Bed Bath & Beyond to Shutter All Harmon Stores
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. said Friday it was closing an additional 87 of its flagship stores and its entire Harmon chain of drugstores, as the retailer struggles to find financial support to keep its operations funded. The news, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, also said the company is closing five of its Buybuy Baby stores. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. had about 50 Harmon stores as of February 2022. The latest closings are in addition to a plan announced in August to shut 150 lower-performing Bed Bath & Beyond locations.
Total Retail's Take: This news isn't surprising as Bed, Bath & Beyond is reportedly expected to file for bankruptcy soon as it struggles to raise capital to reorganize its business. Earlier this month, it issued a “going concern” notice with the Security Exchange Commission, based on recurring losses, negative cash flow from operations, and its current cash and liquidity projections. In the SEC filing, the retailer said it would continue to "eye strategic alternatives, including restructuring or refinancing its debt, seeking additional debt or equity capital, pulling back on or delaying other business activities, selling assets or filing for bankruptcy," though most retail insiders believe the only way the company can survive is if it files for bankruptcy. Why is Bed Bath & Beyond in such dire straits? Insiders believe the three main reasons are the fact that the retailer was slow to embrace e-commerce; it has made several financial missteps; and its private-label merchandise was generally low quality and didn't have a big marketing push behind it.
