Topline
The old Beyond Inc., newly resurrected as Bed Bath & Beyond, is starting to open new stores, but executive chairman Marcus Lemonis announced that the company will steer clear of California because he considers the state too costly to operate in profitably, according to a company statement.
WESTBURY, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 15: A general view of a Bed Bath & Beyond store on September 15, 2022 in Westbury New York, United States. Many families along with businesses are suffering the effects of inflation as the economy is dictating a change in spending habits. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Lemonis stated, “California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive and risky environments for businesses in America,” and claimed the decision was not a political but a practical one.
Citing high taxes, high fees, high wages and regulations that prohibit growth, he said Bed Bath & Beyond is taking a stand “because it’s time for common sense.”
California Governor Newsom’s press office responded on X, saying they thought Bed Bath & Beyond was out of business and wished the company well “in their efforts to become relevant again as they try to open a 2nd store.”
The company just opened its first new store in Nashville, TN and plans to open 300 more over the next 24 months, Lemonis reported on Fox News The Big Money Show.
Crucial Quote
“We made the decision to not open in the state of California, as we start to open up stores – we’re planning on opening 300 over the next 24 months. When you look at the complexity, both on the real estate side, on the regulatory side, both on the product and the employee side, it’s just too cost prohibitive to do it. At some point, some business needs to take a stand and remind the state of California that while they keep reminding us that they’re the fourth-largest economy in the world, that’s going to dissipate over time, so we are just going to serve those customers with our online business,” Lemonis announced on Fox News.
Key Background
Before its bankruptcy and subsequent nationwide store closures in 2023, Bed Bath & Beyond operated some 365 BB&B stores. California led the nation in total number of BB&B stores, just under 90 as of February 2022, followed by Texas (76) and New Jersey (70). Shortly after the bankruptcy filing, Overstock.com acquired Bed Bath & Beyond’s intellectual property, planning to operate BB&B online, and changed its name to Beyond Inc. Now the company has undergone another name change to Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. and will reclaim its BBBY ticker symbol on Friday, August 29. Beyond Inc. generated $1.4 billion in fiscal 2024, down from $1.6 billion in 2023. Through the first six months of 2025, revenues continued to tumble, from $780 million last year to $514 million. However, consolidated operating losses dropped from $117 million last year to $59 million this.
Kirkland’s Footprint Provides Bb&b Reach
Late last year, Kirkland’s inked a deal with Beyond Inc. to become Bed Bath & Beyond’s exclusive brick-and-mortar partner to operate smaller BB&B stores, plus BuyBuyBaby stores, which Beyond acquired earlier this year, and possibly Overstock stores. In June, Kirkland’s underwent a name change of its own to The Brand House Collective and changed its ticker symbol from KIRK to TBHC. Going forward, Kirkland’s Home stores will be rebranded as Bed Bath & Beyond Home stores and the process began with its Nashville store. Four additional BB&BH stores will open in the Nashville market, TBHC’s corporate home, so it can more closely manage the new operations and establish standards and processes for future store conversions. Currently, there are 313 Kirkland’s stores in 35 states, including 14 in California. Texas (48 stores), Florida (22) and Georgia (20) have the most Kirkland’s stores. In fiscal 2024, Kirkland’s generated $441 million in revenues, down 6% from $469 million in 2023.
Tangent
In recent years, numerous other companies have moved their headquarters out of California and to Texas, including Tesla, SpaceX, Oracle, Hewlett Packard, Charles Schwab, CBRE Group, McKesson, Chevron, Palantir Technologies, AECOM, Fico, Realtor.com and John Paul Mitchell Systems.
Further Reading
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