As it makes moves to reduce expenses and shore up its balance sheet, struggling home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond announced 56 slated store closings. They represent more than a third of the 150 the company plans to close as part of its restructuring plans.
Bed Bath & Beyond published the list of stores this week, with locations closing in Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Oregon, New York, Washington, California, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Massachusetts, Nevada, Texas, Virginia, Louisiana, Arizona, and Puerto Rico.
Along with the store closures, Bed Bath & Beyond is slashing 20 percent of its corporate and supply chain jobs, including eliminating the chief operating officer and chief stores officer roles. The company announced closures and layoffs on Aug. 31, the same day it announced it had secured commitments for $500 million in financing for incremental liquidity. That includes an expanded asset-based loan facility of $1.13 billion and $375 million in the form of a first-in, last-out loan.
“We are committed to reinforcing the financial runway to execute the critical strategies need for our business,” Sue Gove, Bed Bath & Beyond interim CEO, said at the time. “We are creating sustainable improvements to our balance sheet and cash flows to deliver business returns.”
Gove took over after Bed Bath & Beyond booted CEO Mark Tritton in June. The embattled retailer also unexpectedly lost chief financial officer Gustavo Arnal, who was named in a securities fraud lawsuit, after he took his own life earlier this month.
After several quarters of double-digit revenue declines, Bed Bath & Beyond reported it anticipates a second quarter comp decline of 26 percent year-over-year, with net sales at $1.45 billion dollars and a free cash flow usage of $325 million. The company anticipates a comp sales decline in the 20 percent range for the remainder of 2022. The official second quarter earnings report is expected later this month.