Bed, Bath and Bye Bye: Company is officially in default

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Re: Bed, Bath and Bye Bye: Company is officially in default

Post by Romr123 »

Ordered an electric mattress pad on line for pickup at a surviving store (Palm Springs, this and La Quinta are surviving/Palm Desert is closing) early this AM. Got the "ready" email within a couple hours. There was some conflicting size information on the website(King versus Cal King) so when I picked it up I scrutinized it carefully--alas they are different, so needed to return the one fulfilled from the store and order one for delivery. We'll see if it comes...the staff was incredibly friendly, though had a lot of trouble ringing through the return (coupon plus promo pricing when the transaction hadn't gone through sales audit yet). Store was reasonably well stocked and clean/tidy, seemed reasonably well staffed too (at least 4 employees at noon). There were several "do not inventory" tags on random things (gift card rack, sunglass/reading glass kiosk) but truly nothing weird...a few customers.
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Re: Bed, Bath and Bye Bye: Company is officially in default

Post by ClownLoach »

ClownLoach wrote: February 2nd, 2023, 7:38 am
storewanderer wrote: February 2nd, 2023, 12:18 am
rwsandiego wrote: February 1st, 2023, 6:00 pm Am I the only one who wants BBB to get this over with and file bankruptcy already?
The sooner they can file, the better it will be as far as them continuing as a going concern...

These delays basically show they can't get a prepackaged Chapter 11 together.

The longer this lasts the more distressed the assets become.

The more distressed the assets become the harder it will be to get a prepackaged Chapter 11 together.

I wonder if they are trying to quickly sell Baby as an entire chain to get another few weeks of money...
They took on new debt before Thanksgiving because they were out of money. They had a choice to make then because they surely knew they had one shot at an asset backed loan. They chose to borrow without a prepackaged bankruptcy, probably thinking about the impact filings Pre-holiday made on sales at retailers like Toys R Us and Circuit City. Unfortunately the general public is rather dumb and thinks that if a store files bankruptcy then it is absolutely closing and they should wait to shop until the liquidation begins. In those cases steep double digit negative comps doomed the companies by putting them in default of the necessary Debtor in Possession financing and mandating a sale where of course companies like Hilco/Tiger/Gordon Brothers band together to ensure that the entity goes down the drain. The problem is that they subsequently mismanaged the entire process of doing store closures without help and then weren't able to buy enough product for the go forward locations. So now they are in default of the new asset backed loans and as such aren't going to be able to get another asset backed loan since, well, there aren't any assets it would seem and technically they are all owed to the bank as part of the default. What's going to happen at this rate is the banks are going to sue in bankruptcy court and force the company in, which will surely be the express train right to liquidation as the company will not be in control of the process but the creditors instead.

The newspaper articles use the same boilerplate quotes that they are only closing low volume, unproductive stores. But we know from the locations chosen that is completely untrue. They basically are now leaving the gross majority of their LA market stores which are assuredly their top volumes in the chain. I haven't looked at the Wave 3 list yet but I'm sure it stems from taking an Excel spreadsheet with inventory dollar values, filtering highest to low, then calling Gordon Brothers or whoever else and asking what percentage they'll pay for the inventory in the smallest possible number of stores to get whatever meager sum they needed to make executive $$$ payroll and bonus payments. They are past saving now with a near complete exit of the greater LA area underway. They have lots of terrible, zombie stores in D- grade locations like Murrieta and Santa Ana that get no business at all but as a result were not allocated any of their limited inventory so they're staying open. To their credit their two top volume Orange County locations remain open - both are weird spots in super high income areas (Yorba Linda and Mission Viejo), similar bad location of the store as Murrieta. They must like poorly designed freeway centers where there is visibility until you exit then the center itself is nearly impossible to enter or exit.
Also if these were "underperforming" and "low volume" stores then why would they have invested a fortune in remodeling Upland and celebrating the grand reopening with a new format online just weeks before? Same thing they did in Irvine, fully remodeled (even though to the untrained eye a remodeled store looks basically the same as a unremodeled store, less dividing walls but still too many) and celebrated the grand reopening with mailers and geolocated social media ads, then abruptly began the closure process. And it was not in the part of that center that was proposed to be replaced with apartments before the housing market crashed. Yet the embarrassment to the brand near me is still open, the store which leaves the 100% self checkout front end totally unattended despite attaching security tags and having POS approvals required to buy a simple curtain. I would never be able to buy online there because there are no employees visible to release my order. For all I know everyone quit and they just unlock it in the morning and lock it at night. Most surreal experience I've had in a retail store, only time I've ever shouted out loud in a store for help and nobody ever showed up to let me complete my sale.
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Re: Bed, Bath and Bye Bye: Company is officially in default

Post by pseudo3d »

ClownLoach wrote: February 2nd, 2023, 7:38 am
storewanderer wrote: February 2nd, 2023, 12:18 am
rwsandiego wrote: February 1st, 2023, 6:00 pm Am I the only one who wants BBB to get this over with and file bankruptcy already?
The sooner they can file, the better it will be as far as them continuing as a going concern...

These delays basically show they can't get a prepackaged Chapter 11 together.

The longer this lasts the more distressed the assets become.

The more distressed the assets become the harder it will be to get a prepackaged Chapter 11 together.

I wonder if they are trying to quickly sell Baby as an entire chain to get another few weeks of money...
They took on new debt before Thanksgiving because they were out of money. They had a choice to make then because they surely knew they had one shot at an asset backed loan. They chose to borrow without a prepackaged bankruptcy, probably thinking about the impact filings Pre-holiday made on sales at retailers like Toys R Us and Circuit City. Unfortunately the general public is rather dumb and thinks that if a store files bankruptcy then it is absolutely closing and they should wait to shop until the liquidation begins. In those cases steep double digit negative comps doomed the companies by putting them in default of the necessary Debtor in Possession financing and mandating a sale where of course companies like Hilco/Tiger/Gordon Brothers band together to ensure that the entity goes down the drain. The problem is that they subsequently mismanaged the entire process of doing store closures without help and then weren't able to buy enough product for the go forward locations. So now they are in default of the new asset backed loans and as such aren't going to be able to get another asset backed loan since, well, there aren't any assets it would seem and technically they are all owed to the bank as part of the default. What's going to happen at this rate is the banks are going to sue in bankruptcy court and force the company in, which will surely be the express train right to liquidation as the company will not be in control of the process but the creditors instead.

The newspaper articles use the same boilerplate quotes that they are only closing low volume, unproductive stores. But we know from the locations chosen that is completely untrue. They basically are now leaving the gross majority of their LA market stores which are assuredly their top volumes in the chain. I haven't looked at the Wave 3 list yet but I'm sure it stems from taking an Excel spreadsheet with inventory dollar values, filtering highest to low, then calling Gordon Brothers or whoever else and asking what percentage they'll pay for the inventory in the smallest possible number of stores to get whatever meager sum they needed to make executive $$$ payroll and bonus payments. They are past saving now with a near complete exit of the greater LA area underway. They have lots of terrible, zombie stores in D- grade locations like Murrieta and Santa Ana that get no business at all but as a result were not allocated any of their limited inventory so they're staying open. To their credit their two top volume Orange County locations remain open - both are weird spots in super high income areas (Yorba Linda and Mission Viejo), similar bad location of the store as Murrieta. They must like poorly designed freeway centers where there is visibility until you exit then the center itself is nearly impossible to enter or exit.
Obviously the sooner they act the better it would've been, and now I'm not sure if anyone is going to want BB&B at this point as a going concern. The trademarks will probably be snapped up but the stores are going to remain empty, and any brick and mortar future probably won't be with the chain that's there now.

At this point in time, there will be more Kmart stores and/or in better shape than BB&B a few weeks from now.
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Re: Bed, Bath and Bye Bye: Company is officially in default

Post by mjhale »

The Bed Bath and Beyond nearest me in Fairfax, VA is now in Going Out of Business mode. Sign on the building, guy holding a big 20 percent off everything sign at the entrance to the strip center. The store has never been super busy but it always seemed to get some traffic. The location is a strip center with a Safeway, Joann Fabrics, TJMaxx and a movie theater. This was one of the early shopping centers when this area started development in the late 1980s. The end of the center with Safeway and TJMaxx gets the most traffic. I'll be curious if anything goes into the Bed Bath and Beyond space. A few years ago there were hearings to redevlop the center but nothing seems to have come of it.

Looking at the Bed Bath and Beyond store locator, there are other stores along with Fairfax, VA that are no longer offering curbside and in store pickup. Included are Alexandria, VA (Richmond Hwy), Springfield, VA, South Riding (Dulles), VA, California, MD, Sterling, VA, Germantown, MD, Winchester, VA and Annapolis, MD. Someone much earlier in this thread said that no store pickup is a good sign the store is closing. Also some of these stores are on the list that was posted earlier from a Reddit thread of closing stores. Was anything publicly announced or is Bed Bath and Beyond just closing stores with no real announcements?
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Re: Bed, Bath and Bye Bye: Company is officially in default

Post by architect »

mjhale wrote: February 4th, 2023, 1:06 pm Looking at the Bed Bath and Beyond store locator, there are other stores along with Fairfax, VA that are no longer offering curbside and in store pickup. Included are Alexandria, VA (Richmond Hwy), Springfield, VA, South Riding (Dulles), VA, California, MD, Sterling, VA, Germantown, MD, Winchester, VA and Annapolis, MD. Someone much earlier in this thread said that no store pickup is a good sign the store is closing. Also some of these stores are on the list that was posted earlier from a Reddit thread of closing stores. Was anything publicly announced or is Bed Bath and Beyond just closing stores with no real announcements?
The latest store closing list is available here: https://bedbathandbeyond.gcs-web.com/st ... 6cab2d1545. Some of the stores which you mentioned are on this list.
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Re: Bed, Bath and Bye Bye: Company is officially in default

Post by storewanderer »

Carson City unit is now 50-70% off all items. It was operating with ONE employee today.

Then there was a beat up car driving around the parking lots in the area that had boards on top of it with what looked like signs from inside the store advertising the Bed Bath and Beyond Store Closing Sale. This store is self liquidating but I guess they got someone to take some ideas from a real liquidator.
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Re: Bed, Bath and Bye Bye: Company is officially in default

Post by mjhale »

storewanderer wrote: February 4th, 2023, 7:53 pm This store is self liquidating but I guess they got someone to take some ideas from a real liquidator.
Is there a way to tell if a particular location is self-liquidating or using a liquidation company? The signage at the Fairfax, VA location looks like the typical stuff from a liquidation company. I haven't seen in the store. Last I was in late last year they had cut back drastically on stock and there was very little that I was interested in. What I might have purchased could be had elsewhere for significantly less amounts of money.
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Re: Bed, Bath and Bye Bye: Company is officially in default

Post by Romr123 »

Romr123 wrote: February 2nd, 2023, 2:16 pm Ordered an electric mattress pad on line for pickup at a surviving store (Palm Springs, this and La Quinta are surviving/Palm Desert is closing) early this AM. Got the "ready" email within a couple hours. There was some conflicting size information on the website(King versus Cal King) so when I picked it up I scrutinized it carefully--alas they are different, so needed to return the one fulfilled from the store and order one for delivery. We'll see if it comes...the staff was incredibly friendly, though had a lot of trouble ringing through the return (coupon plus promo pricing when the transaction hadn't gone through sales audit yet). Store was reasonably well stocked and clean/tidy, seemed reasonably well staffed too (at least 4 employees at noon). There were several "do not inventory" tags on random things (gift card rack, sunglass/reading glass kiosk) but truly nothing weird...a few customers.
Just received confirmation that the shipment is in FedEx's hands in Kennesaw, GA (suburban Atlanta). Scheduled delivery 2/8.
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Re: Bed, Bath and Bye Bye: Company is officially in default

Post by storewanderer »

mjhale wrote: February 5th, 2023, 2:06 am
storewanderer wrote: February 4th, 2023, 7:53 pm This store is self liquidating but I guess they got someone to take some ideas from a real liquidator.
Is there a way to tell if a particular location is self-liquidating or using a liquidation company? The signage at the Fairfax, VA location looks like the typical stuff from a liquidation company. I haven't seen in the store. Last I was in late last year they had cut back drastically on stock and there was very little that I was interested in. What I might have purchased could be had elsewhere for significantly less amounts of money.
Red signs for the liquidation and continued acceptance in the store of "welcome rewards" for 20% off represent a store that is self liquidating.

The liquidation sale signs we are used to seeing at other retailers represent a store that is being liquidated by liquidators.

Over on Reddit, employees are reporting that many not yet announced for closure stores have received liquidation sign packages and have been told that was a mistake and to hold onto the sign packages for further instructions of where to send them.
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Re: Bed, Bath and Bye Bye: Company is officially in default

Post by ClownLoach »

storewanderer wrote: February 5th, 2023, 10:25 am
mjhale wrote: February 5th, 2023, 2:06 am
storewanderer wrote: February 4th, 2023, 7:53 pm This store is self liquidating but I guess they got someone to take some ideas from a real liquidator.
Is there a way to tell if a particular location is self-liquidating or using a liquidation company? The signage at the Fairfax, VA location looks like the typical stuff from a liquidation company. I haven't seen in the store. Last I was in late last year they had cut back drastically on stock and there was very little that I was interested in. What I might have purchased could be had elsewhere for significantly less amounts of money.
Red signs for the liquidation and continued acceptance in the store of "welcome rewards" for 20% off represent a store that is self liquidating.

The liquidation sale signs we are used to seeing at other retailers represent a store that is being liquidated by liquidators.

Over on Reddit, employees are reporting that many not yet announced for closure stores have received liquidation sign packages and have been told that was a mistake and to hold onto the sign packages for further instructions of where to send them.
This is shaping up to be another one of those really low class bankruptcies that probably will get millions in Golden parachutes approved on day one for the executives and then screw everyone else from employees to vendors to landlords with a final result of full liquidation. It is being widely reported now that employees who have been let go in downsizing, store closures etc. have not received their promised severance packages and are getting the runaround or ignored when they inquire about the status of their checks. I'm sure that these severances are going to be on top of the stack of bills the company says they can't pay when they finally get dragged kicking and screaming into bankruptcy court by their creditors. The same articles state they missed more debt payments. Companies that are making an attempt to survive a financial crisis and turnaround do not wait to default and skip paying the bills; they file for reorganization so that there is a chance they can get funding for future ventures. BB&B clearly has pissed off so many banks that they probably can't file because they can't get approval for DIP financing, and remember that the most recent loans they defaulted on were fully asset backed. Can't really get DIP financing when there are no assets to back them. They stand zero chance of survival. The creditors who hold the paper on the asset backed loan can open the lawsuit and request the entire company to be surrendered to them for liquidation right away.

Here is a better article regarding the severance issue although it could be pay walled or limited access.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/employee- ... erance-pay
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