Bed Bath & Beyond has identified the nearly 90 of its namesake stores, along with all its 49 Harmon locations, that it's closing in a second wave of downsizing as it tries to cut costs in advance of a possible bankruptcy filing.
The Union, New Jersey-based home-goods retailer issued the latest closing list this week after on Friday confirming it was shuttering its entire beauty goods chain, Harmon. The company also said it had initiated the closure of an additional 87 Bed Bath & Beyond and five Buy Buy Baby stores, for a total of 92 locations. The closings all total 141, and are in addition to the roughly 150 store shutterings the company had previously announced.
"Store-closing sales will commence and continue over the next few weeks and months," a Bed Bath & Beyond spokeswoman said in an email to CoStar News on Tuesday.
In a third-quarter earnings call earlier this month, parent company Bed Bath & Beyond reported that it had 949 stores, including 762 banner Bed Bath & Beyond locations, 137 Buy Buy Baby stores and 50 Harmon stores.
Bed Bath & Beyond's financial woes have been exacerbated in recent days, with it reporting last week that it was in default on some of its debt payments. For a second time, the company warned investors that it may have to file for protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court and may not even be able to survive. The retailer is searching for a buyer but has failed to find one so far, Bloomberg News reported last week.
The now-announced Bed Bath & Beyond closures will throw vacant retail real estate onto the market, and more closings are expected to come if the company does file for bankruptcy. A possible Chapter 11 filing would allow the retailer to request approval to walk away from unexpired leases.
Bed Bath & Beyond's three chains occupy just under 26 million square feet, according to CoStar data. Last summer, credit-ratings firm DBRS Morningstar issued an alert saying that there may be some risk for loans on properties with exposure to Bed Bath & Beyond because of store closings and expiring leases. DBRS identified 126 retail properties tied to CMBS loans with balances totaling nearly $4.4 billion.
Most of the Harmon stores that are being shuttered, 32 out of 49, are in New Jersey.
The Bed Bath & Beyond stores slated to close in the latest round of downsizing are in states including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.