“The attract of getting the Willy Wonka golden ticket — or blue ticket — was gone,” he stated.
In August, the corporate introduced an aggressive restructuring plan, saying that it will shut 150 shops and lay off extra staff. Ms. Gove, the interim chief govt after Mr. Tritton left in June, stated she was personally calling distributors to reassure them that Mattress Tub & Past would pay them what it owed.
Only a few days after the restructuring announcement, the retailer was thrown into emotional tumult when its chief monetary officer, Gustavo Arnal, died. Mr. Arnal’s dying was dominated a suicide, in accordance with the New York Metropolis Medical Examiner’s Workplace.
Mattress Tub & Past’s suppliers began to get spooked and started demanding cost upfront. That led to in-stock ranges round 70 p.c in the course of the previous vacation season, in accordance with Ms. Gove, who turned everlasting chief govt in October.
In early February, the corporate sidestepped chapter after developing with a plan to make use of a public inventory providing to boost greater than $1 billion. The plan, backed by Hudson Bay Capital Administration, was solely good as long as Mattress Tub & Past’s inventory stayed above $1 a share. This month, Mattress Tub & Past canceled that deal after its phrases had been breached. Its inventory closed at 29 cents a share on Friday.
All of the whereas, gross sales continued to fall, ravenous the corporate of the money — and confidence — essential to preserve suppliers delivery to its shops.
“It’s a dying spiral,” Neil Saunders, the managing director at GlobalData’s retail division, stated. “When you can’t get the inventory, you possibly can’t make the gross sales. When you can’t make the gross sales, your credit score deteriorates. In case your credit score deteriorates, individuals are much less keen to provide you. That cycle appears unattainable to interrupt.”