Bed Bath & Beyond Files For Bankruptcy, NJ Closing Sales Start

NEW JERSEY — Bed Bath & Beyond plans to begin closing its stores in New Jersey this week as it has filed for bankruptcy, and anticipates closing all of its U.S. stores by this summer.

“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 Union-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and listed its estimated assets and liabilities at up to $10 billion. A hearing is scheduled for Monday in bankruptcy court. Related article — Bed Bath & Beyond Files For Bankruptcy, Closing Sales Start This Week

Once a national leader for big-box home furnishings and ever-present coupons, Bed Bath & Beyond has been signaling its future bankruptcy for months with store closings and layoffs.

The company has not estimated how many more employees in New Jersey would be affected, but has already begun laying off workers under the Bed Bath & Beyond and Harmon brands.

Thirteen Bed Bath & Beyond stores remain in New Jersey:

• Brick
• Cherry Hill
• Clifton
• Deptford
• East Hanover
• Eatontown
• Hamilton
• Iselin
• Lincoln Park
• Middletown
• Rio Grande
• Springfield
• Totowa

The company employed 14,000 workers across the nation, according to the court filing —a drastic drop from 32,000 employees as of February 2022.

A law giving laid-off New Jersey workers more severance pay and more notice before their termination went into effect April 10, but did not affect a number of workers at Harmon and Bed Bath & Beyond given notice before that date.

Related articles

• Harmon Closes All NJ Stores As Bed Bath & Beyond Downsizes (Jan. 30)
• 262 Jobs Cut At Passaic County Harmon Warehouse (Mar. 29)

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.

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.

So far this year, party supplies chain Party City and David's Bridal have been among the retailers that have filed for Chapter 11.

"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."

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