correction
An earlier version of this article gave an incorrect amount for Overstock's bid. It is $21.5 million, not $21.5 billion. The article has been corrected.
Overstock offered Bed Bath & Beyond $21.5 million to acquire the housewares chain’s intellectual property and other assets, court documents show.
In a statement, a Bed Bath & Beyond spokesperson said Overstock’s stalking horse bid includes “business data, rights to mobile applications, and certain contracts and other related assets, and to assume certain specified liabilities of Bed Bath & Beyond.” It does not include brick-and-mortar stores.
The company is soliciting bids until the deadline on Friday. If there are more offers, there will be an auction on June 21.
Overstock, an online-only home furnishing marketplace, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It is unclear how Overstock would use Bed Bath & Beyond’s website, name and data. Other companies that declared bankruptcy, such as Radio Shack, Toys R Us and Pier 1, were resurrected by new owners of the brands’ intellectual property. Websites for these stores are still online, albeit with more limited inventory. Brand management company WHP Global, which acquired a controlling stake of Toys R Us parent company Tru Kids in 2019, has started opening stores.
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Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late April after the housewares retailer failed to raise $300 million in capital amid plunging sales and a tanking share price. The chain is staging store-closing sales at its 360 locations and 120 Buy Buy Baby stores.
Share this articleShareThe Union, N.J.-based chain had suffered a years-long decline set off by bad investments, patchy inventory and dwindling customer interest. In the past decade, rivals such as Amazon, Wayfair, Walmart and Target bolstered their homeware lines, eating into Bed Bath & Beyond’s customer base. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
Overstock, based in Midvale, Utah, is best known for selling furniture and home decor at approachable prices. Business boomed during the pandemic, peaking at 8 million customers at the end of 2020, chief executive Jonathan Johnson said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call in April.
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The online retailer reported that total net revenue decreased 29 percent year-over-year to $381 million. The number of active customers also declined as shoppers pulled back on discretionary spending and the housing market slowed.
Johnson said the company is optimistic that business will pick up in the second half of the year.
“While our strategic focus on home has caused some pain in the short term, we continue to believe it was and is the right decision for our future,” he said.
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