Bed Bath & Beyond, the home goods retailer that has been around for nearly five decades, filed for bankruptcy on Friday. The company, which operates more than 1,000 stores across North America, has been struggling in recent years as shoppers have shifted more of their purchases online. But its problems go deeper than that. In the early 2000s, the company’s then-CEO, Steven Temares, led the company on a spree of acquisitions that left it with too much debt and too many stores.
The company has also struggled to keep up with changing consumer tastes and a new wave of competitors, such as online-only retailers like Amazon and Wayfair. Bed Bath & Beyond has been trying to turn things around in recent years by closing underperforming stores and investing more in its digital operations. But those efforts have not been enough to offset the losses from the pandemic.
In its bankruptcy filing, the company said it plans to close about 200 stores over the next two years. Bed Bath & Beyond also said it has secured a $250 million loan from a group of lenders to help it restructure and emerge from bankruptcy.
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