Bed Bath & Beyond Files For Bankruptcy: CA Closing Sales To Begin

CALIFORNIA — Home furnishings giant Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy Sunday and is set to begin the process this week of closing its stores, including more than 40 in California.

Bed Bath & Beyond has locations all throughout the Golden State from San Diego to Sacramento.

"Thank you to all of our loyal customers," the retailer’s website said. "We have made the difficult decision to begin winding down our operations."

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey and listed its estimated assets and liabilities at up to $10 billion. So far this year, party supplies chain Party City and David's Bridal have been among the retailers that have filed for Chapter 11.

The firm said its 360 Bed Bath & Beyond and 120 Buy Buy Baby stores and websites will remain open and continue serving customers as it "begins its efforts to effectuate the closure of its retail locations."

Closing sales were set to start Wednesday, at which point coupons will no longer be accepted. Rewards, gift cards, merchandise credits and certain returns will be accepted through various points in May.

The 41 locations include:

• Apple Valley - 18815 Bear Valley Rd.
• Bakersfield - 5000 Stockdale Highway
• Beaumont - 1642 E. 2nd St.
• Canoga Park - 6530 Canoga Ave.
• Capitola - 355 Clares St.
• Daly City - 303 Gellert Blvd.
• Downey - 12060 Lakewood Blvd.
• Hacienda Crossings - 4882 Dublin Blvd.
• Eureka - 3300 Broadway St.
• Fresno - 7497 N. Blackstone Ave.
• Goleta - 189 N. Fairview Ave.
• La Quinta - 79-110 Highway 111
• Hollywood - 1557 Vine St.
• Los Angeles - 11854 W. Olympic Blvd.
• Mission Viejo - 25732 El Paseo
• Modesto - 3900 Sisk Rd.
• Murrieta - 24450 Village Walk Pl.
• Oakland Ironworks Building - 590 2nd St.
• Pacific Coast Plaza - 2120 Vista Way
• Palm Springs - 5200 E. Ramon Rd. Building B
• Hastings Village - 3341 E. Foothill Blvd.
• Pleasant Hill - 15 Crescent Dr.
• Rancho Cucamonga - 11530 4th St. Suite 120
• Redlands - 27450 W. Lugonia Ave.
• Redwood City - 1950 El Camino Real
• Riverside - 3700 Tyler St.
• Roseville - 1120 Galleria Blvd.
• Sacramento - 2725 Marconi Ave.
• Mission Valley Center - 1750 Camino Del Rio North
• San Francisco - 555 9th St.
• San Luis Obispo - 317 Madonna Rd.
• Santa Ana - 3900 South Bristol St.
• Stephens Plaza - 5201 Stevens Creek Blvd.
• Santa Rosa - 2785 Santa Rosa Ave.
• Seal Beach - 12390 Seal Beach Blvd.
• Studio City - 12555 Ventura Blvd.
• Northgate Plaza - 121 South Westlake Blvd.
• Torrance - 2595 Pacific Coast Highway
• Vacaville - 128 Browns Valley Parkway
• Ventura - 4040 E. Main St.
• Savi Ranch Center - 23041 Savi Ranch Parkway

"Millions of customers have trusted us through the most important milestones in their lives — from going to college to getting married, settling into a new home to having a baby," President and CEO Sue Gove said in a company news release announcing the bankruptcy filing.

"We deeply appreciate our associates, customers, partners, and the communities we serve, and we remain steadfastly determined to serve them throughout this process. We will continue working diligently to maximize value for the benefit of all stakeholders."

Despite its plans for liquidation, the company intends to use the bankruptcy proceedings for the sale of some or all assets, filing motions to market Bed Bath & Beyond and Buy Buy Baby for auction.

"In the event of a successful sale, the Company will pivot away from any store closings needed to implement a transaction," the news release said. "The Company believes this dual-path process will best maximize value."

The retailer said it secured a commitment of roughly $240 million in financing from Sixth Street Specialty Lending Inc. to allow it to keep operating during the bankruptcy process.

The filing comes as the economy is weakening and shoppers are tightening their purse strings. The company announced in August it would close about 150 of its namesake stores and slash its workforce by 20 percent.

Bed Bath & Beyond warned on Jan. 5 that it was considering various options including filing for bankruptcy and said that there was "substantial doubt" that it could stay in business.

In late March, it noted that preliminary results showed anywhere from a 40 percent to 50 percent decline in sales at stores opened at least a year for the quarter that ended Feb. 25.

For more information about the bankruptcy filing, visit restructuring.ra.kroll.com/bbby.

Patch staffer Willaim Bornhoft contributed to this report.