By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review

Bed Bath & Beyond has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, saying the financially troubled company will begin winding down operations this week.

The company announced 87 closings in January, a list that includes the Rib Mountain location in the greater Wausau metro area. In September, the company announced closures of another 150 stores and job cuts for a fifth of its corporate and logistics staff.

Bed, Bath & Beyond has seen fewer shoppers and declining sales in recent years. The company in early January issued a statement in which it “concluded that there is substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.” At that time all financial options, including restructuring, selling assets or going through bankruptcy, remained on the table.

On Sunday, the 52-year-old company announced the filing in United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. Company officials say they will start the process of closing 360 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and 120 Buy Buy Baby locations on Wednesday, the same day stores will stop accepting its own coupons.Customers will have until May 8 to use Bed Bath & Beyond gift cards.

A Wisconsin Public Radio report from early January said Bed Bath & Beyond “faced a crisis after crisis in recent years: a rise and crash as a meme stock, a leadership shakeup, trouble with suppliers, a turnaround intended to improve upon a previous turnaround, store closures, job cuts, and the shocking news of its financial chief’s death.”

“Most notably, Bed Bath & Beyond missed out on the shopping boom that the pandemic brought to many home-goods sellers, as the company was in the middle of an overhaul that involved replacing big name brands with more private brands,” the WPR reporting read. “The new-brands turnaround strategy exacerbated the industry-wide supply chain crisis, leaving top products like KitchenAid mixers missing from Bed Bath’s shelves. Its website also lagged behind peers.”

Bed Bath & Beyond co-founder Warren Eisenberg was asked by Wall Street Journal what contributed to the once-hugely successful chain’s woes, and he said: “We missed the boat on the internet.”