Bed Bath & Beyond Confirms Sales Decrease of 33%

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (Union, N.J.) reported net sales of $1.259 billion for its third quarter ended Nov. 26, the same figure the struggling retailer said it expected to post in a business update it issued last week. That update also said there is “substantial doubt” the specialty retailer can continue operating, but the latest release did not include that phrasing.

The net sales decline represents a 33 percent dive over the same period of the prior year.

And while questions continue to swirl about the retailer’s fate, CEO Sue Gove declined to answer analysts’ questions in the conference call that followed its latest earnings release, according to several news reports.

Instead, Gove mainly reiterated language from the news release, including:

“At the beginning of the third quarter, we initiated a turnaround plan anchored on serving our loyal customers, following a period when our merchandise and strategy had veered away from their preferences… We are implementing our plan expeditiously while managing our financial position in a changing landscape.

“We are delivering on our aggressive second-half commitment of $250 million in SG&A [sales, general and administrative expenses] optimization, or $500 million in annualized savings. We are also on track to achieve the 150 store closures that we previously outlined, which will further enable us to allocate resources according to customer demand. Our organization is more streamlined and we have adopted a more focused infrastructure that reflects our current business.

“As we shared last week, we continue to work with advisors as we consider all strategic alternatives to accomplish our near- and long-term goals.”