Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy protection, future of Colorado stores uncertain
Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday and plans to close its hundreds of stores, most likely by the end of June. There are currently 15 locations in Colorado.
The retailer will stop accepting coupons Wednesday, customers have until May 8 to use gift cards.
"I got a gift card for a wedding so just had to use that before it potentially wasn't worth anything," said shopper Julia Smith, as she left the store with her sister, Georgia.
While customers rush to Bed Bath & Beyond one last time, analysts aren't shocked by the retail giant's demise.
"This is not a surprise. To me the surprise is how long an unhealthy retailer can stay in business," said MSU senior lecturer Darrin Duber-Smith. He says the bankruptcy was a long time coming and the store should have liquidated years ago. He compares Bed Bath & Beyond to other retailers like Radio Shack, JCPenney, and Sears, who he calls "zombie retailers."
"They're the walking dead. They have no future, there's really no chance of survival and what they end up doing is just harvesting the profits of the good stores until there are no profits left," said Duber-Smith.
He says the company didn't evolve with the times.
"They're sort of doing the same stuff they've been doing for 40-50 years," said Duber-Smith.
As younger generations increasingly turn to online retailers like Amazon.
"The convenience of Amazon, unfortunately, yes we all order form Amazon," said Georgia Smith.
"It's hard to blame e-commerce when a store goes out of business because the store should have an e-commerce platform," said Duber-Smith. He says Bed Bath & Beyond failed to create a seamless e-commerce experience for shoppers.
Duber-Smith says the bankruptcy doesn't signal an end to large brick-and-mortar stores.
"There's a huge advantage to having stores, even Amazon is building stores," said Duber-Smith.
But instead, is a sign retailers need to invest in their online platforms, while maintaining a brick-and-mortar presence.
"Humans will always want to shop brick and mortar they're always gonna want to engage their five senses," said Duber-Smith.
As for if the Bed Bath & Beyond stores will sit empty for a while, Duber-Smith says it depends on the location. In urban areas with increasing crime where many businesses are already closing stores, they may sit empty for a while, but other locations may be grabbed up quickly.
