Bed Bath & Beyond chairman says he won’t reopen stores in ‘overregulated, expensive and risky” California
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As Bed Bath & Beyond emerges from a bankruptcy that forced the closure of all its stores, the company’s executive chairman took aim at California, saying he refuses to reopen locations in the state.
“California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky environments for businesses,” Beyond, Inc. executive chairman Marcus Lemonis said in a statement posted on X. “It’s a system that makes it harder to employ people, harder to keep doors open, and harder to deliver value to customers.”
The home goods retailer, once common in strip malls and shopping centers, used to have more than 80 stores in California. It joins a handful of companies that have denounced California’s business environment. Some executives say California’s high taxes, high cost of living and stringent environmental regulations hinder businesses trying to thrive.
Despite a growing narrative that California is hostile to businesses, experts say the state still has unmatched advantages.
Billionaire In-N-Out owner Lynsi Snyder announced her departure from California earlier this summer, saying that doing business and raising a family in the Golden State was “not easy.” While In-N-Out’s corporate headquarters will remain in the state, several high-profile firms have moved their headquarters out in recent years, including Chevron, Tesla, SpaceX and Charles Schwab.
Economists say the state is still one of the world’s premier tech hubs and has a lot to offer, including a range of industries and a vast talent pool. Still, more companies have been leaving the state than entering since 2015, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows.
After Lemonis disparaged California in his lengthy statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office fired back on X.
“After their bankruptcy and closure of every store, like most Americans, we thought Bed, Bath & Beyond no longer existed,” the post said. “We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again.”
Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy in 2023, after several failed turnaround strategies left the company facing mounting debt. Overstock.com has since bought the company’s assets and rebranded as Beyond, Inc. The revamped venture reopened its first store in Nashville earlier this month.
Disenchanted with California’s political environment, Elon Musk said Tesla will relocate its corporate offices to Austin but will continue to expand in California as well.
Conservative commentator and California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton said on X he was “disgusted” by Newsom’s “attack on job-creating businesses.” He recently described California as the “most hostile business environment in the country.”
Lemonis said his decision to keep Bed Bath & Beyond brick-and-mortar locations out of California wasn’t about politics. The executive chairman has become a familiar presence on Fox Business Network and once guest-hosted “The Celebrity Apprentice” alongside future president Donald Trump.
California customers will be able to shop for Bed Bath & Beyond products online, Lemonis said.
