- Net Earnings per Diluted Share of $.55 for Q4; $1.64 for Full Year

- Quarterly Comparable Store Sales Decrease by 4.3%

- Quarterly Net Sales Decrease by 0.5%

UNION, N.J., April 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. today reported net earnings of $.55 per diluted share ($141.4 million) in the fiscal fourth quarter ended February 28, 2009, compared with net earnings of $.66 per diluted share ($172.9 million) in the same quarter a year ago. Net sales for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2008 were approximately $1.923 billion, a decrease of approximately 0.5% from net sales of approximately $1.933 billion reported in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2007. Comparable store sales in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2008 decreased by approximately 4.3%.

Net earnings for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009 were $1.64 per diluted share ($425.1 million), compared with net earnings per diluted share of $2.10 ($562.8 million) a year ago. Net sales for fiscal 2008 were approximately $7.208 billion, an increase of approximately 2.3% from the prior fiscal year. Comparable store sales for fiscal 2008 decreased by approximately 2.4%.

As of February 28, 2009, the Company had a total of 1,037 stores, including 930 Bed Bath & Beyond stores (9 of which were opened during the fiscal fourth quarter, including a fourth store in Canada) in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Canada, 52 Christmas Tree Shops stores (4 of which were opened during the fiscal fourth quarter), 15 buybuy BABY stores (4 of which were opened in the fiscal fourth quarter), and, after the closing of 1 store, 40 stores under the names of Harmon or Harmon Face Values. Consolidated store space as of February 28, 2009 was approximately 32.1 million square feet. Since the beginning of the fiscal first quarter on March 1, 2009, 1 additional Bed Bath & Beyond store and 1 additional buybuy BABY store have been opened. In addition, the Company is in a joint venture which operates 2 stores in Mexico under the name 'Home & More.'

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and subsidiaries (the 'Company') is a chain of retail stores, operating under the names of Bed Bath & Beyond, Christmas Tree Shops, Harmon, Harmon Face Values and buybuy BABY. Through a joint venture, the Company also operates retail stores in Mexico under the name 'Home & More.' The Company sells a wide assortment of merchandise principally including domestics merchandise and home furnishings as well as food, giftware, health and beauty care items and infant and toddler merchandise. Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. are traded on NASDAQ under the symbol 'BBBY' and are included in the Standard and Poor's 500 and Global 1200 Indices and the NASDAQ-100 Index. The Company is counted among the Fortune 500 and the Forbes 2000.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Many of these forward-looking statements can be identified by use of words such as may, will, expect, anticipate, estimate, assume, continue, project, plan, and similar words and phrases. The Company's actual results and future financial condition may differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements as a result of many factors that may be outside the Company's control.