Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

rwsandiego
Store Manager
Store Manager
Posts: 1242
Joined: April 3rd, 2016, 10:57 pm
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 55 times
Status: Offline

Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by rwsandiego »

storewanderer wrote: December 28th, 2020, 11:09 pm
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.
You are onto something. BBB opened stores on Chicago's Gold Coast and in the Lakeview neighborhood in the early 2000's when both areas were experiencing tremendous condo construction and conversion activity. There's less activity going on now and what is being built caters to a higher-end demographic than that which BBB caters to.

I also think BBB's merchandise has failed to keep up with the times. Their merchandise, as others have observed, is rather "meh." There seems to be a plethora of country and Tuscan, but very little modern merchandise.
rwsandiego
Store Manager
Store Manager
Posts: 1242
Joined: April 3rd, 2016, 10:57 pm
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 55 times
Status: Offline

Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by rwsandiego »

Today I shopped at the BBB on Mayo Blvd off Scottsdale Road in Phoenix and was pleasantly surprised by the mini-makeover. It seems like they opened up the selling floor by making the center stock area smaller. It was less cluttered than before and had aisles that actually accommodated a shopping cart. Definitely more pleasant than before. It was worth the drive.
storewanderer
Posts: 14377
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 298 times
Contact:
Status: Online

Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by storewanderer »

Interesting. So they actually disassembled shelving there? They did not move any shelves or aisles in the local store.
Bbb1.jpg
Bbb1.jpg
Also their new private label- Bee & Willow - looks like a blatant knockoff of Target.
Image

Target Wondershop brand:
Image
Attachments
Bbb2.jpg
rwsandiego
Store Manager
Store Manager
Posts: 1242
Joined: April 3rd, 2016, 10:57 pm
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 55 times
Status: Offline

Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by rwsandiego »

I never buy bedding or bath there. The beyond.is what attracts me :)

But seriously, not a fan of their sheets. They always seem like overpriced discount store merchandise. All my sheets are Macy's Charter Club Damask Stripe. Towels are either Costco, Target, or Macy's. Recently, I bought some towels at BBB that were promising, but they ended up being a disappointment.

Today I exchanged two empty SodaStream cylinders for full ones and bought a Calphalon stainless steel sauté pan. Didn't even walk through the bed and bath portion of the store., so I can't tell you what it looked like. The kitchen section was neat and uncluttered. The sauté pan was a pleasant surprise. It was not a promotional piece, but rather one of their stackable pans. No one else had it and I gave up hope of finding it. Despite my pleasant surprise, I was dismayed by the fact that almost 100% of their cookware came in sets. One thing of note is they didn't have any of their "Salt" brand cookware. The few pieces I have seen at other BBBs appeared to be a small step up from aluminum foil.
storewanderer
Posts: 14377
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 298 times
Contact:
Status: Online

Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by storewanderer »

rwsandiego wrote: January 2nd, 2021, 12:24 am I never buy bedding or bath there. The beyond.is what attracts me :)

But seriously, not a fan of their sheets. They always seem like overpriced discount store merchandise. All my sheets are Macy's Charter Club Damask Stripe. Towels are either Costco, Target, or Macy's. Recently, I bought some towels at BBB that were promising, but they ended up being a disappointment.

Today I exchanged two empty SodaStream cylinders for full ones and bought a Calphalon stainless steel sauté pan. Didn't even walk through the bed and bath portion of the store., so I can't tell you what it looked like. The kitchen section was neat and uncluttered. The sauté pan was a pleasant surprise. It was not a promotional piece, but rather one of their stackable pans. No one else had it and I gave up hope of finding it. Despite my pleasant surprise, I was dismayed by the fact that almost 100% of their cookware came in sets. One thing of note is they didn't have any of their "Salt" brand cookware. The few pieces I have seen at other BBBs appeared to be a small step up from aluminum foil.
I have noticed this with Macy's as well with the cookware, almost everything is in sets and there is very little open stock anymore. Also many of the sets they have are... not exactly great quality. What little open stock there is, is very overpriced. Macy's used to have a great assortment of open stock cookware, no clue what happened there. Cookware is one of those things I really like to inspect before I purchase it.

Sometimes this type of store may have good stuff; the Smart Foodservice at present seems to have a lot of thick aluminum pans vs. stainless steel (thanks for that quality downgrade before you sold the chain, Smart & Final). Hoping US Foods will reset the cookware section soon and get it back up to its previous level of quality. https://www.shamrockfsw.com/locations/phoenix-az/
veteran+
Valued Contributor
Valued Contributor
Posts: 2233
Joined: January 3rd, 2015, 7:53 am
Has thanked: 1202 times
Been thanked: 71 times
Status: Offline

Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by veteran+ »

I am shocked to see a primary color..............RED!


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
rwsandiego
Store Manager
Store Manager
Posts: 1242
Joined: April 3rd, 2016, 10:57 pm
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 55 times
Status: Offline

Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by rwsandiego »

veteran+ wrote: January 2nd, 2021, 5:30 am I am shocked to see a primary color..............RED!


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
What - you don't like beige, greige, bleige, briege...?

Color is slowly making its way back to home retailers. I had a difficult time finding pillows that coordinated with my new terra cotta sofa and light green recliner until a roadtrip restroom stop at Walmart. There were two mid-century inspired pillows that had all of my colors. Snapped them up as fast as I could.

I wish there was a way the Camelback Colonnade BBB store could expand, but it really can't. The place is so cramped that it is hard to walk around. They would have to eliminate half of their inventory. Too bad the old Pier 1 is on the other side of the mall . Were it next door they could expand into that space.
storewanderer
Posts: 14377
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 298 times
Contact:
Status: Online

Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by storewanderer »

Here is another chain- that is pushing a quasi loyalty card. When you check out, they tell you that you must enter your phone number on the pinpad before you can proceed with payment. Of course you can just press cancel or skip and it goes through just fine. It has been this way for months now. This time I got a cashier who told me I could not use a coupon on my purchase unless I provided my phone number. I entered 555-555-5555 which didn't even seem to tie to an account and the cashier was okay with that.
mjhale
Shift Manager
Shift Manager
Posts: 429
Joined: October 2nd, 2016, 4:02 pm
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 47 times
Status: Offline

Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by mjhale »

I was in Bed, Bath and Beyond recently. The store near me has been remodeled into the prototype shown in the pictures up-thread. Things are a lot neater inside and the shelving units are lower making the store look less warehousey with merchandise stacked way up that you can't get at without help. The store is also smaller with the back aisle only having merchandise displays on one side instead of both before. All of this should be a good thing one would think as the store was much more presentable. Well what did it in for me is that the pricing is still the same ridiculous high prices that Bed, Bath and Beyond has been known (or infamous) for. Not everyone needs a $250 sheet set especially when I can get nice ones at Target or Kohls for a fraction of that. And not everyone functions in the world of high end kitchen gadgets either. Their Harmon HBA section was the only area that had decent pricing - not rock bottom like Walmart but not sky high like a grocery store. If I was in a pinch and did want to endure Walmart this section would be an option for me. But the rest of Bed, Bath and Beyond? The saying "No one shops at Bed, Bath and Beyond without a coupon" still holds true. And now hearing that they are requiring a phone number at checkout makes me think they are going to make all of their coupons electronic and somehow tie them to the member/non-member pricing they have on their web site. It amazes me when companies make up reasons for you *not* to shop there. Someone ought to write a book about all the crazy ideas that cause consumers to shop elsewhere.
storewanderer
Posts: 14377
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 298 times
Contact:
Status: Online

Re: Bed Bath & Beyond: Dying?

Post by storewanderer »

So far the new Target copycat items/lower cost items seem to be primarily in the kitchen categories. I think it is coming on the soft categories later.

I noticed the comforter area in particular continues to be very overpriced and under merchandised at Bed Bath and Beyond.

So far you can still use the 20% off coupon on Harmon HBA in a Bed Bath and Beyond Store. However those coupons are no longer being accepted at the freestanding Harmon HBA Stores. I am curious they have kept Harmon- but selling consumable type items is a way to drive traffic. I think World Market was also effective at that though yet they sold it.
Post Reply