Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) management said it had a new turnaround plan, after falling sales, a management turnover and the shuttering of stores. However, the company’s new earnings show nothing ahead of the retailer beyond a bad end. Bed Bath & Beyond will have trouble making it into next year intact.
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Comparable store sales in the most recent quarter dropped 27%. Its important buybuy Baby division also lost a great deal of ground. Revenue declined 28% to just above $1.4 billion. The company lost $366 million. Bed Bath & Beyond said comparable store sales for the fiscal year would fall 20%.

Bed Bath & Beyond’s strategy in the earnings report was scattered and hard to believe. The company said it still had too much unsold inventory, which had to be sold at low prices. Bed Bath & Beyond has still not found a full-time chief executive officer. Likely, no one wants the job. Sue Gove, the retailer’s interim CEO, commented, “Our overall results are not acceptable nor demonstrative of our potential.” She had nothing to say that the company had any potential at all. The Wall Street Journal pointed out that, despite raising cash recently, the balance could become low again soon.

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Bed Bath & Beyond is in the flat spin that killed JCPenney, Sears and Kmart. As stores closed, the retailers had smaller footprints, so customers had less access. Larger retailers took away sales. Employee morale disappeared. Stores become old and dingy. Customer visits became less likely.

The holiday season is the primary financial test of most retailers, both brick-and-mortar and online. Only, buyers primarily turn to Amazon and Walmart.com. Some may visit niche sites like that of Macy’s. That leaves almost no market share for smaller retailers.

There is no single bit of proof Bed Bath & Beyond lasts for more than a few more months.

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