The famous baby store, BuyBuy Baby announced its decision to close down all its retail stores and shift the focus towards becoming a digital-first brand. This decision is seen as a significant shift in their operation model, with the primary aim of enhancing the online shopping experience for the customers.
The company declared about the closure in a statement on its website on Friday, indicating an ending to its physical store operations. It was highlighted that the stores will run their closing sale, offering attractive discounts of up to 30 percent on in-store merchandise. However, the company has assured that all sales under the store closing sale will be considered final. Also, it is mentioned that the brand’s gift cards will be acceptable at the stores as a payment method until October 31, 2024.
With this decision, it is evident that BuyBuy Baby is embarking on a transformational journey of focusing exclusively on digital offerings. This move is believed to have been driven by careful consideration of customer feedback as well as inputs from its partners. The company believes that by pivoting to an online-only business model, it will empower itself to deliver a more immersive shopping experience to its customers through its incumbent online platform.
Interestingly, this decision comes barely a year after the launch of eleven new stores under a new ownership model. It has been reported that at least one of the newly opened stores was closed already, leaving just ten stores listed on the company’s website on Friday that are now heading towards closure.
Previously, BuyBuy Baby was a subsidiary under the larger Bed Bath & Beyond conglomerate. However, the dynamics changed after Bed Bath & Beyond’s bankruptcy court protection filing in April 2023 under Chapter 11. This resulted in an auction of the company’s assets, which marked a new ownership era for BuyBuy Baby.
In the aftermath of the event, baby retailer Dream on Me Industries Inc. emerged as the new owner of BuyBuy Baby after placing a $15.5 million offer for the intellectual property and digital assets. Dream On Me had previously functioned as a supplier for BuyBuy Baby while the latter was a part of the Bed Bath & Beyond conglomerate. Considering the mid-2022 approximate value of the business being $630 million to $910 million, the price that Dream On Me paid for BuyBuy Baby now appears to be a fraction. As a part of its acquisition spree, Dream On Me also took over the leases to 11 store locations for a sum of $1.17 million.
It marked a new chapter for BuyBuy Baby when its website was re-launched by Dream On Me in November, just in time for the holiday shopping season, and the doors of the 11 new stores were opened on Nov. 18. However, with the recent decision to shut down its retail stores, the company is now being steered towards a digital future which is seen as a strategic move to thrive in an increasingly online world.
On a separate note, it is worth noting that e-commerce giant Overstock.com also played a role in the asset auction spree by buying Bed Bath & Beyond’s intellectual property assets for $21.5 million. The interplay of such significant corporate events paints a vivid picture of the dynamic state of the retail industry, revealing the survival of the fittest narrative in these changing times.
