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Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy: Name a favorite company that went out of business.

posted 2 years ago by nyctc7 (43591)
61 replies | jump to latest

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/23/bed-bath-beyond-files-for-bankruptcy-protection.html
I noted on another thread that I visited BB&B yesterday and it was almost completely empty of customers...then I read this today. It made me sad because I always loved to peruse BB&B, they have lots of interesting merchandise. Of course, it is not completely out of business just yet. But it doesn't look good.

I'll add Virgin Megastore to the list. It still exists, but nothing like its former self. It has a dozen or so locations in the United Arab Emirates. That's it. I get it, sales of CDs and DVDs plummeted. But I loved to spend an hour at my local Megastore in NYC, the one in Union Square.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6-rvNzdeY0

[–] mikethemartian (6710) 2 years ago

Not completely out of business yet but Sears. That was such an iconic store when I grew up.

[–] nyctc7 (43591) 2 years ago

Being from Manhattan I didn't grow up with a Sears (there were a couple in Brooklyn that I didn't even know existed) but when I visited my cousins, who lived in the suburbs, I discovered the Sears Catalog (sometime in the early 1970s when I was a pre-teen) and was fascinated by it.

[–] db20db (17235) 2 years ago

The local Sears store and K-Mart, which are connected, have both shut down. However, I still have a longtime, active credit card issued through Sears, which I use on a monthly basis.

Craftsman Tools was a big draw for me at Sears years ago. It was the go to brand at that time.

[–] nyctc7 (43591) 2 years ago

Craftsman had (still has?) a rep as the best tools, famous for their lifetime warranty. Sears sold the brand to Black & Decker about 5 years ago.

[–] db20db (17235) 2 years ago

I haven't seen them advertised in a long time. I also have some Black & Decker tools.

[–] mikethemartian (6710) 2 years ago

About ten years ago there was an episode of Mad Men called “Faraway Places” that featured a Howard Johnson’s restaurant. At the time the episode aired, even though there were still Howard Johnson’s hotels, there were only two restaurants left. Both restaurants have closed since then.

In The Irishman there was a scene set in a Howard Johnson’s restaurant as well as one at a Texaco and a Food Fair.

[–] nyctc7 (43591) 2 years ago

Trivia: Believe it or not, famed French Chef Jacques Pépin worked at Howard Johnson's for ten years as director of research and development.
https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/clam-chowder-howard-johnson-jacques-pepin-way/

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

consumers distributing

[–] nyctc7 (43591) 2 years ago

aka Distribution aux Consommateurs

[–] nyctc7 (43591) 2 years ago

Had to Google this one. It had a format that reminds me of another chain, but I can't place it right now.

"Consumers Distributing aimed to reduce costs for customers by stocking merchandise in a warehouse-type stocking system instead of displaying them in a costly showroom. Customers made their selections from a catalogue, filled out a form listing the items they wanted, then waited for stock staff to retrieve the items from the warehouse. The business model of Consumers Distributing has been described as "Internet shopping before the Internet"

[–] mikethemartian (6710) 2 years ago

In the late 70s and early 80s there was a store called BEST (actually Best Products) that used the model where you go to a showroom to decide what you want to buy and then it gets sent to a pickup area by conveyor belt from the warehouse. The stores were known for each one having a unique odd entrance.

[–] nyctc7 (43591) 2 years ago

Yah, I do remember reading something about a conveyer belt. Maybe that was it. Service Merchandise is another possibility, this here mentions conveyer belt https://retailwire.com/discussion/was-service-merchandise-ahead-of-its-time/

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

I have some nostalgia for Toys R Us. It was always a treat when I could go there and look around.

[–] nyctc7 (43591) 2 years ago

Xanadu. That's what I saw when viewing the commercials as a kid in late 1960s NYC (though I wouldn't have known the word Xanadu). There wasn't one in Manhattan. So I never visited one. It was Shangri-La to me!

I also have some nostalgia for KB Toys, a store I also didn't know in childhood, but would later sometimes browse when I was in a mall.

[–] ClementinaSpur (1201) 2 years ago

Same here. That picture someone took from ground level of the iconic toys waving goodbye to a Toys R Us storefront tore me up a little.

[–] blue1981 (7740) 2 years ago

Service Merchandise was another favorite store.

[–] nyctc7 (43591) 2 years ago

Ah yes...I think this is the company I weas referring to in my reply above about consumers distributing

[–] ClementinaSpur (1201) 2 years ago

I have a lot of childhood memories of Service Merchandise when my parents would take me and my brothers.

[–] blue1981 (7740) 2 years ago

It's weird but I always liked the catalogs and then going into their store.

[–] Padeen (6459) 2 years ago

BBBY is a meme stock and those brainwashed idiots still can't comprehend throwing money away on it is a bad idea. The price is 28 cents right now and they plan to continue buying tomorrow.

[–] nyctc7 (43591) 2 years ago

Had to Google that--sure enough, this article says as of late last month it is #1 meme stock.
https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/types-of-stocks/meme-stocks/

[–] sslssg (34211) 2 years ago

A & B Sound

[–] nyctc7 (43591) 2 years ago

Filene's Basement
Sports Authority