They were doing fine until the CEO threw a hissy fit about My Pillow.
Their conservative base walked away in support of Mike Lindell and that was the beginning of the end.
They'd been failing for longer than that. They spent billions since 2004 to repurchase stock, including taking on debt in 2014 to repurchase 2B worth. The debt load made it impossible for them to buy merchandise (vendors refused to sell on credit to them) and as said, they charged double+ what other vendors did for inferior or similar products. Overexpansion, holding on to older concepts, competition from discount retailers, and a fading economy drove them to bankruptcy.
The CEO whining about Lindell was just the last gasps of a retailer whining about a competitor that was doing better than them. Bright Sun Films did a great documentary on their woes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=armRWC8yI-Y
BB&B should have gone the trader joes route. Where they have a limited selection of the better/best products, a place you could stop in an buy something really good without having to research it. They also should have stopped sending out those stupid coupons and offered the best price to everybody.
They didn't give people a reason to keep shopping there, they just tried everything and failed everything.
They didn't give people a reason to keep shopping there,
Exactly. They built the specialty category for home goods, they should have stayed specialty.
I'll take your word for it. I guess I I bought into the conservative media version of the story.
The CEOs whining didn't help, it alienated the conservative buyer. This was just another little piece that helped break them.
When it boils down, BBB died because of changing tastes, competition, and money. That's what kills all specialty stores eventually.
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