The news couldn’t have come at a worse time for the home goods chain.
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) is losing money, its sales are collapsing, and the company said in June it was ousting CEO Mark Tritton, who came from Target (TGT) in 2019 to try and turn things around, over the retailer’s struggles was continue. And just last week, investor Ryan Cohen, founder of Chewy (CHWY) and chairman of GameStop (GME), disposed of nearly his entire stake in the company shortly after news of his purchase sent the stock price skyrocketing in a meme-fuelled spending spree had driven. Cohen’s RC Ventures said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the company intends to sell up to 7.78 million shares of Bed Bath & Beyond, as well as more than 16,000 call options that gave RC Ventures the right to purchase additional shares to buy. The sale represents the vast majority of Cohen’s interest in the company.The ongoing troubles at Bed Bath & Beyond have rocked investors as shares have fallen nearly 60% since Ryan’s proposed sale was confirmed late last week.
Now, several firms that provide short-term financing and credit insurance to Bed Bath & Beyond’s suppliers have reportedly revoked their coverage.
Bed Bath & Beyond did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.
Shoppers, put off by product shortages, lack of new items and unkempt stores, have turned away from Bed Bath & Beyond in recent years. Add to that a post-Covid slowdown in household retailers across the board and the market is deeply down at this veteran chain.
In June, an analyst report warned how bad things were for the company by suggesting that some of Bed Bath & Beyond stores may have slashed air-conditioning and other utilities to lower costs and offset a slump in sales — an accusation of what the company denies.
— CNN’s Paul R. La Monica and Allison Morrow contributed to this story.