According to the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office, the chief financial officer of Bed Bath & Beyond, Gustavo Arnal, committed suicide after falling from the “Jenga” tower in Tribeca on Friday afternoon.
The office says, 52-year-old Gustavo Arnal had several blunt force traumas.The retailer had just announced that it would close outlets and fire staff when the suicide occurred.
It also follows a lawsuit against Arnal and the company on August 23 for allegedly engaging in a “pump and dump” scheme to artificially inflate the company’s stock price. The lawsuit claims that Arnal then sold off his shares at a higher price.
The business stated that while it was in the early evaluation of the lawsuit, the company believes the charges are without substance.
In 2020, Arnal joined Bed Bath & Beyond. According to his LinkedIn page, he spent 20 years at Procter & Gamble and previously served as CFO for cosmetics company Avon in London.
In response to a 911 call, officers arrived on the scene at 12:30 p.m. ET (16:30 p.m. GMT) on Friday and discovered a 52-year-old man who had fallen and was injured. Police identified the man to be Arnal. Later, in a news release Bed Bath & Beyond confirmed his death on Sunday.
The big-box chain, once dubbed a “category killer” for home and bath products, has seen its sales decline due to trying to promote more of its own-brand products.
Bed Bath & Beyond announced last week that it would shut down 150 shops, lay off staff, and change its merchandising plan to turn around its failing company.
For the second quarter, it predicted a bigger-than-expected 26% decline in same-store sales and announced it would keep the buybuy Baby division, which it had put up for sale.
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