Bed Bath & Beyond Says It Will No Longer Operate In California’s ‘Overregulated’ System

Bed Bath & Beyond will no longer operate in California, with the company’s chairman saying the blue state’s “overregulated” system “makes it nearly impossible for businesses to succeed.”

“This decision isn’t about politics — it’s about reality,” executive chairman Marcus Lemonis said Wednesday in an official statement on X. “California’s system makes it nearly impossible for businesses to succeed, and I won’t put our company, our employees, or our customers in that position.”

“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,” the statement read.

Lemonis says that California’s economic policies have resulted in “higher taxes, higher fees, higher wages that many businesses simply cannot sustain.”

Bed Bath & Beyond will still market its products to Californians and offer online ordering. The company says this will eliminate “the inflated costs created by an unsustainable model.”

“We’re taking a stand because it’s time for common sense. Businesses deserve the chance to succeed. Employees deserve jobs that last. And customers deserve fair prices. California’s system delivers the opposite.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office responded to the announcement on X: “After their bankruptcy and closure of every store, like most Americans, we thought Bed, Bath & Beyond no longer existed.”

“We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again as they try to open a 2nd store.”

Bed Bath & Beyond is attempting a comeback after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2023, when it was forced to liquidate all its assets, including all of its retail stores. It merged with Kirkland’s Home in 2024 and has subsequently rebranded.

The company plans to launch 300 “new smaller format ‘neighborhood’” locations across America, Lemonis told Fox News on Wednesday. The first “Bed Bath & Beyond Home” store opened in Nashville earlier this month.