- - The Rise and Fall of “Bed Bath & Beyond”: How Coupon Culture Couldn’t Save the Retail Giant

Angeline SmithNovember 13, 2025 at 11:54 PM

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Bed Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971. It built an empire on bulk merchandise, localized inventory control, and irresistible discounts. At its peak, the company was valued at over $17 billion. Its signature 20 percent off coupons became part of everyday American life. The clever tactic defined the brand’s identity.

However, beneath the surface of those sweet savings lay cracks. By April 2023, the retailer had filed for bankruptcy, marking the end of its five-decade dominance in the home goods market. Its collapse was caused by years of missed opportunities, failed reinventions, and the slow fading of a coupon culture that once defined an entire generation of shoppers.

Growth, Acquisitions, and Overstretch

Image via Wikimedia Commons/Whpq

With coupon-fueled momentum, the brand grew aggressively. It snapped up the baby gear chain BuyBuy Baby, expanded into furniture and décor, and operated more than 1,500 stores in the United States at its peak. However, the expansion brought problems. Big stores, big inventory, and big bets meant big risk, especially in a shifting retail climate.

While the company crowded its aisles, online shopping continued to advance. As one retail analyst noted, the company “was unfashionably late” to e-commerce, even while its coupon engine still revved. This resulted in customers shifting to online and discount options, and the superstore's dominance began to wane.

Strategy Swaps That Didn’t Resonate

In 2019, the company brought in a new CEO with a plan: fewer national brands and more private-label goods (higher margins, in theory). However, loyal customers didn’t buy the new brands with the same enthusiasm. At the same time, the iconic coupon strategy was dialed back. One expert cited that ditching or changing that coupon approach hurts traffic. Thus, that gamble failed.

Behind the scenes, the company was borrowing heavily and engaging in significant share buybacks, totaling $11.8 billion, even as debt accumulated. Meanwhile, suppliers were nervous, banks pulled back on credit, and inventory levels slackened. The retailer was caught in a cash crunch spiral, even as it attempted to change strategy and juggle operations.

By April 2023, the company filed for Chapter 11, acknowledging it was running out of runway. The once-ubiquitous coupon envelope stopped being accepted.

Why the Coupon Era Didn’t Save It

Image via Wikimedia Commons/42-BRT

So if the coupon machine once powered the brand, why didn’t it save the company? First, coupon hunger drove traffic, but traffic alone couldn’t combat a lack of compelling merchandise, online convenience, and customer loyalty shifting elsewhere. Second, when the company moved away from that coupon identity and national-brand selection, it disrupted the triggers that had kept customers coming. Third, the competitive environment changed faster than the company did. Big-box stores, online giants, and agile niche players all moved forward, while this one hesitated. In effect, the coupon habit became more of a crutch than a shield.

Successful tactics need to be refreshed, and not just repeated. What worked in one era may become a liability in the next.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Money”