Don't call it a comeback. In January, Bed Bath & Beyond warned that it had "substantial doubt" about its future thanks to debts it could not pay off, and in April, the company declared bankruptcy and announced that it would be closing all of its stores. But while the slow decline seemed to be reaching its inevitable end point, the brand is now gearing up for a surprising return—with a catch, of course. Read on to find out how you'll be able to start shopping at Bed Bath & Beyond again.
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In late April, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, and would be shutting down completely as a result.
"Thank you to all of our loyal customers. We have made the difficult decision to begin winding down our operations," the homepage of Bed Bath & Beyond's website states.
At the time of its filing, the company still had 475 brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. These locations, which include 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and 120 buybuy Baby stores, are still open to the public and are currently holding closing sales for customers.
"We encourage you to shop our stores regularly as new merchandise continues to arrive at locations across the U.S. and markdowns continue to expand," the retailer's FAQ section reads. "All merchandise is on sale and currently up to 50 percent off. Everything must go!"
This may not be the end, however—at least not of the Bed Bath & Beyond name.
Ever since Bed Bath & Beyond announced its closing plans, companies have been battling to capitalize on what the retailer is leaving behind—whether by signing leases on its old retail spaces or by accepting its expired coupons from customers, The New York Times reported.
Now, it's the brand name. On June 22, court filings revealed that Overstock.com had won the right to acquire Bed Bath & Beyond's assets—including the name, per the NYT.
The online furniture marketplace had bid $21.5 million to get the retailer's intellectual property, business data, rights to mobile apps, and certain contracts, Julie Strider, a Bed Bath & Beyond spokeswoman, told the NYT in a statement.
"Following completion of the court-approved auction process and in consultation with the official committee of unsecured creditors, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has selected a proposal from Overstock.com as the winning bidder," Strider said.
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The online furniture-based company is planning to retire the Overstock.com name and rebrand as Bed Bath & Beyond after acquiring the retailer's assets, the Associated Press reported. Overstock's CEO Jonathan Johnson told the news outlet that the company may consider changing its corporate name entirely to Bed Bath & Beyond as well, but is not yet ready to make that decision.
"This acquisition is a significant and transformative step for us," Johnson said in a June 28 press release statement. "Bed Bath & Beyond is an iconic consumer brand, well-known in the home retail marketplace. The combination of our winning asset-light business model and the high awareness and loyalty of the Bed Bath & Beyond brand will improve the customer experience and position the company for accelerated market share growth."
Best Life reached out to both Bed Bath & Beyond and Overstock about the acquisition and rebrand, but has not yet heard back.
This rebrand won't bring Bed Bath & Beyond's stores back to shoppers, however. As Reuters explained, Overstock chose not to bid on the retailer's remaining locations or inventory—opting to remain an online-only retailer, with a new (but familiar) name.
"An opportunity arose in bankruptcy to get the pieces that we loved and not have them burdened by the things we didn't like," Johnson told Reuters. "We've long liked the Bed Bath and Beyond name, but we didn't like the stores, the inventory, so don't expect stores from us."
The online transformation will start in Canada, as Overstock will relaunch the Bed Bath & Beyond domain there within the next week, according to its June 28 release. Then in August, the company will relaunch its website and mobile app as Bed Bath & Beyond in the U.S., AP reported. If you visit overstock.com after that, you will automatically be redirected to bedbathandbeyond.com.
"Combining the strengths of the Overstock operational model and the Bed Bath & Beyond brand will create a powerful synergy," Johnson said in his statement. "I'm excited for consumers to experience the new Bed Bath and an even bigger and better Beyond."
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