4 Chicago-area Bed Bath & Beyond stores to close by the end of the year

A total of six retail locations are closing in Illinois.

Photo byTony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

(CHICAGO) Nationwide, Bed Bath & Beyond has released a list of 56 stores that are closing. Six of those stores are in Illinois, and four are in Chicagoland.

The retailer announced this is the first round of store closings. It will end up shuttering and liquidating about 150 stores and reducing its employees by 20%.

Bed Bath & Beyond has been suffering losses and announced a recent 28% drop in sales. The store closings and reduction of the workforce are part of a "turnaround" plan for the ailing retailer.

What stores are closing in Illinois?

In Illinois, these are the locations that are permanently closing:

• Gurnee
• Schaumburg
• Joliet
• Bourbonnais
• Carbondale
• Fairview Heights (near St. Louis)

According to CBS Chicago, the store closings and staff reduction will save the company $250 million for the fiscal year.

Bed Bath & Beyond stores have been struggling

It remains to be seen if the turnaround plan will save the beleaguered retailer. According to an article from Yahoo Finance from June 2022, Bed Bath & Beyond has been in the "end days."

After its first-quarter report in 2022, Loop Capital Analyst Anthony Chukumba, told Yahoo Finance, "These results were a dumpster fire, there is no other way to put it."

Adding to the store's struggles, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, Gustavo Arnal, died by suicide shortly after the company announced its turnaround plan to investors.

“We will continue to review our portfolio where it makes sense to profitably support our customers and business,” company spokeswoman Julie Strider said in an email to Crain's Chicago Business. “Our immediate focus is on supporting our teams, growing the business, making sure our stores, customers and partners are supported and improving returns to shareholders.”

A complete list of the 56 closing stores can be found here. This is only just the first round, as there will be at least another 100 closings to go.

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