Bed Bath & Beyond bashes California as it emerges from bankruptcy

(KRON) — As it emerges from bankruptcy, Bed Bath & Beyond will not open or operate retail stores in California, the company announced Wednesday. The company’s executive chairman, Marcus Lemonis, issued a statement, saying the decision wasn’t about “politics — it’s about reality.”

“California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky environments for businesses in America,” Lemonis said. “It’s a system that makes it harder to employ people, harder to keep doors open, and harder to deliver value to customers.”

“The result? Higher taxes, higher fees, higher wages that many businesses simply cannot sustain, and endless regulations that strangle growth,” he continued. “Even when the state announces a budget surplus, it’s built on the backs of ordinary citizens who are paying too much and businesses who are squeezed until they break.”

Lemonis said Bed Bath & Beyond had a responsibility to its customers and shareholders and would “not participate in a system that undermines both.”

The company he said, would be pivoting away from brick-and-mortar stores to a California strategy based on 24- to 48-hour delivery and same day service.

“Californians will continue to get the products they love,” he said, “but without the inflated costs created by an unsustainable model.”

Lemonis’s comments came despite California recently surpassing Japan to become the fourth largest economy in the world, behind only the United States, China and Germany. California Gov. Gavin Newsom responded to Lemonis’s comments in a tweet, saying, “After their bankruptcy and closure of every store, like most Americans, we thought Bed, Bath & Beyond no longer existed.”

“We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again as they try to open a 2nd store,” he added.

Bed Bath & Beyond declared bankruptcy in 2023, shuttering all of its stores nationwide.