World enews: Bed Bath & Beyond customers rush to use coupons following store’s bankruptcy filing

As Bed Bath & Beyond prepares to close its doors for good, many shoppers looking to get a bargain are using their stash of coupons while they still can.

The home goods chain filed for bankruptcy protection on 23 April after years of financial losses and failed turnaround plans. Although its stores and website will remain open for now, the company announced that it will stop accepting coupons on Wednesday (26 April), the same day store closing sales begin.

“We anticipate that we will stop accepting coupons on 26 April, 2023, when we will start our store closing sales, where customers will be able to shop for your favorite products at deep discounts,” the company said in a statement.

Customers can still use gift cards through 8 May, the company said. While membership benefits will end on Wednesday, customers can “redeem merchandise credits” until 15 May. The company will also accept returns and exchanges for items purchased prior to Wednesday until May 24, but all items purchased during the store closing sales will be final.

According to the Wall Street Journal, many shoppers rushed to Bed Bath & Beyond following the company’s bankruptcy filing to use up their coupons while they were still being accepted. For years, the big box store was known for its 20 per cent off coupons, nicknamed “Big Blue” for its blue and white paper print.

The Big Blue discounts began in the late 1990s, more than 25 years after the company was founded by Leonard Feinstein and Warren Eisenberg in 1971 – then, it was simply called Bed ‘n Bath. In the company’s early years, the 20 per cent off coupon was attached to circulars in the mail. But as the coupons took off, Bed Bath & Beyond soon began sending out nearly a billion coupons by mail a year, according to the New York Times.

“We started to realise that what customers really wanted was the darn coupon. To hell with the rest of the stuff,” Rita Little, the company’s former vice president of marketing, told the Times in 2020.

The popular marketing tool became synonymous with Bed Bath & Beyond, but the coupons ate away at profit margins. In 2020, the company said it would pull back on giving out coupons after their profits were called into question. “Today, we have an overreliance on the coupon,” said chief merchandising officer Joe Hartsig in an earnings call.

Bed Bath & Beyond has been issuing several warnings about a potential bankruptcy filing since earlier this year. In January, the company said that there was “substantial doubt” that it could stay in business, and was considering filing for bankruptcy. One week later, the home goods retailer reported a 33 per cent decrease in sales. In August, Bed Bath & Beyond announced it would close about 150 of its stores and lay off its workforce by 20 per cent.