California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) office on Wednesday knocked Bed, Bath & Beyond after the company announced it won’t open any new retail stores in the Golden State.
“After their bankruptcy and closure of every store, like most Americans, we thought Bed, Bath & Beyond no longer existed,” the California governor’s office posted on social media platform X.
“We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again as they try to open a 2nd store,” the account added.
Bed, Bath & Beyond announced this week it won’t open or operate any new stores in California, citing what it called an “overregulated” and a “risky environment” for businesses.
“This decision isn’t about politics — it’s about reality,” Marcus Lemonis, the company’s executive chairman, said in a Wednesday statement.
He said California’s business environment “makes it harder to employ people, harder to keep doors open, and harder to deliver value to customers.”
Lemonis noted the retailer will have stores in “almost every other state.”
Bed, Bath & Beyond closed all of its more than 300 stores across the country and declared bankrupty in 2023.
Two years later, the company is attempting to stage a comeback, opening its first brick-and-morter store in Nashville, under the slightly changed name Bed Bath & Beyond Home.
In California, while it does not have plans to open any stores, the company says it is offering 24-48 hour delivery services as well as same-day service for some products.
In his announcement this week, the company’s chairman targeted California’s policies, saying, “Higher taxes, higher fees, higher wages that many businesses simply cannot sustain, and endless regulations that strangle growth.”
Retail theft has soared over the past two years, resulting in residents approving Proposition 36 in November to make repeat shoplifters subject to felonies.
“Even when the state announces a budget surplus, it’s built on the backs of ordinary citizens who are paying too much and businesses who are squeezed until they break. At Bed Bath & Beyond, our responsibility is to our customers and our shareholders. We will not participate in a system that undermines both,” Lemonis said.
