Bidenflation: Analysts Say Bed Bath & Beyond Dialing Back A/C, Closing Early to Cut Costs

First inflation heated up. Now Bed Bath & Beyond stores may be hotter too.

Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY) is cutting hours and scaling back on air conditioning as inflation persists, according to a note from analysts covering the company for Bank of America.

“From our channel checks and store visits, we believe that BBBY is trying to quickly trim expenses to align costs with comp declines,” the analysts said in a note to clients:

Labor hours have been meaningfully cut, utilities (e.g. air conditioning) have been scaled back and store opening hours will be reduced starting in July (e.g. open at 11am instead of 10am). Remodels are being cancelled or delayed. We expect mgmt. to announce more store closures and halt its buybuy BABY store openings (vs. consensus est. 21 this year per Visible Alpha). BBBY‘s Beyond+ rewards program is being replaced with “Welcome Rewards.“

In April, the company was unable to resolve supply problems in its final quarter, saying the issues would continue into the upcoming year, according to the Associated Press (AP).

“It also reported a surprise loss in a quarter when many other retailers booked surging profits,” the outlet said. “The retailer has been unable to secure popular merchandise and it’s dragging down sales. For the three months ended Feb. 26, sales fell 22% to $2.05 billion.”

In May, Best Buy shared its first-quarter results, revealing shoppers decided to hold onto their money “while higher costs ate into profits,” according to the AP.

The company did well during the coronavirus pandemic as consumers bought tech equipment for home offices or for their children’s virtual classes.

“But like many retailers, Best Buy is struggling with rising costs for everything from labor to shipping,” the report continued. “And soaring fuel costs and the return of promotions are hurting its bottom line.”

Meanwhile, pro-Joe Biden Hollywood was also suffering as the price of movie and television production rose, and industry leaders reportedly said inflation was affecting nearly every aspect of the business.

“Inflation is so bad in Hollywood that NBCUniversal is trying to economize by clustering filming locations and taking advantage of ‘volume discounts with key vendors,’ according to Mark Binke, executive vice president of production at the Comcast-owned studio,” Breitbart News reported.