For 52 years, Bed, Bath & Beyond was the destination for high-quality home goods merchandise, top brands, and a discovery zone for home shopping that made it inspiring and fun. By January of 2014, the company had operated more than 1500 stores in North America and had reached a share price of $70 dollars. Despite all the success, the company would soon become a victim of mismanagement, burdened with debt and unwanted inventory, unaware that its own fate would soon be put on layaway.

Tune in to Episode 60 of The Great Fail to hear the story. Special thanks to Seth Basham for his contributions to this segment and shout out to Adweek and Acast for their support.

Episode Sources

Bed Bath & Beyond Used to Be Great. These Two Are Why.

Wikipedia: Bed, Bath & Beyond

Inside Overstock’s grand plan to reinvent itself as Bed Bath & Beyond

All Buy Buy Baby stores losing after last-ditch deal falls through

The $11.8 billion mistake that led to Bed Bath & Beyond’s demise

3 key mistakes that doomed Bed Bath & Beyond

The rise and fall of Bed Bath & Beyond, the iconic housewares retailer that has filed for bankruptcy and is closing its remaining stores

After 52 Years, Why Bed Bath & Beyond Went Bankrupt

What Went Wrong at Bed Bath & Beyond

The Hidden Reason Behind Bed Bath & Beyond’s Demise

Bed Bath & Beyond and bankrupt?

Bed Bath & the great Beyond: How the home goods giant went bankrupt

Why is Bed Bath & Beyond failing? Reasons behind bankruptcy protection explored

Bed Bath & Beyond executive fell to death from New York tower, police say

Wife of Bed Bath & Beyond exec was in NYC apartment when he jumped: sources

Special Guest

Seth Basham
Managing Director, Equity Research at Wedbush Securities

Seth Basham has nearly 20 years of experience covering retail stocks. He is particularly adept at connecting the dots between the increases in e-commerce and the livelihood of brick-and- mortar retailers, as well as deciphering migratory shifts in purchasing patterns and their impact on retailers through detailed analysis. 

Seth started his career covering the hardlines retail sector for five years at UBS and Credit Suisse and UBS, and then spent five years investing in retail and consumer stocks on the buy side before joining Wedbush in 2013. Prior to business school, Seth was a strategy consultant. Seth holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School and a BA, Magna Cum Laude, with high honors in Economics from Colgate University. Seth is also a CFA charterholder.