UNION, N.J., April 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bed Bath &
Beyond Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBY) today announced a further update to
its COVID-19 response.
Actions to Manage Stores and Direct Operations
On March 23, 2020, the Company
temporarily closed all its retail banner stores across the US and
Canada, other than buybuy BABY and
Harmon Face Values ("Harmon") stores, until April 3, 2020. Based on the latest guidance
from federal, state and local government and health authorities,
and in the interest of the health and safety of its customers and
associates, Bed Bath & Beyond is extending the temporary
closure of its retail stores until at least May 2, 2020.
The temporary closure relates to all retail banners across the
US and Canada, other than its
buybuy BABY and Harmon stores, which will continue to provide
essential infant, health and personal care items in-store, subject
to state and local regulations.
In conjunction with the decision to extend the temporary store
closures, Bed Bath & Beyond announced it would implement
additional cost reductions, including a furlough of the majority of
store associates and a portion of corporate associates until at
least May 2, 2020.
As previously announced, the Company is providing impacted store
associates with applicable pay and benefits until April 3, 2020. Corporate associates who have been
impacted by today's announcement will be provided with pay and
benefits through April 18, 2020.
During the period in which furloughed associates are not paid, the
Company will pay 100% of the cost of healthcare premiums for all
these associates who currently participate in the Company's health
plan, until further notice. Furloughed associates will also
be able to apply for unemployment benefits, if eligible.
Mark Tritton, President &
CEO, said, "The health and safety of our customers and associates
remain our number one priority, as we do what we can to slow the
spread of COVID-19. To help our communities through this
crisis, we continue to provide essential infant, personal and
health care items in-store, while we serve the rest of our loyal
customers online, in their homes.
"This is a time of unprecedented disruption to our industry. We
do not make these decisions lightly but, while the vast majority of
our stores remain closed, we must now balance our ability to
provide jobs and financial support for our associates in the short,
medium and long-term, as well as prioritizing investments that will
strengthen our business. We are therefore making the
difficult decision today to place many of our associate team
members on temporary leave, while our stores remain temporarily
closed.
"I want to thank all our associates for their service to the
business and our loyal customers and we look forward to welcoming
back all team members when our stores can safely re-open."
In recognition of the sacrifices being made by associates during
this time, the Company will also temporarily reduce salaries by 30%
across the executive team, including President and CEO,
Mark Tritton. At the same
time, the Chairman of the Board and all other independent directors
will forgo 30% of their quarterly cash compensation.
Actions to Drive Long-Term Shareholder Value & Strengthen
Financial Flexibility
To support plans to build long-term shareholder value, and
further strengthen the Company's financial flexibility beyond its
substantial cash position, Bed Bath & Beyond has taken or will
take several further actions while managing this period of business
disruption and uncertainty:
- Electing to draw down the remaining available funds
($236 million) from its revolving
credit agreement, in an abundance of caution and as a proactive
measure;
- Executing a substantial reduction in expenses, including
managing to lower inventory levels and extending payment terms for
goods and services;
- Prioritizing approximately $250
million in essential capital expenditures to drive strategic
growth plans, including investments in digital and Buy Online Pick
Up In Store (BOPIS);
- Deferring approximately $150
million of other planned capital expenditures; and
- Postponing, until further notice, its plans for share
repurchases, dividends and debt reduction.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. ended its fiscal 2019 with
approximately $1.4 billion in cash
and investments. This strong cash position, along with the actions
outlined above, provide the Company with continued financial
resilience and ample short and mid-term liquidity to fund the
operations of the business.
Tritton added, "We are taking decisive action across our
business to proactively manage the unprecedented financial and
operational impacts of COVID-19, while we prioritize the
investments that will allow us to rebuild and grow. These
measured steps will help preserve our financial health and best
position Bed Bath & Beyond for our associates, customers and
other stakeholders. The business contingency plans that we
developed for this situation have been implemented, and we will
continue to adjust as needed. At the same time, we are
working to ensure we are ready to resume and ramp-up our operations
as conditions allow."
About Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and subsidiaries (the "Company") is
an omnichannel retailer that makes it easy for our customers to
feel at home. The Company sells a wide assortment of domestic
merchandise and home furnishings. The Company also provides a
variety of textile products, amenities and other goods to
institutional customers in the hospitality, cruise line, healthcare
and other industries. Additionally, the Company is a partner
in a joint venture which operates retail stores in Mexico under the name Bed Bath &
Beyond.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements,
including, but not limited to, the Company's plans in response to
the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Many of these
forward-looking statements can be identified by use of words such
as may, will, expect, anticipate, approximate, estimate, assume,
continue, model, project, plan, goal, and similar words and
phrases, although the absence of those words does not necessarily
mean that statements are not forward-looking. The Company's
actual results and future financial condition may differ materially
from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements as a
result of many factors. Such factors include, without
limitation: general economic conditions including the housing
market, a challenging overall macroeconomic environment and related
changes in the retailing environment; risks associated with the
novel coronavirus (COVID-19), including its impacts across our
businesses on demand and operations; consumer preferences, spending
habits and adoption of new technologies; demographics and other
macroeconomic factors that may impact the level of spending for the
types of merchandise sold by the Company; civil disturbances and
terrorist acts; unusual weather patterns and natural disasters;
competition from existing and potential competitors across all
channels; pricing pressures; liquidity; the ability to achieve
anticipated cost savings, and to not exceed anticipated costs,
associated with organizational changes and investments; the ability
to attract and retain qualified employees in all areas of the
organization; the cost of labor, merchandise and other costs and
expenses; potential supply chain disruption due to trade
restrictions, political instability, labor disturbances, product
recalls, financial or operational instability of suppliers or
carriers, and other items; the ability to find suitable locations
at acceptable occupancy costs and other terms to support the
Company's plans for new stores; the ability to establish and
profitably maintain the appropriate mix of digital and physical
presence in the markets it serves; the ability to assess and
implement technologies in support of the Company's development of
its omnichannel capabilities; uncertainty in financial markets;
volatility in the price of the Company's common stock and its
effect, and the effect of other factors, on the Company's capital
allocation strategy; risks associated with the ability to achieve a
successful outcome for its business concepts and to otherwise
achieve its business strategies; the impact of intangible asset and
other impairments; disruptions to the Company's information
technology systems including but not limited to security breaches
of systems protecting consumer and employee information or other
types of cybercrimes or cybersecurity attacks; reputational risk
arising from challenges to the Company's or a third party product
or service supplier's compliance with various laws, regulations or
standards, including those related to labor, health, safety,
privacy or the environment; reputational risk arising from
third-party merchandise or service vendor performance in direct
home delivery or assembly of product for customers; changes to
statutory, regulatory and legal requirements, including without
limitation proposed changes affecting international trade; changes
to, or new, tax laws or interpretation of existing tax laws; new,
or developments in existing, litigation, claims or assessments;
changes to, or new, accounting standards; and foreign currency
exchange rate fluctuations. The Company does not undertake
any obligation to update its forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.