Bed Bath & Beyond closing 150 stores, laying off 20% of staff

Bed Bath & Beyond announced Wednesday it plans to close dozens of stores and lay off 20% of staff.

"The Company has identified and commenced the closure of approximately 150 lower-producing Bed Bath & Beyond banner stores," Bed Bath & Beyond stated in a news release. 

A list of stores that will be closing was not immediately released. Bed Bath & Beyond has 20 locations in Massachusetts and eight in New Hampshire, according to its website. WBZ-TV reached out to the company to see if any local stores will be closing; a spokesman said Bed Bath & Beyond "will share more information when available."

The company says sales are down 26% for the second quarter of the fiscal 2022 year compared to 2021.

Bed Bath & Beyond shares fell 25% in premarket trading.

"We are embracing a straight-forward, back-to-basics philosophy that focuses on better serving our customers, driving growth, and delivering business returns," said interim CEO Sue Gove. "In a short period of time, we have made significant changes and instituted enablers across our entire enterprise to regain our dominance as a preferred shopping destination for our customers' favorite brands and exciting products."

New funding of $500 million has also been secured, that will help "strengthen our liquidity and secure our path for the future," Gove said.

Its sprawling line of in-house brands is also being reduced, with the company looking to "rebalance its assortment and improve inventory." That means more well-known national brands will be featured more prominently, rather than its own brands. Three of its brands will also face the chopping block, including Studio 3B, Haven and Wild Sage.

The retailer has been in deep trouble over the past few years. It dumped its former CEO Mark Tritton in June after only three years at the helm because he failed to turn around its fortunes. He spearheaded growing its private brands portfolio, a strategy that worked at Target, his previous employer, but failed to catch on at Bed Bath & Beyond.

Earlier this year, Bed Bath & Beyond was accused of turning off AC in stores to save money as sales plummeted. Bed Bath & Beyond told CNN that any changes in store temperature guidelines did not come from corporate.