The unraveling of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. could unlock one of the company’s strongest businesses: the Buybuy Baby chain of stores selling strollers, cribs and other infant gear, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bed Bath, which is preparing for a bankruptcy filing, has been in discussions with private-equity firm Sycamore Partners and another suitor about a deal to sell the baby chain as part of its chapter 11 restructuring. While sales at both chains are shrinking, the smaller baby business has held up better than the home goods chain. The company is still opening new Buybuy Baby stores, even as it closes 150 of its namesake locations and moves to preserve cash. As of February 2022, the company had about 770 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and about 130 Buybuy Baby locations. The Buybuy Baby business has drawn more interest than the core Bed Bath & Beyond business, the people said, and some discussions with potential suitors have centered around keeping the Buybuy Baby locations intact while determining another path forward for Bed Bath & Beyond. It’s unclear what that could look like.
