The Container Store is laying off part of its staff.
CEO Satish Malhotra announced the elimination of open roles and a reduction of around 15% of workers at its support center and less than 3% at the company’s store and distribution center operations.
In a statement to Retail Dive, a company spokesperson said that The Container Store is not disclosing the total number of employees impacted.
“We made the very difficult decision to take immediate cost management action,” Malhotra said on a Tuesday earnings call with analysts. “Despite these difficult decisions, we have a solid foundation and the right teams in place to make progress towards our long-term goal of $2 billion in sales and low double-digit operating margins.”
The company has around 5,200 employees, according to its most recent annual report. About 4,800 of those workers are in The Container Store segment, while 400 are Elfa segment employees.
In its most recent earnings, fourth quarter net sales were down 15% year over year to $259.7 million, while comp sales decreased 13.1%. The company reported a net loss of $189.3 million, compared to a $23.2 million income the year prior. For the full year, net sales were down 4.3% to $1 billion, while comp sales decreased 3.7%.
With Bed Bath & Beyond going through Chapter 11, retailers like The Container store could potentially take market share — although Walmart, Target and Amazon were already taking sales away from the now bankrupt retailer, according to analysts. The Container Store recently announced a promotion where the company would accept Bed Bath & Beyond coupons through the end of May.
