(BPR) After years of going all in on the woke ESG agenda, it appears Bed, Bath & Beyond (BB&B) is now beyond repair.
Following a failure to secure $300 million from investors this month and the closure of hundreds of stores, the once-trendy retailer filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in New Jersey on Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The company had been warning of an impending bankruptcy for months, as sales evaporated and its stock fell below $1.
To make it through the bankruptcy process, BB&B received $240 million in financing from Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc., but ultimately the company expects to close all its locations.
While some attribute BB&B’s demise to increased competition, supply chain struggles, and an ill-conceived idea to replace name-brand products like KitchenAid mixers with their own private label, others point to the company’s 2019 commitment to going woke.
In 2019, the company went all in on ESG. Other home stores thrived during covid.
Congrats to @BedBathBeyond for taking their carbon footprint to zero. https://t.co/G9dk3E9Qgk pic.twitter.com/UE3RoLjK1a— Frog Capital (@FrogNews) April 23, 2023
“In 2019, the company went all in on ESG. Other home stores thrived during covid,” tweeted Frog Nation on Sunday. “Congrats to @BedBathBeyond for taking their carbon footprint to zero.”
Attached to the comment was a screenshot of Bed, Bath & Beyond’s message to stakeholders from its 2019 “Corporate Responsibility Report.”
“During 2019, we also significantly transformed Bed Bath & Beyond’s Board governance structure, including the appointment of ten new independent directors, with seven female directors, a rich diversity of perspectives, backgrounds, ages, gender, race and ethnicity,” the memo read. “As a result of these changes, our Board better reflects the diversity of the Company’s loyal customers and dedicated Associates.”
It was around that time that the retailer bowed to a mob of progressive New York journalists and issued an apology for selling black pumpkins at Halloween.
“This is a sensitive area and, though unintentional, we apologize for any offense caused,” the company spokesperson stated at the time. “We have immediately removed the item from sale.”
Bed Bath & Beyond chain apologizes, stops selling black pumpkins after news station airs complaint https://t.co/pK1nVsxCVN
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) October 23, 2019
On its website, Bed, Bath & Beyond touts its latest Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) report, covering the 2021 calendar year and completed in May 2022.
