By Arriana McLymore and Siddharth Cavale
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Struggling home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc is taking an axe to stores and jobs and overhauling its merchandising strategy, but its return to profitability anytime soon may hinge on luring U.S. shoppers who currently spend $18.2 billion a year on baby goods.
The company's buybuy Baby unit is the largest specialty baby-product retailer in the U.S., according to GlobalData. But other retailers – including Gap Inc's Banana Republic and pharmacy retailer Rite Aid - are pushing baby goods, filling the void created by the 2017 bankruptcy of Babies 'R' Us parent Toys ‘R’ Us.
Holding onto buybuy Baby -- which Bed Bath & Beyond had put up for sale under shareholder pressure before reversing course in August -- helped the parent company obtain its recent $375 million loan, the maximum amount it could borrow, a person familiar with the matter said. Bed Bath & Beyond also held onto buybuy Baby because it believes it will continue growing, which could allow it to fetch a higher price later or at least modestly improve Bad Bath & Beyond's finances going forward, the source said.
While there are some similarities between buybuy Baby and Babies 'R' Us, which sold similar goods as part of the Toys 'R' Us company that eventually liquidated, there are key differences that could help lead to an eventual sale of buybuy Baby.
Bankers had examined selling Babies 'R' Us years ago, but found that separating it would be too complex because the chain predominantly operated in the same retail locations as Toys 'R' Us stores and they operated under a single lease at each location, a person familiar with both the Bed Bath & Beyond and Toys 'R' Us cases said.
In contrast, buybuy Baby for the most part operates at standalone retail locations, making an eventual sale of the chain far simpler, the source said.
But on the operating level, buybuy Baby faces challenges, especially in its focus on clothing. Baby food and formula are showing some of the strongest growth rates, with sales of baby feeding products jumping 15.2% and formula and nutritional beverage sales rising 8.7% in the year to July 30, NielsenIQ data showed.
At two New York City buybuy Baby stores recently, shoppers combed through racks stocked with Adidas track suits for toddlers, Juicy Couture onesies, Calvin Klein apparel and Nike baby bags. But both stores offered few baby-food options.
That limitation "weakens the status of its stores as a one-stop shop for all baby needs," said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, unlike Amazon.com and mass merchants Walmart and Target, which "sell all kinds of baby goods under one roof."