The passing of Gustavo Arnal, Chief Financial Officer at Bed Bath & Beyond, was verified by both the business and the police on Friday.
According to a report the CEO, who was 52 years old, was discovered “unconscious and unresponsive” at about 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
According to the investigation, it seemed as if Arnal had “suffered from injuries suggestive of a fall from a high location.” Emergency responders arrived and determined that he was deceased at the site.
Harriet Edelman, the Independent Chair of the company’s board of directors, issued a statement that acknowledged his passing on behalf of Bed Bath & Beyond.
Edelman expressed his deepest sympathy to Gustavo’s family in the letter, saying, “I want to send our warmest sympathies.” “Everyone who worked with Gustavo will remember him for his leadership, his brilliance, and the stewardship he showed toward our Company. I am honored to have worked alongside him, and he will be sorely missed by everyone at Bed Bath & Beyond as well as anybody else who had the privilege of getting to know him. I am glad to have been his coworker.”
Edelman said that Bed Bath & Beyond would concentrate its efforts on Arnal’s “family and his staff” and that the firm is “thinking of them at this sad and difficult time.”
According to Reuters, Arnal was discovered outside of the 57-story Tribeca building known as the “Jenga tower.” 56 Leonard is located in the neighborhood of Tribeca. The term was given to the structure because of its stacked look, which is reminiscent of the well-known game.
According to CNBC and USA Today, the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office reported that he committed himself and did not leave a note behind when he passed away. We have attempted to contact the ME’s Office for comment about this matter.
The setback occurs at a difficult period for the well-known American retail company. Bed Bath & Beyond made the announcement a week ago that it would be shutting around 150 of its locations and would decrease its employment by 20%.
According to the news statement issued by the firm, same-store sales for the retail establishment are around 26 percent lower compared to the same fiscal quarter the previous year.
Bed Bath & Beyond has earlier announced that it will shutter a total of 40 stores throughout the country during the first half of the year 2020.
At the time, a spokesperson for Bed Bath & Beyond said, “We’re continually evolving to serve our loyal Bed Bath & Beyond customers better — whether they come to us at one of our 900+ stores or are one of the millions who shop with us online each year.” Bed Bath & Beyond currently has over 900 stores.
According to Reuters, Arnal sold 55,013 shares of the firm around the middle of August for a total of about $1.4 million.
According to CNN, a complaint was filed against Arnal that accused him of engaging in a plot to fraudulently raise the price of Bed Bath & Beyond’s shares. The lawsuit also named Gamestop chairman Ryan Cohen as a defendant in the case. According to CNN and Reuters, the lawsuit was filed on August 23 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The claim said that Arnal made representations that were false while describing the firm.
Bed Bath & Beyond stated in a statement that it was “in the early stages of analyzing the complaint,” but that “based on current understanding, the business thinks the accusations are without substance.” Reuters received this information.
