The once ubiquitous home goods retailer, Bed Bath & Beyond has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company announced on Sunday. The retailer plans to begin closing its 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and 120 BuyBuy Baby stores.
Coupons will be usable until Wednesday when the company plans to begin deeply discounted closeout sales. As it starts to wind down the business, there’s a possibility Bed Bath & Beyond may not completely disappear if it manages to find a buyer for the stores.
It raised approximately $240 million in debtor-in-possession financing ("DIP") from Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. to facilitate the wind-down. And, “In the event of a successful sale,” Sunday’s press release stated, “the Company will pivot away from any store closings needed to implement a transaction.”
However, the company has been attempting to raise capital for months and warned of possible bankruptcy back in January.
Sales have been taking a nosedive for the past few years dropping from $12.3 billion at its peak in 2017 to 2019 to just $7.9 billion in 2021. Bed Bath & Beyond stock closed at $0.29 right before the bankruptcy filing. That’s around $80 less than its all-time high in December 2013.
There are many factors contributing to the company’s struggle over the last few years. Overall tightening economic conditions, inflation, and online shopping giants like Amazon are all influences. But many people also believe some of the company’s recent “woke” choices upset customers, helping to drive down sales.
In 2019, the retailer publicly embraced ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), stating:
We also significantly transformed Bed Bath & Beyond’s Board governance structure, including the appointment of ten new independent directors, with seven female directors, a rich diversity of perspectives, backgrounds, ages, gender, race and ethnicity. As a result of these changes, our Board better reflects the diversity of the Company’s loyal customers and dedicated Associates.
This woke, equity-driven business stance is what many conservatives say causes companies to “Go woke, go broke.”
One tweet said:
In 2019, the company went all in on ESG. Other home stores thrived during covid.
Congrats to @BedBathBeyond for taking their carbon footprint to zero.
In 2021, the company again angered its conservative customers by removing Mike Lindell’s My Pillow products from its stores after his outspoken support of Donald Trump. At the time, Bed Bath & Beyond stated the discontinuation was due to My Pillow not selling well — but according to overall sales, nothing was selling well.
Some have drawn a line from this “cancelation” of My Pillow to the company’s current demise, tweeting:
Monday’s Fast Fact.
Bed Bath and Beyond threw conservatives under the bus by refusing to sell Mike Lindell’s products. Karma played out, WTP stood our ground. BB&B files bankruptcy.
Others jokingly tweeted that Lindell should buy the remaining stores and rebrand them “My Pillow and Beyond.”
Everything woke turns to what? Hey @mikelindell you should buy these bankrupt buildings and launch #MyPillowAndBeyond
It would be yuge!
While a conservative boycott may not be the singular reason Bed Bath & Beyond is filing for bankruptcy, the right is starting to use its economic vote more effectively. The recent Anheuser-Busch boycott over sponsoring trans-activist Dylan Mulvaney has caused the beer company’s sales and stock to crash down.
The marketing executive responsible for the Bud Light partnership with Mulvaney has taken a leave of absence and conservatives are claiming a win in the culture war. At the same time, Anheuser-Busch’s response to the backlash has also upset leftists.
Now, both sides of the aisle are joining the boycott with one article explaining LGBTQ+ disgust at the beer company’s failure to defend an “innocent” Mulvaney. The author accused Anheuser-Busch of caving to “Middle-aged, angry, homo- and transphobes.”
“It's not Kid Rock and Ted Nugent who should be boycotting Bud Light,” the article closed. “It should be us.”
