Listen to this articleLess than a year after making its return to physical and digital retail, Buybuy Baby is rethinking its approach.
The former subsidiary of bankrupt Bed Bath & Beyond plans to close its fleet of 10 brick-and-mortar stores by the end of this year. Instead, it will become a “digital-first brand,” according to an announcement on its website.
In the message, the company said the “difficult” decision to evolve into an online-only retailer stemmed from feedback from customers and business partners.
“We understand this may be disappointing news, and we want you to know this wasn’t a choice we took lightly,” Buybuy Baby said.
Closing sales kicked off Oct. 18 at its fleet of stores across New Jersey, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, New York and Connecticut.
Discounts of up to 30% are available on in-store merchandise and all sales are final. Buy online, pick up in-store services have also ended, the chain said.
According to Buybuy Baby, its website will continue to operate as normal and customers can continue to shop online.
A media representative for Buybuy Baby did not immediately respond to a request for more information regarding what’s next for store employees.
Round 2
For Buybuy Baby, this marks the second time in about a year its stores are going out of business. The brand’s 115 locations initially shuttered in the wake of Bed Bath & Beyond’s bankruptcy in April 2023.
Buybuy Baby was then revived after Somerset-based baby care brand Dream on Me spent $15.5 million in June 2023 to acquire the chain’s trademark, domain, mobile platform and business data.
The longtime Buybuy Baby vendor also shelled out $1.17 million to take over 11 brick-and-mortar locations on the East Coast.
Operated independently from Dream On Me, two former Bed Bath & Beyond executives who are familiar with Buybuy Baby lead the venture – CEO Pete Daleiden and Chief Stores Officer Glen Cary.
Launched in 1996 by the sons of Bed Bath & Beyond co-founder Leonard Feinstein, Buybuy Baby was considered the most valuable brand in the company’s portfolio. Since last fall, the company had flipped the lights back on 10 stores. Four are in New Jersey: Bridgewater, Paramus, Cherry Hill and Woodbridge.
The reboot of Buybuy Baby featured a new format focused more on experiential retail and community-oriented events. It also included a new website and revamped registry.
Growing pains
Within the next three to five years, Buybuy Baby expected to open more than 100 brick-and-mortar locations nationwide, Cary told NJBIZ earlier this year.
Given the value of Buybuy Baby’s brand, Cary said it was crucial for the team to move quickly so it didn’t lose awareness among consumers.
Other recent closures:
“We made a very strategic decision to launch before everybody was lined up and ready to go. Once we felt we had enough critical categories in place, we launched and then we continued to refine … ” he said. “You can wait for perfection or you can be first. My feeling was we need to be there for the customers, need to re-engage the communities, start serving them and iterate these over adjustments over time.”
Regaining its mantle as the preferred shopping destination for all things baby hasn’t been easy.
After the chain liquidated and closed its e-commerce site and locations last summer, Buybuy Baby began staging a comeback. Along with developing an elevated online and in-store experience, it has also been busy rebuilding relationships with vendors, conducting marketing efforts – as well as carefully crafting an expansion plan.
“It’s a huge lift as a startup and it’s very different than running as a subsidiary of a huge corporation. So, we’re truly a startup at the ground floor and re-imagining everything. And, with a heavy bias to reactivating the business, getting open and then continuing to improve over time,” Cary said.