Will More NJ Bed Bath & Beyond Stores Close? What To Know As The Retailer Struggles

NEW JERSEY — It doesn't look good for Bed Bath & Beyond, with the New Jersey-based company and its 26 remaining Garden State stores at risk of shutting down entirely. While doubts about the company's future have loomed larger than its famous coupons, there's still hope for the home-goods giant.

Bed Bath & Beyond, headquartered in Union, has a major retail presence in New Jersey — not just in its namesake stores but through buybuy Baby and Harmon Face Values, which the company owns. But with grand plans to downsize and a potential bankruptcy declaration, all locations remain in peril.

While much remains undetermined, shoppers may wonder whether their local store will remain open. Here's what to know.

What has closed so far?

Four Bed Bath & Beyond stores in New Jersey have closed since August, when the retailer announced significant downsizing plans. Bed Bath & Beyond closures have included stores in Paramus, Flanders, Manalapan and Matawan.

The retailer also shuttered all 50 remaining Harmon Face Values locations — 30 of which were in New Jersey — along with buybuy Baby in Princeton.

What's still open, and what will close?

Twenty-six of New Jersey's Bed Bath & Beyond stores still stand, but the company revealed Jan. 30 that it will close at least five more: the locations in Bridgewater, Mays Landing, Mount Laurel, Kinnelon and Flemington.

New Jersey has eight remaining buybuy Baby stores. Bed Bath & Beyond hasn't announced plans to close any of them yet.

But with the chance that Bed Bath & Beyond goes under, none of its stores are guaranteed to remain open for the longterm.

Bed Bath & Beyond previously planned to close about 200 of its namesake stores. But the company announced Monday in a regulatory filing that it will shutter another 150 locations. The retailer didn't provide specific locations for additional closures.

How long do the stores remain open when Bed Bath & Beyond announces closures?

That depends. Sometimes the stores have already closed by the time Bed Bath & Beyond makes the announcement — as was the case with New Jersey's 30 remaining Harmon stores and the Bed Bath & Beyond in Matawan.

But some of them remain open for weeks or months, with no clear closing date.

When a Bed Bath & Beyond-owned store closes for good, the company removes its listing from the brands' websites. Here are the lists of Bed Bath & Beyond stores and buybuy Baby locations still operating in New Jersey.

Why is Bed Bath & Beyond failing?

While the "retail apocalypse" has been widespread for roughly a decade, Bed Bath & Beyond has moved into the modern era with a particular failure in adapting to the changing shopping landscape.

Bed Bath & Beyond's efforts to revive the company in recent years have fallen short, according to ModernRetail. After major declines in sales during Fiscal Year 2018, the company invested $400 million toward remodeling and tech upgrades in 2019, with plans to cut inventory.

The retailer also planned to invest in private labels, setting to launch 10 new brands from late 2020 through the following year. But the pandemic's interruptions to the supply chain interrupted the rollout and furthered inventory issues, leaving the revival plans unsuccessful.

The failure to adapt to the digital age also put Bed Bath & Beyond behind competitors in omnichannel retailing, in which sophisticated data systems predict local buying trends, according to Barron's.

The chain now finds itself filled with large, high-price items that not enough shoppers want.

How will bankruptcy affect Bed Bath & Beyond?

The retailer has openly discussed filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy since early January, but the company continues to pursue options in hopes to stave it off. Bed Bath & Beyond plans to raise roughly $1 billion through a last-ditch stock offering, the company announced Monday.

Filing for bankruptcy will allow Bed Bath & Beyond to re-organize its assets, while providing a potential roadmap for its future. But the timing remains in flux.

Retailers in distress often file for bankruptcy protection after the holidays to take advantage of the seasonal sales surge. And prospective buyers sometimes wait until such filings before negotiating the purchase of assets, hoping that bankruptcy gives them leverage in negotiations.

Bed Bath & Beyond has failed to find a bidder for its assets. The company has been negotiating a loan to help it navigate bankruptcy proceedings, with investment firm Sixth Street in talks to provide some of the funding, Reuters reported. Sixth Street loaned the retailer $375 million last year.

The retailer said last week it defaulted on a loan, bringing it closer to bankruptcy.

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) fell 48 percent Tuesday, totaling $2.64 per share as of Wednesday morning — significantly down from the five-year peak of $35.33 per share on Jan. 29, 2021.