A customer carries a Buy Buy Baby shopping bag in Latest York City, Aug. 25, 2022.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty’s paintings
A shower in bed and more is splitting its failed Buy Buy Baby auction into two phases because the retailer struggles to settle bids in a sales process that is now shrouded doubtful.
The Buy Buy Baby all-asset auction was originally scheduled for Wednesday at 10:00 am. Now only bids for the network’s mental property, including its trademark and domain, will probably be accepted, based on people conversant in the matter.
The failed homeware retailer plans to carry a separate auction, potentially on Thursday, where buyers will have the ability to bid to maintain Buy Buy Baby and its stores as a going concern, said individuals who weren’t authorized to talk publicly concerning the material.
The unique winner will likely be chosen at Wednesday’s mental property auction. This bidder and other suitors may take part in the second bidding. If Bed Bath receives a better bid for all the banner than for the mental property, that bidder might be chosen to switch the winner of Wednesday’s auction, the people said.
The choice to separate the bidding was made after the retailer conducted separate sales proceedings for its Buy Buy Baby and Bed Bath & Beyond banners.
The series of moves, considered unusual on the planet of bankruptcy, is allowing Bed Bath to boost bids for its Buy Buy Baby chain as doubts grow over what deals, if any, will come up for some people.
The banner, which sells baby goods similar to prams, clothes and cribs, has long been thought to be the jewel within the crown of Bed Bath’s assets. It attracted the interest of many bidders each before and after the parent company declared bankruptcy. Some potential buyers considered keeping stores open.
But because the auction approached, interest in keeping these stores alive waned, and the retailer was struggling to set bids in an increasingly precarious sales process, some people said.
Buy Buy Baby retail store in Latest York City, August 25, 2022.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty’s paintings
Bidders taken with buying Buy Buy Baby as an operating business and running their brick-and-mortar stores and online presence would wish to purchase a lot of the 100+ locations to interrupt even.
The expenses related to running stores – similar to lease, overheads and salaries – make it difficult to realize profitability if the client only acquires a fraction of the Buy Buy Baby door together with its mental property.
“There is not any viable model where you simply have 10 stores or 40 stores,” an individual with knowledge of the matter told CNBC.
Bed Bath didn’t return a request for comment.
Some say a loan offer from pre-bankruptcy lender Sixth Street Partners that would work with the e-commerce platform is considered one of the best candidate. It is unclear whether the offer will transcend mental property assets. Sixth Street didn’t immediately seek comment.
Go Global Retail – which owns kid’s clothing brand Janie and Jack – was initially taken with keeping Buy Buy Baby stores open, however the variety of locations where it was taken with saving has since dwindled to about 20 stores, if any, CNBC previously reported.
Direct-to-consumer online sign-up Babylist made a suggestion to amass some Buy Buy Baby assets, similar to a website name and trademark, but dropped out of bidding on its stores, CEO Natalie Gordon previously told CNBC.
Earlier this month, Overstock.com won an asset auction for Bed Bath & Beyond and purchased the banner’s mental property and digital assets for $21.5 million. The digital retailer has not agreed to buy any of the Bed Bath stores.