‘Everything must go’: Vernon Hill’s Kirkland’s store closing after merger

Vernon Hill’s Kirkland store is closing at the end of the year, seemingly as part of a broader wave of closures following last year’s merger with Bed Bath & Beyond.

According to store staff, the home decor store will close on Dec. 27, keeping it open during its busiest season. A chalk sign outside the entrance announces storewide sales, and orange posters in the window proclaim that “Everything must go!”

Numerous locations are closing across the country, staff said. The Vernon Hills location originally opened in 2017, and staff said it had performed well. However, the lease on the building was coming up for renewal, and the company seemed to be moving in a new direction, they said.

Employees were to be laid off, according to staff, but they couldn’t say what would happen with the building.

The Brand House Collective — formerly Kirkland’s Inc. — announced last year it had entered into a merger for Bed Bath & Beyond to acquire it. According to a news release, the “transaction implies an equity value of approximately $26.8 million.”

“This acquisition is a big step in building a profitable, growth-oriented Everything Home company. The power of this deal comes from a more efficient and productive engagement with the consumer, while extracting over $20 million in duplicate costs,” Marcus Lemonis, executive chairman of Bed Bath & Beyond, said in the release.

The release also announced that more than 40 “underperforming or nonstrategic stores” were marked for closure in early 2026.

“These closures are intended to support bottom line improvement and inventory optimization as an element of the broader efficiency strategy,” the release said.

Some Kirkland’s stores are being rebranded into Bed Bath & Beyond Home, according to social media posts from the company, but it is unclear if that will be the case for the Vernon Hills store.

Attempts to reach a spokesman for the Brand House Collective were unsuccessful.

jstates@chicagotribune.com