Bed Bath & Beyond made headlines on April 23, 2023 when it announced its Chapter 11 filing and plans to liquidate all inventory and shutter all stores. While the actions of the home furnishings retailer weren’t surprising – the company had struggled in recent years – the ongoing question is what will happen to the space coming onto the market once everything has been liquidated.

A recent article penned by Placer.ai’s Shira Petrack indicated that the demise of Bed Bath & Beyond won’t necessarily lead to a sudden glut of retail space. For one thing, “at 32,000 square feet, the average location tends to be closer to the size of a typical grocery store and larger than most retail stores,” Petrack said. As a result, various tenant classes, including grocery stores, fitness chains and other retailers are eyeing Bed Bath & Beyond’s soon-to-be-vacated spaces.

But which retail tenants are likely to show the most interest? Petrack noted that, while some of the home goods retailers competing with Bed Bath & Beyond might also show signs of taking over some of the leases, “the company operates 360 venues in a wide variety of markets.” Because of this, “there is no one-size-fits-all tenant well-positioned to take over the brand’s entire real estate portfolio.”

Instead, Placer.ai opted to provide research on the consumer base in select trade areas where Bed Bath & Beyond stores are located. Here’s some of what was uncovered:

• The median household income in the trade areas ranged from $53,000 to $108,300

• The median age was between 35.3 and 38.1 years

• The share of households with children ranged from 16.8% to 31.6%

• Residents in the trade areas vary when it comes to demand for exercise, natural products and even online shoe shopping

Finally, the research showed that the stores’ trade areas ranged from 37 square miles to 183 square miles. Additionally, the store with the smallest trade area (Falls Church, VA) actually served a larger population than the store with the largest trade area Fayetteville, NC).

In short, the answer as to what retailers will find the Bed Bath & Beyond space useful boils down to two words: It depends. “Fitness centers might favor sites with a smaller, more densely populated trade area, as fitness consumers tend to favor close-to-home locations,” Petrack noted. Meanwhile, home improvement retailers could benefit from larger, less densely populated trade areas. “These retailers do not rely on frequent repeat visitors, and less densely populated regions may have a stronger demand for DIY materials,” Petrack said.