Bed Bath & Beyond − one of the original big box retailers − has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, following years of dismal sales and losses and numerous failed turnaround plans.

The beleaguered home goods chain made the filing Sunday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey and said it will start an orderly wind-down of its operations including eventually closing its stores, while seeking a buyer for all or some of its businesses. For now, its 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and its 120 Buy Buy Baby stores as well as its websites will remain open to serve customers.

The move comes after the company failed to secure funds to stay afloat.

The company currently has 12 locations in Ohio and four in Kentucky.

Bed Bath & Beyond store locations in Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky

• 2719 Edmondson Road, Cincinnati, OH 45209.

• 6142 Wilmington Pike, Dayton, OH 45459.

• 5800 Deerfield Blvd., Mason, OH 45040.

• 2757 Town Center Blvd., Crestview Hills, KY 41017.

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The store closings will put thousands of jobs at risk. The retailer said it secured a commitment of roughly $240 million in financing from Sixth Street Specialty Lending, Inc. to allow it to keep operating during the bankruptcy process.

Bed Bath & Beyond stock price

Bed Bath & Beyond’s shares, which were trading at distressed levels, have also been on a turbulent run. It made a monstrous run from $5.77 to $23.08 in a little more than two weeks in August. The trading was reminiscent of last year’s meme-stock craze, when out-of-favor companies suddenly became darlings of smaller-pocketed investors.

But the stock fell back to Earth after Ryan Cohen, the billionaire co-founder of online pet-products retailer Chewy Inc. who purchased a nearly 10% stake in Bed Bath & Beyond last March, sold off all his shares.

Shares were hovering close to 30 cents in the past few days. A year ago, shares were trading at around $17.

The company had 32,000 employees as of Feb. 26, 2022, but that number has come down since then as the retailer has slashed jobs.

Why is Bed Bath & Beyond filing for bankruptcy?

Bed Bath & Beyond joins a growing list of retailers that have filed for bankruptcy so far this year including party supplies chain Party City and David’s Bridal.

During the depths of the pandemic, a number of retailers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy including Neiman Marcus and J.C. Penney. But in 2022, there was a respite in retail bankruptcy filings as shoppers, flush with government stimulus money and a pile of savings, spent with abandon, helping to lift all types of retailers. But as credit tightens and inflation remains stubborn, shoppers have been tightening their purse strings in recent months, leaving struggling retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond more vulnerable.

Bed Bath & Beyond had been trying to turn around its business and slash costs after previous management’s new strategies worsened a sales slump. The company announced last August it would close about 150 of its namesake stores and slash its workforce by 20%. It also lined up more than $500 million of new financing.

Founded in 1971, Bed Bath & Beyond had for years enjoyed its status as a big box retailer that offered a vast selection of sheets, towels and gadgets unmatched by department store rivals. It was among the first to introduce shoppers to many of today’s household items like the air fryer or single-serve coffee maker, and its 15% to 20% coupons were ubiquitous.

But for the last decade or so, Bed Bath & Beyond struggled with weak sales, largely because of its messy assortments and lagging online strategy that made it hard to compete with the likes of Target and Walmart, both of which have spruced up their home departments with higher quality sheets and beddings. Meanwhile, online players like Wayfair have lured customers with affordable and trendy furniture and home décor.

Ex-Bed Bath & Beyond CFO was a P&G executive in Cincinnati

Gustavo Arnal, who served as Bed Bath & Beyond's CFO from 2020 until his death in 2022, served in executive roles at Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co. from 1993 to 2017.

In his 24-year tenure, Arnal oversaw operations in more than 50 countries and served as chief financial officer of the company’s Indian, Middle East and Africa businesses, CFO for its fabric care and personal beauty care divisions and in executive finance roles in Brazil and Mexico. He owned a home in Cincinnati's Indian Hill neighborhood.

After leaving P&G, Arnal was CFO at the Walgreens Boots Alliance from 2017-18, then CFO at Avon from 2019-20.

He died by suicide in September 2022 in New York City, less than a month after a federal class-action lawsuit accused him and others of inflating Bed Bath & Beyond stock. In a statement at the time, Bed Bath & Beyond said it was “profoundly saddened by this shocking loss.”

Arnal was not named in the company's Chapter 11 filing.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bed Bath & Beyond going out of business, closing stores