Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

rwsandiego
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Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by rwsandiego »

According to this article in Business Insider, BBB's new CEO wants to de-clutter the stores because they are overwhelming. I was recently in a Phoenix BBB (Paradise Valley Gateway) where "de-cluttering" translated into "looks like it is going out of business," i.e. exactly what you saw, @storewanderer. I was looking for OXO POP containers, which they always have. After ten minutes of searching I asked an employee. She and I looked around for several minutes before we found them. OXO is one of their major lines, but it was hidden in plain sight. If it weren't for the $5 off $15 coupon I'd have gone to Container Store. At least I could find them there.

The queuing system has also shown up at this store. Perhaps they expect hoards of customers flocking to their door once the de-cluttering is in full swing.
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Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by SamSpade »

Despite issues discussed here, BB&B corporate seem to be taking advantage of other declined retail spaces.

The company is filling a gap in their trade area in a former Toys R Us near Clackamas Town Center in the Portland, Ore. metropolitan area.
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Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by Super S »

SamSpade wrote: September 1st, 2020, 7:45 am Despite issues discussed here, BB&B corporate seem to be taking advantage of other declined retail spaces.

The company is filling a gap in their trade area in a former Toys R Us near Clackamas Town Center in the Portland, Ore. metropolitan area.
Some time ago, they downsized and moved from a location they occupied (now a Burlington store) in Vancouver Plaza in Vancouver, WA to a portion of a former WinCo store, where the remainder was taken over by a short-lived Walmart Neighborhood Market.

With so many empty retail spaces, it makes some sense to look into those and not have to spend extra cash on new construction if the buildings can meet the needs.
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Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by architect »

Super S wrote: September 1st, 2020, 8:08 am
SamSpade wrote: September 1st, 2020, 7:45 am Despite issues discussed here, BB&B corporate seem to be taking advantage of other declined retail spaces.

The company is filling a gap in their trade area in a former Toys R Us near Clackamas Town Center in the Portland, Ore. metropolitan area.
Some time ago, they downsized and moved from a location they occupied (now a Burlington store) in Vancouver Plaza in Vancouver, WA to a portion of a former WinCo store, where the remainder was taken over by a short-lived Walmart Neighborhood Market.

With so many empty retail spaces, it makes some sense to look into those and not have to spend extra cash on new construction if the buildings can meet the needs.
On the other end of the spectrum, in some cases, they are relocating existing stores to expand and add store-within-a-store departments such as Buy Buy Baby and Harman’s Face Values, as an alternative to opening stand-alone stores for these other brands. The Tyler, TX store which relocated a few years ago is a great example of this.
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Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by storewanderer »

Many of their stores are looking rather dated. They may find it more efficient to just start out fresh in a new location vs. try to remodel the old locations.

The store within a store thing is not new- they have been doing that for over a decade.

A little odd as previously their CEO was talking about selling off some of those other brands. Evidently they could not raise the funds they were hoping for with a sale so now they are back to the decade old store within a store concept again.

I still do not see a positive long term prognosis for this chain unless they make some serious changes quickly and get their stores restocked. If they blow it this holiday season they can blame it on COVID I suppose. But do they even have the money to get through another year if that happens?
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Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by veteran+ »

I just think their design genetics is way off.

Colors and patterns for linens are so MEH.

I just do not get inspired going in there to buy anything.

Also, too much gadgets and accessories that are not so good in quality.
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Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by cjd »

I think their biggest issue is online shopping competition. They have a pretty good selection in their departments of things Walmart, etc don't have. But they just cannot compete on price. I've also noticed there are usually a few associates out on the sales floor and usually have one or two offer to help find something. Service here is far better than Walmart, where you might not see any associates in that department.
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Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by storewanderer »

More closures announced for BBB in NorCal:

San Mateo
Gilroy
Yuba City
Turlock
Mountain View
El Cerrito

Was in one of the NV Stores on Christmas Eve. Was asked if I needed help finding anything by 3 different employees (hardly any customers in the place- nearby Wal Mart probably had 1,500 cars in the lot). It was like old times when they were very helpful up until about 2 years ago- this was the first time I've been acknowledged by any employees on the sales floor in a BBB all year. They are still pleasant enough once you ask for help or go to pay, but not pro-active in offering assistance as they once were.
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Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by Alpha8472 »

Those San Francisco Bay Area stores were once so popular. What happened? They used to have email coupons every week. I have not gotten any in years.

Those shopping centers were once packed. Now everything is so empty and desolate.

Without Bed, Bath and Beyond, those shopping centers will wither and die. 2021 will be the year of dead malls and shopping centers.
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Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by storewanderer »

Alpha8472 wrote: December 28th, 2020, 8:07 pm Those San Francisco Bay Area stores were once so popular. What happened? They used to have email coupons every week. I have not gotten any in years.

Those shopping centers were once packed. Now everything is so empty and desolate.

Without Bed, Bath and Beyond, those shopping centers will wither and die. 2021 will be the year of dead malls and shopping centers.
I am thinking they still have stores in the area, maybe they had too many stores? That San Mateo Store- I stayed in a hotel near there a couple times 5-7 years ago. I went over to that store and it seemed like a really busy place so I am surprised. Not sure if maybe they opened other locations nearby since then.

This does seem to be a format that works better in growing areas with a population that skews in their 30's and 40's, as opposed to mature areas with populations skewing into their 50's and 60's. So maybe part of this is just a natural progression of the areas that made sense 20 years ago for their store but no longer make sense today.
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