Bed Bath & Beyond Goes Down to Zero – 24/7 Wall St.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) management said it has a new recovery plan after falling sales, management changes and store closings. However, the company’s new earnings show nothing but a bad end ahead for the retailer. It’s going to be tough for Bed Bath & Beyond to make it through next year intact.

Comparison shop sales decreased by 27% in the last quarter. Its important buybuy Baby division also lost a lot of ground. Revenue fell 28% to just over $1.4 billion. The company lost 366 million dollars. Bed Bath & Beyond said comparable-store sales for the fiscal year were down 20%.

Bed Bath & Beyond’s strategy in its earnings report was mixed and hard to believe. The company said it still had too much unsold inventory that needed to be sold at low prices. Bed Bath & Beyond still hasn’t found a full-time chief executive officer. Probably no one wants to work. Sue Gove, the retailer’s interim chief executive, commented: “Our overall results are unacceptable and do not demonstrate our potential.” She had nothing to say that the company had any potential. The Wall Street Journal noted that despite collecting money latelythe balance can quickly become low again.

Bed Bath & Beyond is in a flat spin that killed JCPenney, Sears and Kmart. As stores closed, there were fewer retailers, so customers had less access. Larger retailers took away sales. Employee morale is gone. The shops are getting old and dirty. Customer visits became less frequent.

The holiday season is a major financial test for most retailers, both brick-and-mortar and online. Only shoppers go to Amazon and Walmart.com in the first place. Some may visit niche sites like Macy’s. This leaves almost no market share for smaller retailers.

There is no proof that Bed Bath & Beyond will last more than a few months.