Bed Bath & Beyond Files for Bankruptcy

“The attract of getting the Willy Wonka golden ticket — or blue ticket — was gone,” he mentioned.

In August, the corporate introduced an aggressive restructuring plan, saying that it could shut 150 shops and lay off extra employees. Ms. Gove, the interim chief government after Mr. Tritton left in June, mentioned she was personally calling distributors to reassure them that Mattress Bathtub & Past would pay them what it owed.

Only a few days after the restructuring announcement, the retailer was thrown into emotional tumult when its chief monetary officer, Gustavo Arnal, died. Mr. Arnal’s dying was dominated a suicide, in response to the New York Metropolis Medical Examiner’s Workplace.

Mattress Bathtub & Past’s suppliers began to get spooked and started demanding cost upfront. That led to in-stock ranges round 70 p.c throughout the previous vacation season, in response to Ms. Gove, who turned permanent chief executive in October.

In early February, the corporate sidestepped chapter after arising with a plan to make use of a public inventory providing to boost greater than $1 billion. The plan, backed by Hudson Bay Capital Administration, was solely good as long as Mattress Bathtub & Past’s inventory stayed above $1 a share. This month, Mattress Bathtub & Past canceled that deal after its phrases had been breached. Its inventory closed at 29 cents a share on Friday.

All of the whereas, gross sales continued to fall, ravenous the corporate of the money — and confidence — essential to maintain suppliers transport to its shops.

“It’s a dying spiral,” Neil Saunders, the managing director at GlobalData’s retail division, mentioned. “In case you can’t get the inventory, you possibly can’t make the gross sales. In case you can’t make the gross sales, your credit score deteriorates. In case your credit score deteriorates, persons are much less prepared to provide you. That cycle appears unimaginable to interrupt.”