Struggling to attract customers, Bed Bath & Beyond reports steep drop in sales

“Bed Bath & Beyond has completely lost control and is in a tailspin,” an analyst said.

NEW YORK — Bed Bath & Beyond‘s fiscal third-quarter sales fell 33% as the home goods company works on striking the right balance with its shoppers.

Sales slid to $1.26 billion for the three months ended Nov. 26 from $1.88 billion a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer’s health, dropped 32%.

Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research expected higher revenue of $1.43 billion.

While the quarterly performance was not a surprise given Bed Bath & Beyond’s update on its results last week, Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said in statement that it’s still a bit of a shock.

“A third of revenue has vanished, plunging an already beleaguered company into the depths of chaos,” he said.

President and CEO Sue Gove said in a prepared statement on Tuesday that the company is working on adjusting its merchandise and strategy, which has moved away from shoppers’ preferences.

“We want our customers to know that we hear them and are charging ahead every day to meet their needs,” she said.

The retailer lost $393 million, or $4.33 per share in the quarter. That compares with a loss of $276.4 million, or $2.78 a year earlier.

Stripping out certain items, its adjusted loss was $3.65 per share. Wall Street was calling for a loss of $2.36 per share.

Last week Bed Bath & Beyond cautioned that it may need to file for bankruptcy protection as it struggles to attract shoppers. It said that said that it’s looking at several options, including selling assets or restructuring its business in bankruptcy court. But the chain acknowledged that even those efforts may not be successful.

Bed Bath & Beyond announced in August that it would close stores and lay off workers in a bid to turn around its business. It closed about 150 of its namesakes stores and slashed its workforce by 20%.

Saunders is not optimistic about the future of the retailer.

“In our view, Bed Bath & Beyond has completely lost control and is in a tailspin; and with the ground fast approaching, survival now looks unlikely,” he said.

Shares of the Union, New Jersey-based company jumped more than 6% before the market open.

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