Bed Bath & Beyond Suppliers Halt Shipments Despite New Financing
The company’s turnaround strategy hinges on securing new product, but some vendors want additional financial guarantees.
Empty shelves at a Bed Bath & Beyond location permanently closing in Northville, Michigan, in September.
Photographer: Matthew Hatcher/BloombergSome Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. suppliers say they are restricting or halting shipments even after the company secured new financing, a sign of the challenges the troubled retailer faces to receive new merchandise and reverse more than a year of plummeting sales.
Bed Bath & Beyond used a portion of the $500 million in additional financing it got at the end of August to catch up on overdue payments to suppliers. But some of those suppliers say they remain concerned about the retailer’s survival and have cut off or cut back on merchandise they ship to the company. That further complicates Bed Bath & Beyond’s turnaround strategy, which hinges on securing a steady supply of products from national brands.