Bed Bath & Beyond ($BBBY) has struggled to get ahead of the looming retail apocalypse, most recently announcing that it would be closing 60 stores in the next fiscal year. The closures are expected to come in early 2020, after the holiday rush.

The New Jersey retailer didn't make clear which locations it would shutter, and how many would affects its various brands, which include 'buybuy Baby', Christmas tree shops, World Market, and others. We've looked at potential closures in the past, but now that the company has confirmed it would close 60 stores, we take a look here at which areas may be most affected.

Here's what we know.

On average, each Bed Bath & Beyond store has .9 other Bed Bath & Beyond stores within 5 miles. That, at first, doesn't sound like too many stores. After all, that's an average, so that means most Bed Bath & Beyonds don't have a single store within 5 miles. 

But that also means that some Bed Bath & Beyond's have more than one store within five miles. In some cases, like in New York City's Manhattan, there at 13 other Bed Bath & Beyond's within 5 miles.

Playing devil's advocate again, though, that may also make sense: Manhattan is a population-dense area, and there are a lot of bedrooms, bathooms, and beyond to outfit in spendy Upper East Side.

But we're not just talking about Bed Bath & Beyond here. Bed Bath & Beyond consists of several brand names, as discussed. According to our proximity analysis, each store within this constellation of brands has 1.4 other stores within 5 miles.

In Manhattan, a Buy Buy Baby has 14 other stores nearby, followed by a One Kings Lane in upscale Soho, and the aforementioned Bed Bath & Beyond in the Upper East Side.

Entity Name

Street

City

State

Postal Code

Other stores within 5 mi

buy buy Baby

410 East 61st Street

New York

NY

10065

14

One Kings Lane

143 Spring Street (at Wooster Street)

New York

NY

10012

13

Bed Bath & Beyond

410 East 61st Street and 1st Avenue

New York

NY

10065

13

Bed Bath & Beyond

1932 Broadway

New York

NY

10023

13

Bed Bath & Beyond

400 Luis Munoz Marin Boulevard

Jersey City

NJ

7302

11

Bed Bath & Beyond

270 Greenwich St btw Warren & Murray St

New York

NY

10007

11

buy buy Baby

270 Seventh Avenue

New York

NY

10001

11

Bed Bath & Beyond

2431 Broadway

New York

NY

10024

11

Bed Bath & Beyond

270 Seventh Avenue

New York

NY

10001

10

World Market

1730 US Route 46

Woodland Park

NJ

7424

10

Harmon Discount

675 6th Avenue

New York,

NY

10010

10

Christmas Tree Shops

1728 US Route 46, West Falls Plaza

Woodland Park

NJ

7424

10

Harmon Discount

675 6th Avenue

New York,

NY

10010

10

buy buy Baby

545 Route 46 West

Totowa

NJ

7512

10

World Market

620 Sixth Avenue

New York

NY

10011

10

Harmon Discount

675 6th Avenue

New York,

NY

10010

10

World Market

620 Sixth Avenue

New York

NY

10011

10

Harmon Discount

465 Route 46 West

Totowa

NJ

7512

10

Harmon Discount

675 6th Avenue

New York,

NY

10010

10

So does this mean that the chain will close dozens of stores in New York City? That's unlikely, assuming they perform well during the holidays, but the data here does indicate that the chain's parent company could afford to lose some stores without impacting customers' ability to shop within a couple of subway stops.

In other areas of the United States, however, suburban areas could be affected based on local population densities.

This map shows the chain's locations with an overlay representing the number of extant stores per population of 1,000 based on 2017 census data. Areas in Utah and Massachussetts stand out as currently over-served compared even to New York City.

Hiring trends show sustainable future

It's not all bad news for Bed Bath & Beyond. Job listing data shows that the company is on track to hire the same number of people going into the holiday shopping season as it did last year.

As of this week, the company is hiring 4,780 people (or at least shows that many job listings). A large number of those jobs are slated for its retail operations, including sales associates and stock associates, which make up for 1,820 of those jobs.

Title

Title (Count)

Retail Sales Associate

709

Retail Stock Associate

580

Retail Cashier

540

Seasonal Sales Associate

276

Seasonal Stock Associate

276

Cashier

142

Supervisor

115

Home Department Head

77

Retail Department Supervisor

77

Sales Associate

63

All of these job listings have netted out in company growth, as employee count continues to climb for the company. The latest figures estimate that Bed Bath & Beyond employs 65,000 people.

Close to 21,000 people list Bed Bath & Beyond as their employer on LinkedIn — that's up from around 19,000 at this time last year.

About the Data: 

Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales. 

Further Reading: