Retail space abandoned by bankrupt behemoth Bed Bath & Beyond is getting snapped up by a slew of rival chains amid a lack of new developments, according to a report.
Chains including Burlington, Macy’s, Michaels, Barnes & Noble, Ulta and Ollies Bargain Outlet are moving into Bed Bath & Beyond’s former spaces across the country, while others are being transformed into gyms, pickleball courts and bowling alleys, according to a CBS report.
The former retail darling filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year and was bought by Overstock.com, which transformed the 52-year-old home goods retailer into an online only brand.
This is the first holiday season in half a century without Bed Bath & Beyond stores.
The final 360 stores closed in June along with 120 Buybuy Baby stores – owned by the home goods chain – located mostly in the suburbs in spaces of 50,000 square feet or so.
That’s the perfect size for a number of larger retailers like Macy’s, which is investing heavily in smaller format stores in strip malls, the first of which opened this year.
There are about 15 mini Macy’s and Bloomies stores so far and the largest department store company said in October that it will accelerate its expansion next year when it expects to open 30 more.
But the amount of available real estate, particularly outside of cities, is limited, experts say.
That’s because little new development took place since the financial crisis of 2008 as developers were spooked by warnings of a “retail apocalypse” in recent years.
“The US is both over-malled and over-stored,” retail bankruptcy attorney Kenneth Rosen told The Post.
Yet demand for strip mall space is brisk with the biggest owner of strip centers, Kimco Realty, turning in gangbuster growth in its most recent quarter in which it raised its guidance for the year.
“With virtually no new supply and strong demand from a multitude of tenants, buoyed by a resilient consumer, we continue to produce strong operating results,” Kimco chief executive Conor Flynn said in a statement about the company’s third quarter financial results.
Kimco controls 26 former Bed Bath & Beyond leases and has said that 14 new leases are paying rent that’s 38% higher, according to CBS.
“There is little to no concern that any of the spaces will go vacant for long,” Brandon Isner, head of retail research for CBRE told CBS.