The chain said Wednesday that it will lay off approximately 20% of corporate employees, close around 150 stores and slash several of its in-house home goods’ brands.
Crucially, the company also said it secured more than $500 million in financing to shore up its ailing financial straits.
Berna Barshay, an independent retail analyst, said the company’s moves were the “prototypical rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic” and the business was in structural decline.
Bed Bath & Beyond also said Wednesday that sales at stores open for at least one year plunged 26% during its latest quarter.
The company said Wednesday that it was reversing this strategy. That means national brands will be featured more prominently, rather than its own brands. Three of its brands will also face the chopping block, including Studio 3B, Haven and Wild Sage.
But major brands may be reluctant to give Bed Bath & Beyond their best stuff, Barshay said.
Bed Bath & Beyond is “financially up against the wall, so it’s going to be harder to stay in stock from key vendors,” she said. “If you’re Dyson and Keurig and you’re trying to maintain a halo over your brand, the last thing you want is discounting.”
