What: The iconic homeware retailer has begun to close down locations.

Why it is important: The strategy initiated in 2019 came straight from the playbook, including heavily relying on private labels, but this did not allow being competitive enough in front of e-commerce players fast enough.

Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after years of losses and failed turnaround efforts left the company short of cash.

The retailer plans to close all 360 Bed Bath & Beyond and 120 Buybuy Baby stores eventually. Top lender Sixth Street Partners provided $240 million in financing to keep the company operating during liquidation. Bankruptcy offers Bed Bath & Beyond the chance to conduct going-out-of-business sales and seek potential buyers for remaining assets. The company may pivot from liquidation plans to a sale if a bidder emerges.

The store closures will impact retail landlords, but big-box retailers like Barnes & Noble and Burlington have shown signs of expanding after years of reducing their real estate footprints.

Bed, Bath and Beyond started to be unprofitable only in 2019, with ecommerce players starting to eat the pie. Activist investors forced the founders, then at the board, out, and replaced them with a CEO coming from Target. Noncore businesses were sold, real estate was sold and leased, and name brands were replaced by private labels. However, both the pandemic, its consequences and the e-commerce competition prevented the new strategy to be working.

Bed, Bath and Beyond files for bankruptcy