Marcus Lemonis, the executive chairman of Bed Bath & Beyond, says his company won’t open any stores in California – and he wants Governor Gavin Newsom out of office.
In a comment to the Daily Mail, Newsom offered a major clap-back.
The dust-up highlights a deep divide over California’s economic identity: critics say regulations, like expensive pollution reporting and increased minimum wages, have made it difficult to drive profits.
To Newsom and his allies, California’s booming GDP, record number of startups, and dominance in industries like tech and entertainment prove it’s still the nation’s most powerful engine for growth.
‘We want to be in markets where we can actually make a profit,’ Lemonis said in an interview on Newsmax.
‘And we don’t wake up every morning wondering if we’re gonna be sued by some class action lawsuit or over-regulated by a local government.’
He went further, saying he’d ‘love to see Gavin Newsom out of office,’ blasting the blue state governor for policies that he says make the state unlivable for both companies and residents.
The attack comes as Bed Bath & Beyond tries to stage a comeback.
Marcus Lemonis, the executive chair of Bed Bath & Beyond, said the company’s in-store revival will not include California locations – shoppers in the Golden State will have to shop online
The former home goods retailing giant filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and shuttered all of its stores.
Lemonis and a group of investors revived the brand through e-commerce, and are plotting the opening of a handful of physical locations.
Its first store – renamed Bed Bath & Beyond Home – just opened in Nashville. But Lemonis says the company won’t be moving westward to California.
Newsom’s team quickly mocked the declaration in a statement to the Daily Mail.
‘After their bankruptcy and closure of every store, like most Americans, we thought Bed, Bath & Beyond no longer existed,’ a spokesperson for the governor said.
‘We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again as they try to open a 2nd store.’
The Governor also made a blistering post on X, mocking Bed Bath & Beyond’s attempted revival: ‘The company that already went bankrupt and closed every store across the country two years ago? Ok.’
Lemonis, who also runs recreational vehicle and outdoor supply retailer Camping World, has publicly clashed with California before.
Bed Bath & Beyond is making a brick-and-mortar comeback, two years after shutting all of its stores
Governor Gavin Newsom, who has stepped up blistering social media attacks in recent weeks, clapped back at the executive
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In San Joaquin County, his camping company drew lawmaker’s ire for installing a 130-foot flagpole without a permit at a store.
Local officials forced the American flag down temporarily. Lemonis eventually ordered it raised again, brushing off concerns.
And, during a recent Fox News interview, he criticized a new law requiring corporations with more than $1 billion in revenue to report greenhouse gas emissions, calling it a ‘crazy law.’
California has also faced a boatload of restaurants over its increased minimum wage laws.
In 2024, lawmakers passed rules that bumped healthcare workers wages to at least $25 an hour and fast food workers pay to $20 an hour.
Some restaurants have turned to AI and robots to minimize the profit collapse from higher employee pay.
Increasing minimum wages has been a central part of the Democratic party’s political platform, despite industry pushback.
Still, Lemonis insists his current stance, and Bed Bath & Beyond’s decision to skip California, isn’t political. Instead, he says its purely strategic.
‘California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky environments for businesses in America,’ he said in a statement.
But his repeated swipes at Newsom suggest otherwise. He attacked the state’s entertainment industry, too, saying talent wants to leave.
‘I can tell you, the people in Hollywood don’t wanna be there anymore either,’ he told Newsmax.
Whether Lemonis’ strategy of snubbing California pays off is unclear.
Bed Bath & Beyond is still in the early stages of its revival, and California’s economy has weathered waves of corporate grumbling before.
Its now the fourth largest economy in the world, recently outpacing Japan in GDP.