Bed Bath & Beyond Defaults On Credit Line And Can’t Afford To Pay Back Debt—As Bankruptcy Threat Looms

Topline

Bed, Bath and Beyond defaulted on its debt earlier this month and has determined it cannot repay some of its lenders, the company revealed in a filing Thursday afternoon, bringing the once-iconic home goods chain even closer to the brink of bankruptcy.

Key Facts

JPMorgan Chase informed Bed Bath & Beyond on Wednesday that the retailer defaulted on its credit line with the bank roughly two weeks ago, causing JPMorgan to ask the company to immediately pay back all outstanding loans (it had $550 million in outstanding loans with JPMorgan Chase as of November).

Bed Bath & Beyond said Thursday it “does not have sufficient resources to repay the amounts under the Credit Facilities,” forcing it to “consider all strategic alternatives, including restructuring its debt under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.”

The retail chain said it is also trying to right the ship by slashing costs and cutting store operations, though it acknowledged “these measures may not be successful.”

Tangent

Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond fell 22% after Thursday’s filing and closed at $2.52. The company’s share price has plummeted almost 82% over the past year, though it has occasionally rallied amid interest from retail traders due to its status as a meme stock.

Key Background

Bed Bath & Beyond began mulling a bankruptcy filing weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month, which would mark a dramatic coda to the company’s decades-long dominance and years-long collapse. The retail chain—famous for its ubiquitous paper coupons and its massive “category killing” home goods stores—has struggled for years as consumers switched from brick-and-mortar stores to online sales. Former CEO Mark Tritton sought to modernize Bed Bath & Beyond by boosting digital sales, slashing its once-dizzying array of products and introducing new private brands, but Tritton left the company in late 2022 after less than three years at the helm as sales continued to struggle. The company said last year it would close 150 stores and lay off around 20% of its employees.