Bed Bath & Beyond’s latest round of closings includes every Harmon store

As part of an effort to stay afloat financially, cash-strapped Bed Bath & Beyond is closing even more stores, including its entire chain of Harmon locations.

Along with shutting down another 87 flagship stores, the Union-based home goods giant is closing the 50 Harmon stores it owns and operates as well as five more Buybuy Baby locations.

In a statement to NJBIZ, a spokesperson for Bed Bath & Beyond said, “As we continue to work with our advisors to consider multiple paths, we are implementing actions to manage our business as efficiently as possible. Last week, the company announced the closure of all Harmon locations. We previously shared this information with our valued Associates.”

“While this decision is difficult, local customers can still find their favorite health, beauty, and wellness products at nearby Bed Bath & Beyond stores, as well as online at bedbathandbeyond.com and our mobile app, where they can take advantage of digital services such as Same Day Delivery, curbside and in-store pickup, and free ship-to-home for purchases $39 or more,” the spokesperson said.

An official closing date has not been revealed yet for Harmon, whose New Jersey locations include: Brick, Carlstadt, Clifton, Closter, Deptford, East Brunswick, East Hanover, Edgewater, Franklin, Gillette, Green Brook, Hackensack, Holmdel, Iselin, Manalapan, Matawan, Morris Plains, Newton, Ocean, Paramus, Raritan, Short Hills, Shrewsbury, Succasunna, Totowa, Wayne, West Caldwell, Westfield and Westwood.

Bed Bath & Beyond also did not say which Buybuy Baby locations would be shuttered.

As of November 2022, the retailer had 949 stores, including 762 Bed Bath & Beyond stores, 137 Buybuy Baby stores and 50 stores under the names Harmon, Harmon Face Values or Face Values.

The latest round of closings – which were first reported by Yahoo! Finance – are in addition to the 150 stores scheduled to close as part of a turnaround effort announced by the company in August 2022. As part of that plan, Bed Bath & Beyond said it would shutter 150 lower-performing stores as well as lay off 20% of its corporate and supply chain workforce. While the majority of sites slated for closure were Bed Bath & Beyond stores, the list also included two Harmon stores and six Buybuy Baby stores.

Months after introducing the turnaround strategy, Bed Bath & Beyond continues to wrestle with losses and cash burn, prompting the chain to issue a going concern warning in a Jan. 5 filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission.

Following poor sales and inventory outages, as well as an inability to compete with big box stores and online retailers, Bed Bath & Beyond revealed that it is considering bankruptcy as well as other strategic alternatives, including restructuring or refinancing debt, seeking additional debt or equity capital, pulling back on or delaying other business activities, or selling assets.

On Jan 27, the company said it defaulted on its credit line with JPMorgan Chase and no longer has enough cash to pay down its debts, making a bankruptcy filing even more likely in coming days.

According to Bloomberg News, the retailer has struggled to find financial support to keep its operations going, which means it could potentially seek Chapter 11 protection without a bidder for its assets.