went back and checked articles to make sure I wasn't imagining it. But I, perhaps naively, assumed it was going the way of Target where they were just closing their Canadian stores. I didn't realize the American arm was also in financial trouble. 

[DotAndBuzz]

Apr 23, 2023 13:29:41 GMT -5 chilerellanos said:

Apr 23, 2023 12:58:42 GMT -5 mcppalmbeach said:

I’m talking out of both sides out of my ass since I online shop as much as the next person, but I truly mourn the demise of real stores. Our bbb is still pretty good and has great different holiday and seasonal merch. I still like to see and touch certain things.

I do think it sucks. But I also think BBB had led to its demise in a lot of ways. They didn’t evolve well.

They cheapened the products offered. And the store was cluttered and junky (at least ours was).

It was so many k cups and soda stream accessories, and then the whole front half was as seen on tv products. Another whole corner was candles.

There was very little of what I needed or wanted.

YES

The last time I went into ours, it seemed like it was full of random novelty trinkets, and had a really weird vibe.

[Nonny]

Apr 23, 2023 13:38:23 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

This is actually a good reminder to find and spend down any remaining gift cards. At one point I had several hundred dollars from returned registry items. 😳

I just found a $25 gift card my sister gave me for my birthday 2 years ago that I haven't spent because I never think to go there, and because I'll have to drive at least 30 minutes to get to a physical store. The nearest BB&B to me shut down years ago and the building is being turned into an HMart, which I have to admit is kind of more exciting than a BB&B. 

[bronxgirl]

I haven't been to one of their stores in a few years because I haven't needed anything, but I shopped there all the time in my 20s and 30s. Now 2 of my 3 wedding registry stores are gone. (Fortunoff and BBB)

[pugz]

I mostly shop at Target or Homegoods for the kinds of things I would get there and haven't been to a wedding in years.

[Velar Fricative]

Apr 23, 2023 12:58:42 GMT -5 mcppalmbeach said:

I’m talking out of both sides out of my ass since I online shop as much as the next person, but I truly mourn the demise of real stores. Our bbb is still pretty good and has great different holiday and seasonal merch. I still like to see and touch certain things.

I’ve suddenly become very resistant to online shopping. I don’t know if it’s just because of getting older but i basically grew up with online shopping so that theory doesn’t make much sense. I think it might be because I just actually like going out and buying stuff in person. And if I’m in a rush, I order online but do store pickup, which is fine since I rarely buy from Amazon anymore.

BBB’s online shopping system just sucked. And yeah, everyone in my circle already got married or long ago decided to never get married so I don’t have registries to buy off of either.

[sent]

I hardly ever shopped there in the past 7 years. Sometimes I would think to go to the store but the website would show that the things I wanted weren't available in-store and were online only so I wouldn't bother. The past few holiday seasons I was able to take full advantage of a holiday promo they'd run - Buy $300 worth of stuff, get $100 worth of more stuff. I would start my list a few months ahead of time and ended up with all kinds of stuff from there - bath mats, handheld vacuums, a new blender, a steamer pot, etc.

[agnes]

I thought they had already filed a while ago after the CEO died by suicide and the possible insider trading stuff.

[UMaineTeach]

I never remember if the one near me is open or closed. It’s maybe closed a couple times, moved to a new location once, then Linens and Things was in the mix where maybe one went in where the other went out…

It was never a store I had much use for. Everything was overpriced and the coupon game was annoying.

[abs]

I really liked their sheets but yes their business model was very strange. It definitely didn't evolve and that is probably why half the store was just crammed with stuff you could find at Walgreens.

I am another that prefers in person shopping for many things. Clothes in particular I hate shopping online for but it's the only way to find variety and extended sizes, too. So annoying.