Bed Bath & Beyond has recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US. The company says it will “implement an orderly wind down of its business”, including its Buy Buy Baby brand. Bed Bath & Beyond shareholders are expected to receive no recovery. Bed Bath & Beyond has been struggling with poor management, inventory control, store upgrades, and competition. The company has announced plans to cut down its workforce, close stores, and end some of its brands. It has also hired a law firm known for bankruptcy restructurings and is late on its payments to vendors, leading some to restrict or halt shipments. This could affect its inventory for the holiday season, which is crucial for its survival.
Bed Bath & Beyond was slow to make the transition to e-commerce as brick-and-mortar began to give way to online retail. This was a misstep compounded by the fact that home decor is one of the most commonly bought categories online. The company’s value proposition issue with customers also contributed to its decline. Customers didn’t see a good reason to shop at stores because they could get the products online less expensively and more easily. Several companies have been affected by their failure to switch to online retail. For example, off-price stores such as TJX brands like Marshalls, TJ Maxx and HomeGoods, Ross Dress for Less and other smaller companies have largely avoided e-commerce. Deep-discount grocery retailers Aldi and Lidl have no online capabilities at all. Blockbuster is another example of a company that failed to innovate and transition to online retail, resulting in its bankruptcy.
The rise of e-commerce and sophisticated customer analytics is changing the future of retail. Retailers need to adapt their brick-and-mortar operations to comply with health-and-safety regulations and meet basic customer expectations. They also need to offer a simple and seamless ecommerce experience. The distinction between retail and online stores is blurring, and many retail companies offer their products online while many online stores are starting to offer their products in-store. Retail stores will focus on providing their shoppers with an experience.
7 comments:
I find it interesting how retail stores such as Bed Bath & Beyond don't fully rely themselves on e-commerce nowadays. People I know (including myself) spend most of their time shopping online because the drive to the mall or other stores takes more time and money. There are plenty of websites that offer free shipping and easy returns. Take Amazon for example, they offer products that other retail stores specialize in but with different perks such as Prime, you can utilize fast shipping and easy returns. I think if old retail stores want to stay in business, they should consider moving most of their attention to the internet. Companies like Radio Shack , ToysRUs, and Blockbuster(like you mentioned) all managed to go bankrupt due to the fact that there are alternate stores online that make it easier to purchase a product without having to interact with strangers. While it is sad to see the stores we grew up with close down, the reality is that there will be a sort of oligopolistic monopoly that will rise (amazon for example).
I completely agree with everything that has been said. One thing that I thought was interesting was that e-commerce is becoming an integral part of our daily lives and Bed Bath Beyond doesn't heavily rely on that type of business. There are many times for me as well when I just buy things online from Amazon or Target because there is a greater selection of the same products and lower prices. Furthermore, Bed Bath Beyond's bankruptcy allows other companies like TJ Maxx, Burlington, and HomeGoods to take over their space and expand their businesses. This means that they can reach even more people.
It's interesting how important e-commerce is in our digitalized society today. This makes it harder for more traditional-style stores like Bed Bath Beyond to go bankrupt due to not being able to keep up with the competition. This news highlights how many formerly big companies are disappearing because of online store and shopping platforms that operate solely online.
The trend in in-person stores launching their online platforms to effectively reduce the cost of the customers and themselves. However, considering Bed Bath and Beyond's product is mainly housing objects, their target audience may be much more tempted to try and see for themselves in person. Just like Ikea, although people shop on their website, there are still plenty of them driving to their store to pick out the best product. It is true that many companies can successfully transform, it also depends on the nature of the market and industry they place in.
I think it is interesting to see how digitized our world is becoming. As a result, I think it is crucial that businesses learn to transfer their efforts into e-commerce. The pandemic largely also played a huge role in emphasizing the importance of people having access to purchasing items online, and I think that these businesses that were not able to comply to these demands suffered as a result.
While it is interesting that ewe have moved to a totally digitized world, it is sad too. No longer will you get the joy of going into a Bed Bath and Beyond to shop with your partner or parents and stop to take a break in the massage chairs. One example that you didn't mention for lagging to go online being catastrophic is Sports Authority. And, again, you will never get to experience going into the store and playing around with the equipment and the putting green. While we shift to a totality of e-commerce, we love homely and fun experiences when shopping with those we love.
I really like your take on this and completely agree with what has been said. I think that the company's missteps in management, inventory control, and a failure to transition to online retail contributed to its sad decline. The struggle of Bed Bath and Beyond highlights how retail needs to grow alongside innovation. With a world that is changing significantly day by day with technological advances and the wants and needs of customers, retailers have to focus on being able to adapt and provide a seamless customer experience. Companies that fail to adapt are left behind, sorry Bed Bath and Beyond! Bed Bath and Beyond's case is a scary one for retailers, but it does underscore the changes that need to be made and the cases that need to be dealt with in the retail industry.
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