Bed Bath & Beyond makes Bay Area return after CEO slams California – SFGATE

Less than a year after Bed Bath & Beyond Executive Chairman Marcus Lemonis called California “one of the most overregulated, expensive and risky environments for businesses in America,” the home goods retailer is reversing course with the reopening of 12 stores across the state. Six of them will be in the Bay Area.

A Thursday news release from The Container Store revealed the launch of a chainwide “store changing” event as 98 of its outposts across the U.S. overhaul their selling floors to incorporate products from Bed Bath & Beyond. The Container Store has been liquidating 30% of its existing products, which stores offered to customers at steep discounts over the weekend, also opening one hour in advance to offer 5% coupons to early bird shoppers.

“This is a reset with purpose,” Jen Pape, senior vice president of stores at The Container Store, wrote in a statement. “We are actively reshaping our stores to make room for what’s next. By streamlining select categories today, we’re creating the space and flexibility needed to introduce Bed Bath & Beyond products and deliver a more complete home experience for our customers.”

Stores are expected to make the transition beginning in May. Locations in California include the following:

— Corte Madera (219 Corte Madera Town Center)

— Costa Mesa (901-G S. Coast Drive)

— El Segundo (710 S. Pacific Coast Highway)

— Los Angeles (10250 Santa Monica Blvd. Suite 218)

— Palo Alto (500 Stanford Shopping Center)

— Sacramento (2030 Arden Way)

— San Diego (7097 Friars Road)

— San Francisco (555 Ninth St.)

— San Jose (3080 Stevens Creek Blvd. Suite 1000)

— San Mateo (3020 Bridgepointe Parkway)

— Walnut Creek (1100 Locust St.)

— Woodland Hills (21949 Ventura Blvd.)

The news comes after parent company Beyond acquired multiple brands, including The Container Store in a $150 million deal earlier this month. 

After the former retail giant filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and announced a comeback last year with a new Nashville location, the company issued a special statement reporting it wouldn’t open another brick-and-mortar store in California. Bed Bath & Beyond closed more than 300 stores in 2023, and Overstock.com eventually acquired the brand’s name and assets, rebranding as Beyond.

“This decision isn’t about politics — it’s about reality,” Lemonis, the executive chairman, wrote in a statement at the time. “California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive and risky environments for businesses in America. It’s a system that makes it harder to employ people, harder to keep doors open and harder to deliver value to customers.”

That caught the attention of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office, which fired back on X. “After their bankruptcy and closure of every store, like most Americans, we thought Bed, Bath & Beyond no longer existed,” they wrote. “We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again as they try to open a 2nd store.”

Lemonis replied: “Hope you enjoyed the items you purchased at http://bedbathandbeyond.com. Thank you for your business.”

In a Thursday press release, Newsom wrote that he was “thrilled” by the news “that Bed, Bath & Beyond is opening stores in the Golden State and taking advantage of the benefits of the world’s fastest-growing economy.”

“Welcome to California!” he wrote. 

SFGATE’s California editor Tessa McLean contributed to this report.