Buybuy Baby set to close after parent company Bed Bath & Beyond files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

04/27/2023 / By Ramon Tomey

Infant goods store Buybuy Baby announced that it will close for good following the bankruptcy filing of its parent company Bed Bath & Beyond (BBB).

“Thank you to all of our loyal customers. We have made the difficult decision to begin winding down our operations. BBB & Buybuy Baby stores remain open to serve you,” said a statement on the baby retailer’s website.

An FAQ page about the retailer’s Chapter 11 filing stated that going-out-of-business sales began on April 26. Any returns and exchanges for items bought before that date will be permitted until the end of the May 24 business day. Shopper rewards and merchandise credits would no longer be honored after May 8, the company added.

As part of the bankruptcy, Buybuy Baby will be closing 120 stores nationwide by June 30. The closures mean that thousands who worked at the baby retail store will be out of jobs. They will be joining the many other employees at 360 BBB locations across the country.

Buybuy Baby was established in 1996 by siblings Richard and Jeffrey Feinstein, whose father is BBB co-founder Leonard Feinstein. The elder Feinstein’s firm acquired the smaller retail chain in 2007 for $67 million, with eight stores at the time of acquisition.

In February, Reuters reported that BBB’s Canadian operations are shutting down for good. It cited a Feb. 10 court filing from the company posted on the website of consultancy firm Alvarez and Marsal.

According to the filing, BBB’s Canada division lacks the capacity or ability to independently effect a recapitalization or restructuring of the Canadian operations without access to cash and support from the parent company and its lenders. It had been operating 54 BBB stores and 11 Buybuy Baby stores in Canada at the time of the filing.

However, BBB filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on April 23 after failing to secure funds to stay afloat. In a statement released on the same day, the company announced that retail stores and websites – including Buybuy Baby – will remain open and continue serving customers as the liquidation process commences.

BBB expresses optimism in bankruptcy filing

An April 23 report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said BBB filed for bankruptcy protection in New Jersey. It also mentioned that Sixth Street Partners, its top lender, has put up $240 million in financing to keep BBB operational through the liquidation process. (Related: Woke firm Bed Bath & Beyond that dropped Mike Lindell’s MyPillow files for BANKRUPTCY.)

“Bankruptcy gives BBB the breathing room to conduct going-out-of-business sales at its physical stores and solicit interest from potential buyers for its remaining assets, such as its branding,” the WSJ noted. “Individual investors who continued to back Bed Bath & Beyond during its final months … will likely be wiped out in Chapter 11, which prioritizes the repayment of debt over shareholder recoveries.”

BBB Chief Financial Officer Holly Etlin nevertheless expressed optimism about the company finding a buyer. She stated in the April 23 court filing: “BBB has pulled off long-shot transactions several times over the past six months, so nobody should think BBB should not be able to do so again.”

First established as Bed ‘n Bath in 1971, the company changed its name to the current iteration in 1987. The company went public five years later in 1992, acquiring several smaller stores in the process – including Buybuy Baby. According to the WSJ, the company’s financial woes began in 2019.

Watch this video about BBB’s shift to wokeism and its subsequent downfall after it dropped Mike Lindell’s MyPillow from store shelves.

This video is from the mcr channel on Brighteon.com.