Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday after failing to find enough money to keep the company afloat. The chain had been warning of bankruptcy since the start of the year, and the stock is down 88% so far this year. Shares in the company closed on Friday at 29 cents a share; one year ago, it was trading at $20 per share.
The 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and 120 Buybuy Baby stores will remain open to liquidate its roughly $4.4 billion in assets to cover $5.2 billion in debts. The company says the last day that coupons will be accepted is tomorrow, and that the liquidation sales will start soon.
Neil Saunders, a retail analyst and consultant who works as managing director of GlobalData, says the company’s problem was that it “stopped being relevant to consumers.” The organization employs around 14,000 non-seasonal workers. The company says it plans to continue to pay employees wages and benefits through the bankruptcy process.
Source: CNBC