Bed Bath & Beyond is making a last desperate effort to conserve cash in what many analysts think may be its last days.
Yahoo Finance is reporting a source told them that the company has told workers that all of its Harmon brand stores will be shuttered as the company desperately tries to conserve the last of its cash.
Harmon focuses most on beauty product sales, and operates roughly 52 stores throughout six states, according to the last annual report. Yahoo confirmed that an employee at a NYC outlet said they were informed their store would be closing this week.
Following the publication of the report, a Bed Bath & Beyond spokesperson confirmed the Harmon closures.
Bed Bath & Beyond spokeswoman Julie Strider issued a statement saying, “As we consider all paths and strategic alternatives, we continue to work with our advisors and implement actions to manage our business as efficiently as possible. We will update all stakeholders on our plans as they develop and finalize.”
The closures of the Harmon outlets follows the company’s failure to locate a buyer in its bankruptcy according to a Bloomberg report. That would mean the company could potentially be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection absent a bidder for its assets.
The company had accumulated over $1 billion in debt and losses by the end of 2021. The rumors of a potential bankruptcy began following the company, and accelerated following a warning in a recent regulatory filing which noted it might seek such protections in the future.
The filing also noted that following a notice from JP Morgan, Bed Bath & Beyond defaulted on its loans, and was unable to come up with the funds to repay its debts.
The company’s stock has been battered ever since the meme-stock craze in 2021 saw its stock rise as high as $27.23 per share, before eventually wiping out all those gains. In September of 2022 the company subsequently was forced to announce it would be closing 150 stores across the US.