Amid supply chain challenges, Bed Bath & Beyond's loss widens

Dive Brief:

Citing supply chain constraints, Bed Bath & Beyond on Thursday reported third quarter net sales of $1.9 billion, a 28% decline from last year and a 32% decline from 2019.
The retailer's comparable sales fell 7% year over year and 4% from the third quarter of 2019. By channel, comps decreased 5% in stores and 9% in its digital business compared to 2020, according to a company press release.
Bed Bath & Beyond's net loss in the quarter grew by over $200 million from last year to $276.4 million.

Dive Insight:

After a year of growth, Bed Bath & Beyond is not only falling behind on 2020's sales figures, but dropping below pre-pandemic levels as well.

Like many retailers selling home goods, Bed Bath & Beyond benefited at the onset of the pandemic as consumers shifted spending away from experiences to areas like the home as they adjusted to their new normals.

But in recent months, the retailer's sales have started to slip. Bed Bath & Beyond missed on both analysts' and its own third quarter sales expectations, which were projected to be between $1.96 billion to $2 billion.

"Overall sales were pressured despite customer demand due to the lack of availability with replenishment inventory and supply chain stresses that had an estimated $100 million, or mid-single digit, impact on the quarter and an even higher impact in December," CEO Mark Tritton said in a statement.

In addition to the supply chain challenges that have been affecting much of retail, Bed Bath & Beyond has been facing traffic declines. Throughout the third quarter, traffic remained down compared to 2019 every day except one — Oct. 28 — when it increased 6% from two years ago, according to foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai.

Despite challenges, Bed Bath & Beyond has pushed forward with its turnaround plan, which has included closing 200 stores by the end of fiscal year 2021, remodeling stores, investing in technology and introducing private labels.

To the latter point, the retailer has completed its goal of launching at least eight owned brands in fiscal 2021 with the launch of H for Happy in November, following the rollout of Nestwell, Simply Essential, Our Table, Wild Sage and others.

Bed Bath & Beyond lowered its full-year outlook, now expecting net sales of about $7.9 billion, down from previous estimates of $8.1 billion to $8.3 billion, and adjusted EBITDA between $290 million to $310 million, down from $425 million to $465 million.