Bed, Bath & Beyond Reviewing Possible Data Breach

Bed Bath & Beyond said in a Securities & Exchange Commission filing on Friday that a third party improperly accessed its data this month through a phishing scam by accessing the hard drive and certain shared drives of one of its employees. The big-box retailer said in its filing that it was reviewing the data that was accessed so it can determine whether the drives contained any sensitive or personally identifiable information. At this time it "has no reason to believe that any such sensitive or personally identifiable information was accessed or that this event would be likely to have a material impact on the company."

Total Retail's Take: While there's never a good time to disclose a data breach, this announcement comes during a period of turmoil and challenge for Bed Bath & Beyond. On Friday, for example, the retailer also announced plans to sell shares of its common stock to help pay down its debt and rebalance its inventory and assortment. What's more, its sales have declined in recent months. In its most recent quarter, Bed Bath & Beyond's net sales fell 28 percent year-over-year to $1.4 billion, while comparable sales fell 26 percent.

There is some good news on the horizon, however: Last week the company named its interim CEO, Sue Gove, its permanent CEO and president. As interim CEO, Gove has overseen major changes at the company. In late August, for example, Bed Bath & Beyond announced cost cuts and a new loan on a call with investors.