A medical examiner has ruled that Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Gustavo Arnal committed suicide by jumping to his death over the weekend.
The New York City medical examiner’s office said Sunday that the executive died from multiple
blunt traumas and that he had taken his own life Friday afternoon (September 2) by jumping
from a building in downtown Manhattan where he lived.
Arnal, age 52, left no note and did not say anything to his wife, who was home at the time he
jumped to his death from the well-known New York skyscraper known as the “Jenga Building”
that has more than 50 floors.
Arnal joined Bed Bath & Beyond in 2020 from cosmetics company Avon just after the start of the
pandemic. He previously spent 20 years at Procter & Gamble (PG).
Since joining Bed Bath & Beyond, Arnal made several purchases and sales of company stock.
Last month, he sold more than 55,000 shares at prices ranging from $20 U.S. to $29.95 U.S.
per share, for a total of $1.23 million U.S., according to regulatory filings.
Arnal still held 255,396 Bed Bath shares after his most recent sales.
Arnal died two days after the company announced plans to close 150 low performing stores.
The New Jersey-based retailer also said it would cut 20% of its staff and added that it had
secured more than $500 million U.S. in new financing.
The cost-cutting measures come as Bed Bath & Beyond’s core business continues to struggle.
The company’s same-store sales fell 26% for the three-months ended August 27.
Bed Bath & Beyond is also one of the companies caught in the “meme trade” of the past 18
months, in which retail investors squeeze heavily shorted stocks, leading their share prices to
rise and fall dramatically.
In August, Bed Bath & Beyond’s stock had multiple days with price moves of more than 20%.
Also in August, activist investor Ryan Cohen, a major Bed Bath & Beyond shareholder, sold his
entire stake in the company. Cohen sold his Bed Bath holdings at prices between $18.68 U.S.
and $29.22 U.S. per share. After the sale, the stock fell more than 40%.
Year-to-date, Bed, Bath & Beyond’s stock is down 43% and currently trading at $8.63 U.S. per
share.
