Buybuy Baby closing all stores, shifting to online-only business model as part of 'strategic reset'
Buybuy Baby is transitioning to an online-only model
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Buybuy Baby is shuttering all of its stores roughly a year after new owners tried to revive the brand.
The company announced on its website that it is transitioning to an online-only model after recognizing the need for a "a strategic reset."
"With this shift, we've come to the difficult decision of closing our physical stores by the end of this year," the company wrote. "We understand this may be disappointing news, and we want all our customers to know this wasn't a choice we took lightly."
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Buybuy Baby began offering closing sales on almost everything in-store following its announcement. Gift cards will be accepted in-store through Oct. 31. Shoppers can still use their gift cards online. Registries will still be available online, the company said.
The company's customer service team will be reaching out to customers regarding any furniture orders.
buy buy Baby store with cart return rack in foreground, Cherry Hill, N.J., Jan. 8, 2023. (Fox News)
Buybuy Baby's attempt at a physical store comeback didn't last long. The brand was a subsidiary of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. until it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 after years of sagging sales and failed turnaround plans.
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Subsequently, all Buybuy Baby stores were shuttered as part of its bankruptcy liquidation.
Buybuy Baby's intellectual property assets were sold to Dream on Me Industries, which manufactures and sells baby products and furniture, to the tune of $15.5 million in July 2023.
In short order, its new parent company announced a plan to relaunch its website and reopen 11 stores. It reportedly was eyeing a national expansion with plans to reopen 100 stores over a three-year period, according to ModernRetail.com.
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The news comes just after Beyond Inc., which owns brands including Bed Bath & Beyond, Overstock and Zulily, said it's investing $40 million in the Container Store Group to relaunch some of the Bed Bath & Beyond products in stores.
Under this new partnership, the companies will utilize a section within the Container Store’s real estate locations to showcase the Bed Bath & Beyond assortment for kitchen, bath and bedroom, which will be co-branded.