Bad news for Bed Bath & Beyond is good news for other retailers, with certain names poised to benefit from the beleaguered chain’s imminent demise, Oppenheimer said in a note Monday. Bed Bath & Beyond filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday after failing to raise enough money to stay in business. The company is asking a New Jersey bankruptcy court permission to auction its namesake and Buy Buy Baby brands. “Comments from BBBY suggest that if a buyer of the company does not emerge, management plans to gradually wind down operations. We are hard-pressed to envision a buyer stepping up to save the chain,” Oppenheimer analyst Brian Nagel wrote. The company currently operates 360 namesake locations and 120 Buy Buy Baby stores. “We do expect that certain chains could ultimately capitalize, somewhat upon a market share shift away from BBBY,” Nagel said. Those companies include Williams-Sonoma and Wayfair , he said. WSM YTD mountain Williams-Sonoma’s year-to-date performance Home furnishings retailer Williams-Sonoma’s brands include its namesake, Pottery Barn and West Elm. In March, the company posted fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share that beat expectations, at $5.50 versus the $5.46 estimated by analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue, however, missed estimates. CEO Laura Alber touted the company’s competitive advantage of its combined e-commerce business and its store locations during the most recent earnings conference call. “You see people with large e-commerce businesses, but no stores. You see people who have enormous stores, but they really don’t invest much in e-commerce. And we know that the multichannel shopper shops more and it’s the experience they’re looking for us, they can research online and go sit in the sofa in the store,” she said. Oppenheimer currently has a perform rating on Williams-Sonoma. The average analyst price target is $125.40, which suggests about 3% upside from Friday’s close, according to FactSet. Shares are up nearly 4% so far this year. E-commerce retailer Wayfair also focuses on home goods. W YTD mountain Wayfair’s year-to-date performance The company reported a fourth-quarter adjusted, diluted loss that came in at $1.71 per share . Wall Street called for a loss of $1.62 per share, according to FactSet. Its revenue of $3.10 billion topped the $3.07 billion expected. “Although the short-term macroeconomic picture is unpredictable, we are confident in our ability to navigate its challenges and are reiterating our commitment to quickly reaching adjusted EBITDA profitability and then to positive free cash flow,” Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah said in the earnings release. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. The average analyst price target on the stock is $48.97, which suggests nearly 33% upside from Friday’s close, per FactSet. After the earnings call, Oppenheimer’s Nagel highlighted Wayfair’s significant expense controls but said topline trends remain soft. “We are hard-pressed to envision Wayfair shares moving appreciably higher until the company’s business model showcases improved, broad-based fundamental momentum. Our call on Wayfair remains speculative and longer-term in nature,” he wrote in a February note. Shares are up about 9% year to date. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
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