UNION, N.J. (Inside Indiana Business and AP): New Jersey-based Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. announced this week that it will close 150 additional stores in the U.S., including five in Indiana. The move comes after the retailer said it had raised about $1 billion through a preferred stock offering and warrants to purchase its common stock in order to pay off debt.
The company said in a news release Tuesday it received initial gross proceeds of $225 million through the offering, and expects to receive an additional $800 million in future installments, assuming certain conditions are met.
Additionally, the company released a list of 150 additional stores that will be closed, though a timeline for their closure was not provided. The Indiana stores on the list include:
- Bloomington – 731 College Mall Road South
- Fort Wayne – 4020 West Jefferson Blvd
- Lafayette – 3555 State Road 38 East
- Noblesville – 14139 Town Center Blvd. Suite 800
- Valparaiso – 91 Silhavy Road
The Bed Bath & Beyond location at 10350 East US Highway 36 in Avon had been announced for closure in another list issued last month.
President and CEO Sue Grove said the move will provide runway to execute its turnaround plan.
“We are optimizing our store fleet and supply chain and continuing to invest in our omni-always capabilities,” Grove said in written remarks. “This will enable us to better serve our customers, and grow profitably, by directing merchandise where and how they want to shop with us. We are also prioritizing availability of leading national and emerging direct-to-consumer brands our customers know and love.”
The company’s volatile stock, which rose 92% on Monday, fell 47% on Tuesday, ending the day at $3.01, down 82% over the past year. The stock sat at around $2.61 as of 11:45 a.m. on Thursday.
In early January, Bed Bath & Beyond warned that it may need to file for bankruptcy. A few weeks later, it said it was in default on its loans and didn’t have sufficient funds to repay what it owes.
The latest store closures come as the chain has been reducing its footprint dramatically over the past year. According to a regulatory filing, it will have shuttered more than 400 stores, nearly half of its fleet. That includes the remaining 50 standalone Harmon Face Value Stores, which sells beauty and household products.
The company said it anticipates keeping 360 of its namesake stores in addition to 120 BuyBuy Baby stores.
Bed Bath & Beyond also said in the filing that it expects sales at stores opened at least a year to be down anywhere from 30% to 40% during its first fiscal quarter, with “sequential quarterly improvement after that.”
The company said it plans to continue streamlining its supply chain, technology, expense structure and business processes to help strengthen business partnerships with suppliers, real estate, and service partners.
“As we make important strategic and operational changes, we will continue to take disciplined steps to enhance our cost base and improve our financial position,” Grove said.
