Bed Bath & Beyond gives up 40 million customers in bizarre feud | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

In 2023, Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy. The company’s website at the time said, “Thank you to all of our loyal customers. We have made the difficult decision to begin winding down our operations.”

There were 360 Bed Bath & Beyond locations at the time. The company made an announcement when filing for bankruptcy, stating that the stores would “remain open” temporarily.

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Eventually, however, many stores did close, and within two years following the bankruptcy, many of their former locations were swooped up by rivals, with some of Bed Bath & Beyond’s leases acquired by Burlington, Barnes & Noble, Havertys Furniture, Michaels, and Ollie’s Bargain Outlets, among others.

Bed Bath & Beyond has reorganized, though, and is now ready to open new physical stores again. Since many of its old locations are now used by other stores, it’s starting fresh in deciding where to locate.

And that’s where a problem has come up.

California won’t have Bed Bath & Beyond locations.

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Bed Bath & Beyond shuns millions of customers

While it may seem like the once-bankrupt store would be eager to reach as many new customers as possible, the reality is that the store is leaving millions of potential buyers without an in-person location to visit – and it’s all because of a bizarre feud.

Bed Bath & Beyond Executive Chairman Marcus Lemonis said in an August 20, 2025, statement, “We will not open or operate retail stores in California.”

California is home to close to 40 million people (39.43 million in total).

This is a huge number of potential customers to give up if the store is hoping to make a success of its retail operations, especially given that the retail sector has continued to struggle.

In fact, a number of major retailers have been closing up locations, including Kohl’s and Macy’s, as well as JoAnn, which went out of business.

Why is Bed Bath & Beyond refusing to serve California customers?

So, why is Bed Bath & Beyond abandoning California customers?

“This decision isn’t about politics — it’s about reality,” Lemonis said.

“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.”

What are Bed Bath & Beyond’s issues with California?

Lemonis went on to explain why Bed Bath & Beyond wants to avoid doing business in California. Problems on the CEO’s list included:

Higher taxes
Higher fees
Higher wages that businesses can’t sustain
Endless regulations that strangle growth

To avoid these problems, California will only be served through delivery. While Lemonis said many people will be able to access same-day service, that won’t always be the case, and some deliveries will take 24 to 48 hours.

Still, for many of the home goods items sold by Bed Bath & Beyond, such as sheets and towels, there is no substitute for seeing the item in person and getting to feel and experience it.

As a result, it seems like this decision is inevitably going to cause a loss of potential business.

Other CEOs also aren’t fans of California

Lemonis is not the only CEO to indicate that California’s environment is not conducive to business.

A number of major companies have left the state in recent years, and while not all of them have been openly critical of the state’s policies like Lemonis, many have suggested that regulations and taxes played a role in their choices.

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Chevron is one example. The oil giant left California in 2024, stating that “California policymakers have pursued policies that raise costs and consumer prices, creating a hardship for all Californians.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom responds

For his part, Governor Gavin Newsom didn’t seem thrilled with Bed Bath & Beyond’s decision. The governor stated, “The company that already went bankrupt and closed every store across the country two years ago? Ok.”

Still, Newsom’s comments don’t address the heart of the CEO’s concerns.

The bottom line, though, is that if an in-person store visit is needed before they buy, California customers will have to get their home goods elsewhere.