Bed Bath & Beyond on Wednesday said it closing about 150 brick-and-mortar locations and laying off about 20% of corporate and supply chain employees.
In a news release ahead of its earnings report, the Union-based home goods retailer said it was issuing a its turnaround plan that embraces a “back-to-basics philosophy,” in an effort to reverse a trend of falling sales, negative cash flow and supply chain woes.
The company plans to cut costs by $250 million in 2022 via layoffs and store closures and has already begun shutting down some of its flagship stores that it has identified as underperforming, and it will continue to evaluate its portfolio and leases, in addition to staffing, to ensure alignment with customer demand and go-forward strategy.
It also announced that the BuyBuy Baby chain of stores will remain with the company.
“We have taken a thorough look at our business, and, today, we are announcing immediate actions aimed to increase customer engagement, drive traffic, and recapture market share,” Sue Gove, director and interim CEO, said. “This includes changing our merchandising and inventory strategy, which will be rooted in national brands.
“Additionally, we are focused on driving digital and foot traffic, as well as optimizing our store fleet. We believe these changes will have a widespread positive impact across customer experience, inventory assortment, supply chain execution and cost structure.”
The retailer said it secured more than $500 million in new financing, including its newly expanded $1.13 billion asset-backed revolving credit facility and a new $375 million “first-in-last-out” facility. The refinancing of the ABL facility is being led by J.P. Morgan, and Sixth Street Partners is serving as the lender and agent for the company’s FILO facility.
