Buybuy BABY Closing All Stores One Year After Relaunching Brand
For the second time in one year, Buybuy BABY is closing its brick-and-mortar stores, reports RetailWire. The baby clothing and gear retailer is shuttering again after first closing all of its store locations in 2023. The brand initially went out of business last summer along with its parent company, Bed Bath & Beyond, after filing for bankruptcy in April of the same year. At that time, 360 Buybuy BABY locations shut down across the United States and Canada. All store inventory was liquidated.
Total Retail's Take: According to Buybuy BABY, the decision to close its stores once again comes from feedback it received from customers. The "strategic reset" will see the retailer operate online-only, with all physical locations slated to close by the end of this year. What impact will this decision have on Buybuy BABY's future prospects? While it may see a needed reduction in costs by ceasing in-store operations, the retailer figures to see a reduction in revenue as well. Can it survive as an online-only retailer in a crowded marketplace with rising online customer acquisition costs? This may be the last attempt for Buybuy BABY to reinvent itself.
Kristina Stidham is the digital content director at Total Retail and sister brands Women in Retail Leadership Circle and Women Leading Travel & Hospitality at NAPCO Media. She is passionate about digital media and handles video, podcast and virtual event production for all brands. You can often find her at WIRLC, TR, WLT&H or industry events with her camera and podcasting equipment—or at home on Zoom—recording interviews with thought leaders and business executives.
Kristina holds a B.A. in Media Studies and Production from the Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication in Philadelphia. Go Owls! When she's not in the office, she loves to go on long walks, sing around the house, hangout with her family and two pet guinea pigs, and travel to new places.
