BuyBuy Baby’s Shifting To Online-only
BuyBuy Baby’s store operation under new ownership didn’t work out.
“Our stores are closing,” the company said on its website on Friday. The site noted that shoppers should find their nearest store and shop the store closing sale, which features discounts up to 30 percent off in-store merchandise. Store closing sales are final, the site added. BuyBuy Baby gift cards will be accepted at the stores as payment through Oct. 31, 2024.
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“BuyBuy Baby is transforming into a digital-first brand, focusing all our energy on providing an exceptional online shopping experience,” the company explained in a statement on its site.
While the company said it was a “difficult decision,” it also noted that the determination was made “after listening closely to you,” the customers, and its partners. The brand will still continue in business, but as an online business at its existing website operation.
Eleven stores were opened less than a year ago when the brand relaunched under new ownership. At least one of those stores have already closed. The company website on Friday listed only ten store locations still in operation that are slated for closure.
The BuyBuy Baby banner was part of the Bed Bath & Beyond umbrella of brands. That changed following Bed Bath & Beyond’s Chapter 11 filing for bankruptcy court protection in April 2023. The company’s assets were auctioned off.
Dream on Me Industries Inc., the baby retailer that submitted a $15.5 million offer, became the new owner of BuyBuy Baby’s intellectual property and digital assets. Dream On Me was a former supplier to BuyBuy Baby when it was owned by the former Bed Bath & Beyond operation. The $15.5 million it paid was a paltry sum for a business that reportedly could have fetched around $630 million to $910 million in the summer of 2022 before Bed Bath & Beyond’s downward spiral. Dream on Me subsequently acquired the leases to 11 store locations for $1.17 million.
BuyBuy Baby’s website was relaunched last November, in time for the holiday shopping period, and the 11 stores opened their doors on Nov. 18.
Separately, Overstock.com purchased Bed Bath & Beyond’s IP assets for $21.5 million.