March 29, 2024
Bed Bath & Beyond stores closing by the end of 2020
NEW JERSEY - More than two months after Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. announced plans to close 200 of its namesake stores over the next two years, the company has revealed the locations of the first 63 stores that will shutter.

The New Jersey-based home goods retailer, which also operates buybuy Baby, Harmon Face Values and World Market, shared the list of the Bed Bath & Beyond locations closing by the end of 2020 exclusively with USA TODAY Friday.

"As we rebuild our authority and establish a truly omni-always shopping experience for our customers, we recently announced a store optimization plan that will see us establish the right network of stores to serve our customers," company spokeswoman Jessica Joyce said in a statement to USA TODAY.

Stores in 29 states are slated to close with California and New York losing the most stores at six locations each.

"This is an important step in our multi-year program to create a sustainable, durable business and invest where it matters most to our digital-first customers and our people," Joyce said Friday, adding "an exciting array of customer-inspired owned brands" will launch in 2021.

In October, company officials announced plans to close 60 stores across all of its concepts. In January, officials said 20 of the 40 Bed Bath & Beyond stores scheduled to close would be delayed until the first half of 2020.

The number increased to 200 closing locations, making up approximately 21% of the company's namesake stores, in July. Bed Bath CEO Mark Tritton said closing 200 locations would save the company between $250 and $350 million annually after one-time costs.

Tritton said the COVID-19 pandemic was "felt across our business during our fiscal first quarter, including loss of sales due to temporary store closures."

As of May 30, the company had 1,478 stores, including 955 Bed Bath & Beyond stores nationwide and in Canada, 262 stores under the names of World Market, Cost Plus World Market or Cost Plus, 127 buybuy Baby stores, 81 stores under the names Christmas Tree Shops, Christmas Tree Shops andThat! or andThat!, and 53 stores under the names Harmon, Harmon Face Values or Face Values.

While many of the stores were temporarily closed during the pandemic, the company accelerated the launch of buy-online-pickup-in-store and curbside pickup at many stores.

By the end of the May, the new services were available at nearly 60% of locations, John Hartmann, the company’s chief operating officer and executive vice president, said in July during the quarterly earnings call.

Net sales from digital channels grew 82% with sales growth of more than 100% during April and May, the company said in July when reporting quarterly earnings.

"In this COVID moment, we believe we can take this opportunity to not just simply close stores, but to pivot and reshape and truly optimize our store footprint,” Hartmann said. “We continue to believe that our physical store channel is an asset for us, as we transform into a digital-first company.”

Bed Bath & Beyond isn't the only retailer closing stores amid the coronavirus. As many as 25,000 stores could shutter this year as retailers continue to feel the impacts of the pandemic, according to a report from Coresight Research.

California Bed Bath & Beyond closing stores

· City of Industry: 21640 Valley Blvd.
· Fremont: 39125 Fremont Hub
· Mira Loma: 6365 Pats Ranch Road
· Paso Robles: 2449 Golden Hill Road
· Stockton: 10822 Trinity Parkway
· Victorville: 12410 Amargosa Road. (Source: USA Today)
Story Date: September 19, 2020
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