household goods

Bankrupt retailer Bed Bath & Beyond is seeking tens of millions of dollars from container shipping lines, claiming the carriers willfully abandoned service commitments at the height of supply-chain turbulence to reap enormous profits from the market turmoil.   The home-goods retailer says in a complaint filed with U.S. maritime regulators that Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line pursued “brazen price gouging and profiteering” that cost Bed…

ÄLMHULT, Sweden—Amid IKEA’s colorful staged living rooms, piles of umlaut-laden housewares and endless rows of flat-pack boxes is furniture that can have shoppers wondering: How does that chair cost only $35? IKEA grew into a furniture behemoth with a relentless focus on keeping costs low, but that goal has become more challenging. The price of metal, glass, wood and plastic have spiraled up, as have shipping costs. Inflation has squeezed consumers’ wallets. Managers at IKEA knew that something had to…

Hundreds of shopping centers across the U.S. are poised to lose their anchor tenant in the coming months after Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to eventually close its remaining stores.  While property owners will have to absorb additional costs to lure replacement tenants, and some might still struggle to fill large vacated spaces, many landlords say they aren’t worried.  Hundreds of shopping centers across the U.S. are poised to lose their anchor…

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection after years of losses and failed turnaround plans left the once-powerful retailer short of cash. The company had warned of a potential bankruptcy for months. It needed a $375 million loan to get through the holidays. It struck an unusual $1 billion financing deal with a hedge fund in February to put off a bankruptcy filing, then scrapped the deal and tried this month to raise $300 million from other investors. Bed Bath &…

It wasn’t the plan, but MillerKnoll Chief Executive Andi Owen passed on a crucial lesson to bosses everywhere this week: Zoom calls are a tricky venue for giving tough love to staff.Ms. Owen may have learned the hard way. In a video that sparked viral furor on social media, she gives a staff pep talk that shifts in tone as she addresses some employees’ “not-so-nice” questions about staying motivated if bonuses aren’t paid this year.  “‘You can visit Pity City,…

IKEA is making its largest-ever investment in new American stores, betting on strong U.S. demand for its flat-pack furniture. Ingka Holding BV, the biggest owner and operator of IKEA stores, said Thursday it would spend 2 billion euros, the equivalent of $2.19 billion, opening 17 new U.S. locations over the next three years. The investment will also be used to bolster its fulfillment network to improve its delivery services, the company said. IKEA is making its largest-ever investment in…

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is preparing a bankruptcy filing for as early as this weekend as its falling stock price makes it near impossible to raise enough capital to avert default, according to people familiar with the matter. The embattled retailer recently said it needed to raise $300 million from share sales by April 26 to stay out of chapter 11. The company will have to stop selling stock by that date, when it would lose eligibility to continue under its share registration documents. Given the…

Best Buy Co. is cutting store jobs across the country, as the electronics and appliance retailer works to lower costs and shift its business as more sales happen online. This week, many store workers that specialize in selling more complex products such as computers and smartphones, dubbed “consultants” inside the company, were told their jobs would be eliminated, according to people familiar with the situation.  Best Buy Co. is cutting store jobs across the country, as the…

The maker of Tonka trucks and Lite-Brite normally introduces four new toys a year. Last year, Basic Fun Inc. introduced one. Manufacturers and retailers of everything from computers to dresses hit pause in the past few years when it came to innovation, the result of pandemic-related upheavals in the design, manufacture and distribution of goods, industry executives said. Shifting consumer demand and the expectation of an economic slowdown also played a role, the executives said.  New merchandise gives…

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. said it will try to sell up to $300 million of common stock in the open market while terminating a fundraising deal with hedge fund Hudson Bay Capital Management LP in the latest effort by the troubled home-goods retailer to stave off bankruptcy.  The Union, N.J.-based company broke off its equity-raising deal with Hudson Bay after reporting another sharp drop in sales in the most recent quarter. Bed Bath & Beyond also said that if its public offering fails to come…