Bed Bath & Beyond filed a bankruptcy petition today and announced it will begin winding down its business at all 360 stores on Wednesday. The company’s 120 Buy Buy Baby stores will also be shuttered.
“Thank you to all of our loyal customers. We have made the difficult decision to begin winding down our operations,” the company said on its website.
Closing sales will begin Wednesday at all locations. Online shopping remains available.
All purchases during the store’s closing sales will be final according to an FAQ document posted by the company.
The company said it expects customers will be able to use gift cards through May 8 and redeem Welcome Rewards until May 15.
Bed Bath & Beyond, founded in 1971, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in New Jersey.
The company said it intends to conduct a limited sale and marketing process for some or all of its assets and is asking the bankruptcy court for permission to market Bed Bath & Beyond and Buy Buy Baby as part of an auction allowed by the federal Bankruptcy Code.
“In the event of a successful sale, the Company will pivot away from any store closings needed to implement a transaction,” Bed Bath & Beyond said in a press release.
Bed Bath & Beyond opened its Riverhead location in a store previously occupied by Linens ’n Things in the Riverhead Centre shopping plaza on Old Country Road. The parent company of Linens ’n Things filed for bankruptcy in 2008.
The retailer last summer announced an aggressive restructuring plan in the hope of turning around its flagging business performance. It closed some stores, laid off some workers and streamlined its inventory. The Riverhead store remained open.
But the company’s sales and revenues continued to drop and, as it continued to post losses — nearly $393 million in 2022 as of November.
Brick and mortar retailers have struggled mightily to compete with the online giant Amazon and other online-only retailers. The pandemic sent well-established companies into bankruptcy, including J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus and J. Crew.
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