Bed Bath & Beyond announces store closures and layoffs to save from financial crisis

It is learned that two weeks after the suicide of Gustavo Arnal, the former financial director of Bed Bath & Beyond, the home accessories retailer began to plan to reverse the sales decline and try to save its financial situation. It is reported that the stock price of Bed Bath & Beyond (BB&B) has fallen by more than 65% in a year, and the stock price has shrunk by 17.21% since September alone.

Accessories and decor retailer BB&B has begun closing its least profitable stores in an effort to dig itself out of financial trouble. The store closure strategy is part of the retailer's "desperate" plan, which involves completely shutting down 150 "low-profit" stores and laying off 20% of its staff.

On September 12, BB&B released a list of 56 store closures across the United States, from California and Nevada to Ohio and Florida.

The new strategy will focus the chain's operations on its national brands (in addition to BB&B, it also operates Buybuy Baby and Harmon). It will also promote its new customer loyalty program, Purchase Rewards, which Walmart has also recently introduced.

BB&B is at a critical juncture. Not only has it experienced declining sales quarter after quarter, it has also invested heavily in offline stores, while developing its own brands and buying back its own stock. The second quarter financial report as of August 27 showed that after a 23% drop in sales in the first quarter, sales in the second quarter fell another 26%.

On the other hand, BB&B is also looking for new leadership to take over as CEO and CFO (Laura Crosson is currently acting as interim). In June, the executive director also changed after veteran Mark Tritton and then-marketing director Joe Hartsig were fired. In addition, the company also eliminated the positions of store manager and operations director. It can be seen that BB&B's senior management has undergone a major change.

Editor ✎Estella/

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